Dash Repair Process/Pictures

[CEgg11]

Evercoat Applied - sanding tonight. Going good so far!

[mjr45]

I've been watching this thread for a long time and would like to do my dash. Currently it has a full dash cap that I've tried multiple methods to remove(dash is still in the car), I've let it sit outside in the sun, tried a heat gun(don't do this) tried prying and pulling and no luck so far it appears that when the cap was put on, it was slavered with glue on the top but not much on the bottom end. Any suggestions, besides take the dash out and just rip it off?

[CEgg11]

Did you take the metal plate off the front of the dash where it meets the windshield? I imagine that w/o doing that, you'd have a very hard time getting the cap off.

[12doplumbing]

Well, I wonder if anyone has done a custom dash? I want to see pics of creations if so. We are considering a new flat aluminum face with hardwood cap either varnished or wrapped in leather. Custom center console to match.

The father-son resto of a '72 with '83 turbo ...

[HaZmatt]

What are you guys using for primer? Is it necessary to use a flexible primer?

[HaZmatt]

Just found this if anyone wants to try it. Looks promising.

Amazon.com: Padded Dash Filler: Automotive

[motorman7]

So, I figured I could do this on my roadster same as everyone else has done for their Z dashes. Sure enough, the final product came out looking pretty nice. I am very happy with the results. I must say, however, this was really a lot of work only because the dash seemed to be pretty warped. It wasn’t just a matter of cutting and filling the cracks, that part was pretty easy and took me about 3 Bumper bite applications to finish. The warped dash however was very obvious and took about 6 more iterations of Bumper Bite to get resolved, meaning it was a lot of work.

Then, after putting on the second coat of texture paint and hanging to dry, the dash came un-hooked and dropped two feet to the concrete, resulting in two more applications of Bumper Bite on the end and repaint. Anyway, once the paint was on everything was looking pretty good. The texture finish is matte and picks up all finger prints that touch it so I put a couple coats of clear over the texture spray. That works out pretty well and gives the final finish which is a bit glossy, but very nice.

I also go the original 44 year old clock working. I took the little motor apart and notice the gunk on the armature where the two brushes contact. I cleaned the gunk off with carb cleaner and used electronics cleaner spray on the mechanism and the clock started right up when I applied 12 volts. Pretty cool. After 24 hours it seems to run a couple minutes fast, but it is still running.

Anyway, here are the pics. Hope to have the dash with gauges and glove box assembled and on car in the next week here or so. Making some pretty good progress.

Rich

[HaZmatt]

My dash was in need of some love so I followed the dash repair techniques on this forum and I think it came out really good. Not perfect but 100X better than it was. I ended up spending about $100 on materials and a good week or 2 of working on it here and there.

Edited May 11, 2014 by HaZmatt

[suprayoshi]

I'm gonna be pulling the dash from my Z this weekend and try this out, but i was wondering what y'all did to get the shape back in the pod holes? cause mine are out of round, do i just pull it till its right or is there a better way of doing this?

Thanks!

[socorob]

I recently did my 280Z dash. It came out pretty good for the 1st time attempting something like this. It looks way better than a dash cap, that's a definite. I used great stuff to fill the cracks, the padded dash filler and flexible dash texture from Urethane Supply Company. Stuff is very flexible, almost like rubber. I Da'd it all smooth. I also used speedhut gauges for the tach and speedo. If you use a 4" DWV cap (it has a flat end, not rounded) from ace hardware, the hole saw for the gauge cutout fits just about perfects inside the cap, so it sort of self centers, to fit the gauge in, you have to file off the knubs on the locking ring for the gauge, then that's a tight fit inside the cap, and the cap OD is about 1/16" smaller than the gauge pod ID, so it all fits together just about perfect.

Padded Dash Filler

Flextex VT Texture Spray

Edited August 20, 2014 by socorob

[Otto]

I'm getting ready to try this on the dash pad of my 1970 Ford Falcon. Am wondering what people are using to remove the old, cracked, portions prior to filling them with the Great Stuff?

Didn't want to post any photos of my current pad since it's not a "Z" car, but will if the community approves.

Thanks in advance,

Otto...

[nix240z]

I'm getting ready to try this on the dash pad of my 1970 Ford Falcon. Am wondering what people are using to remove the old, cracked, portions prior to filling them with the Great Stuff?

Didn't want to post any photos of my current pad since it's not a "Z" car, but will if the community approves.

Thanks in advance,

Otto...

I used a dremel with a small bit.

Steve