my dash repair journey

[KAL7467]

Ok well I had 2 nasty canyons in my dash along with other minor cracks all over the top of my dash(1971 Series 1 240z). Since the dash is out of the car I decided I would try to fix it and in the worst case would just buy a dash cap...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-25_16-12-05_357.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-25_16-12-10_874.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-25_16-12-26_655.jpg

well first i sanded down the cracks and made them a little deeper and wider, next I filled them with some of that great stuff home insulation stuff, then I coated the whole top with fiberglass resin with no fibers and lastly the next day I used some metal filler to smooth out the small holes dents and stuff.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-26_09-16-33_939.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-26_09-16-33_939.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-26_09-16-33_939.jpg

Then it was a bunch of sanding with the orbital sander and hand sanding in the curvy areas and trying to feather in the edges best I could.

The next day I scuffed the whole dash with a scotch brite pad and did a few coats of adhesive promoter followed by many coats of SEM Textured bumper dash paint, when it was fully dry the next day I scuffed it down with a scotch brits pad and finally I used many coats of SEM Colorcoat Satin black to match the rest of my interior plastic.

Here is what she looks like now. Not perfect but very good results and the average person would think it is a stock dash. I am pretty confident that it will hold up to everyday use, only time will tell

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-30_15-28-52_372.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_08-08-22_164.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_08-08-27_846.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_09-40-12_781.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_09-40-05_966.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_09-39-59_343.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_09-39-52_584.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_09-39-47_396.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/youngkal/2012-01-31_09-39-34_692.jpg

Edited February 1, 2012 by KAL7467

[psdenno]

Wow! Very nice looking fix. This could open up career opportunities if your day job doesn't work out.

Dennis

[het976]

Good luck...let us know how it works...Someone suggested not tightening the bottom screws so the dash can kind of float as the car twists.

[KAL7467]

Thanks guys I sure hope I don't get any cracks. The resin is pretty thick and the topcoat has alot of flex in it so I will just tighten her down and pray for the best. I was a bit rough with it after the resin dried and it was quite durable. Was only about 40 in supplies so I think it was definitely worth a try.