How To Refurbish Your Dashpad

[bucket]

Same sunpro tach too! Lol

I like the classic look of them. The one in the C10 is a bit older, the face is styled a little different and the pointer is different from the newer ones. I've got an even older version in my '69 Impala (also on the column). Between all three of those tachs, I've got about 4 dollars wrapped up in all of them, lol.

 

[midwest]

I asked a while back and it kind of got burried, or maybe the people who did this refurb don't have a reason to come back. I am curious about those who patched and sprayed your dash pads some time ago would say they are holding up. I didn't know if the old brittle cover continues to curl up and cause cracks, or if once it has been refurbished, it seems to stay in good shape. I am planning to do mine when I get some time but don't want to put several days of work into it only to have it start cracking a couple months down the road.

 

[OldFatBald]

I asked a while back and it kind of got burried, or maybe the people who did this refurb don't have a reason to come back. I am curious about those who patched and sprayed your dash pads some time ago would say they are holding up. I didn't know if the old brittle cover continues to curl up and cause cracks, or if once it has been refurbished, it seems to stay in good shape. I am planning to do mine when I get some time but don't want to put several days of work into it only to have it start cracking a couple months down the road.

The brown one that I did awhile back sat in my front yard without a windshield screen protector (cardboard) and it did mess up around where I had redone the factory speaker holes. I am almost redone with that repair. I did two different dashes, the brown one and another red one that I covered in red leather which still looks fantastic.

The next one that I do, I will strip all of the old foam off and add some thin foam, then either cover it with FRP or Epoxy. Eventually I will figure this out!

For most folks that want a hard shell dash, I would suggest one of the replacement shell covers and be sure to remove the old one using a heat gun prior to installing the new one. I think that I might even do that before I cover a dash again in leather due to the amount of labor involved in a leather cover.

 

[midwest]

So I started my dash yesterday. Ill post some pics in the morning. Day one I cut out all the old cracks to deepen them a little. I also epoxied some thin plastic unto the spots were the speakers were as mine are not used. After that was done I filled everything with spray foam. This afternoon after the foam had 24 hours I cut all the foam out and then sanded it all down. I started by planning to use the plastic weld epoxy like the OP used. However with the size of the areas for my speakers it took 3 bottles to skim coat one section. At $5.00 a bottle I went back to the hardware store to see if there were any other options. I went next door to auto zone to see if they had any of the bondo made for dashes. They did not but in the discount bin there was a large tube of glazing putty, originally 19.99 marked down to 5.00. I got it to do the rest of the spots. I know the bondo is not considered flexible but my truck has a place to be parked inside so I don't think it will be much of an issue over time. Honestly I have never done any body work so I don't feel like I am going to be happy with the results and will end up ordering a new pad. However I am going to put some time into the final sanding and pre paint prep trying to save myself about $450.00...

 

[midwest]

Here is day ones progress...

Started with this

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After some trimming and plastic epoxied in...

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And the foam...

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[midwest]

Last two. Here it is after the initial trim job of the foam. I didn't not a pic after I sanded it down but the second pic is after I put the epoxy on one side and the putty on the other. There was one low spot that the epoxy wouldn't fill in so I dabbed some filler in there. Going to let it sit until tomorrow for things to cure good. My attached garage stays between 50-60 degrees so not going to rush that.

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[midwest]

Spent several hours this afternoon sanding and working on the dash and could tell I was not happy with the results so I just ordered a new one. Even as I was sending it it was getting more cracks in it. Not sure if there was too much flex in the foam or what was going on, but I didn't like how it was looking.

I am going to hang on to this dash just in case I am not happy with the new one, I might source someone to get it recovered. However I had already shopped around to most shops in my area and the only ones who would do it wanted over $500.00 and it was going to be quite a wait time.

After some checking on here and the internet I ended up ordering the new dash from Truck and Car shop in California. Their price was $350.00 plus shipping (80.00 to Indiana). They had them in stock and said it would process today. Ill let you know how the fit is once I get it.

 

[OldFatBald]

That is probably your best bet as once that original foam is dried out, it is all dried out and will continue to crack.

I now wish that I had stripped my entire foam off prior to covering it with leather which took quite some time.

 

[midwest]

I had time today and got my dash installed. Overall I am very pleased with it. Had to do some trimming as with anything aftermarket. Took about an hour of twisting and tweeking to get thing lines up. I ordered the dash from Truck and Car shop in CA. Shipping was quick, only issue I have was I paid 15 dollars for the "installation kit". It only had 4 dash clips instead of 6 even though the bad says on it "6 clips required per dash" and one of the clips was broken upon arrival. I grabbed some of my old clips so not a huge deal, hopefully they'll refund part or all of the 15.00 for that kit. I've heard a lot of people say the dashes never fit perfect around the instruments. I am pretty pleased with mine, the top left corner is not quite tucked in like it should but not a huge deal. In the picture it looks like the bezzle is sticking out past the dash pad. It is not, just looks that way from the angle. I know the screws in the bezzle are not correct but what I had on hand in the right size.

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[Grit dog]

Spent several hours this afternoon sanding and working on the dash and could tell I was not happy with the results so I just ordered a new one. Even as I was sending it it was getting more cracks in it. Not sure if there was too much flex in the foam or what was going on, but I didn't like how it was looking.

I am going to hang on to this dash just in case I am not happy with the new one, I might source someone to get it recovered. However I had already shopped around to most shops in my area and the only ones who would do it wanted over $500.00 and it was going to be quite a wait time.

After some checking on here and the internet I ended up ordering the new dash from Truck and Car shop in California. Their price was $350.00 plus shipping (80.00 to Indiana). They had them in stock and said it would process today. Ill let you know how the fit is once I get it.

I think you’ll be happy. After hearing all the stories about poor quality and poor fitment I installed mine from The Truck Shop. I had it for all most 2 years before getting the truck interior done.
Fit is slightly different around the end of the dash trim and around the bezel but not noticeable unless comparing OE side by side.

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[Bennyt]

Got a quote from just dashes to have the original in in my '90 CC DRW redone. $1900 + $300 for color + shipping both ways = Roughly $2400 before tax and they are currently 6-7 months out.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Here's my experience with the aftermarket dashes -

1. That giant blob of uerethane is terrible. It's a bad idea that they never should have developed and sold. It's very heavy, and it sags in places it's supposed to be straight.

2. Whatever dash you end up ordering, make sure it has a metal underside just like the factory dash did. I bought an aftermarket dash off Classic Chevy Truck parts, and it's wavy all across the back. No real way of fixing it, without leaving heavy weights on the dash in the summer. And just hoping that it doesn't screw something up. I mean maybe you could get some 1/8" flatstock steel and glue it all across the back of the dash, where the windshield meets the dash. But you'd be better served to avoid all this and just get one that uses metal. Plastic ain't going to work for this task, but of course they tried anyway.

3. That coverlay dash cover seems to work ok, but makes the dash look notably thicker and just... bigger than a stock dash. I'd stay away from it if you don't want your truck to look a bit odd.

I may be wrong about this, but I think that LMC sells a viny dash with a metal underside. It looked that way one a video I saw of someone installing it. I'll probably try that one next after I call and verify it's metal.

 

[84GMCSierra]

I'm getting ready to have my seat and dashpad done. Going with Marine grade vinyl blue "gem" pattern. Then will get my visors done eventually. I will post pics of before, and after. It will be a few weeks though.

 

[Grit dog]

Got a quote from just dashes to have the original in in my '90 CC DRW redone. $1900 + $300 for color + shipping both ways = Roughly $2400 before tax and they are currently 6-7 months out.

Before I roflmafffffo, are you actually considering this option?
I mean, I’ve seen NOS dash pads for $1000 and thought that was laughable.

 

[Bennyt]

Before I roflmafffffo, are you actually considering this option?
I mean, I’ve seen NOS dash pads for $1000 and thought that was laughable.

No, I was pretty shocked. I'm not sure what route I am going to go but I need to figure out soon as I have the interior out to get it ready to go to paint.