A dash cover restoration

[74 Shortbed]

Why the Bondo?, will the foam not come out smooth enough??..

 

[CRM]

The foam was next to impossible to sand level because of the holes made by air bubbles, and some of the foam would sand down faster than other parts so I couldn't get a nice smooth, level surface. I was about half done sanding the bondo when the dash pad fell off the work bench. Now I have 3 more cracks to deal with. Got so disgusted I decided to strip my other dash pad down to metal and wear down some of my anger and frustration. I was amazed at how poor the quality of the metal is. Granted it was made almost 50 years ago, but I found two of the edges were cut with what looked like tin snips, and buckling in nearly every corner. I guess they figured the foam and vinyl would cover it. I can see that when I buy foam to recover it I'm going to have to buy fairly rigid foam or the imperfections will show thru.

 

[74 Shortbed]

Ok gotcha, thought maybe you'd keep laying foam until the holes were all filled, but I guess Bondo works too....

Yeah, I stripped one of mine down to metal, not exactly what you'd expect..

 

[CRM]

Art, did you use a stiffer foam when you rebuilt it?

 

[74 Shortbed]

I haven't rebuild it yet and never done one, been looking around to get ideas on the best way to do it, that's why I was glad when you decided to do two of them in different ways..

 

[CRM]

I've been sanding down the bondo but the dash pad can't flex much before the cracks start. While I'm working with it I'm going to start looking for the right sheet foam to use on the bare metal dash. I did look at other products to use besides bondo. One that looks promising is a product called Padded Dash Filler by a company called Urethane Supply Company. If the bondo just doesn't work I might try it instead.

 

[74 Shortbed]

I thought about the Bondo not flexing and what it would do, but I hear people using it with success too so I don't know, I heard about that Padded Dash Filler but haven't seen any reviews on it yet??..

 

[CRM]

Bondo will work on this restoration because I'm gluing down vinyl over it. If I was going to paint it, it wouldn't last long before cracks started showing up.

 

[74 Shortbed]

Ok gotcha, I was thinking how long it would last with paint, shouldn't matter covered with vinyl..

 

[CRM]

The vinyl is going on.

 

[CRM]

This picture is after I slid the cover over the dash. I wanted to be able to stretch the vinyl tight and I couldn't when it was sitting on the floor. I glued it down to all the flat horizontal areas here. I'm going to let it sit for a while before I start attacking the corners where I have to use the heat gun.

 

[CRM]

An air bubble. I'll take a small needle later on and get the air out. I've also noticed that every spot that had the new expanding foam exposed thru the bondo showed a little raising. It's too subtle to see in a picture. I have a dash protector pad coming which will hide all the little imperfections. The spot I was most worried about was the speaker hole that had all the bondo in it. You can't even tell where it is under the vinyl. I had to run my hand over the area to find it. If I were to repair a dash like this again I'd sand the foam down below the edge of the old vinyl so I could use a little more bondo and make sure no foam is exposed. I also learned that contact cement has to be applied very thin. It drys faster and holds a lot better than when more is applied. I had a hard time trying to get the vinyl to stick in the little corner that runs the length of the cover at the front nearest the windshield. I finally decided to glue it to the under side of the cover and slid the vinyl under the mounting clips to help it hold better. Once I installed it on the dash I realized you can't even see it so I'll just leave it.

 

[74 Shortbed]

That's coming out good..

 

[CRM]

Finished the dash today. There were some minor mistakes but the new dash pad I have coming will cover them.

 

[CRM]

Another view