Are you sure you want to try to restore your own dash pad??

[hsb shadow]

Cut the dash painted and clear coated with a matte finish. It actually looks a lot better than I expected. I was ready to pull the trigger on a replacement dash pad but I think call reconsider since this is an original pad. Either way it was an interesting exercise.

 

[DetMatt1]

Wow! Nice work!

 

[moparlee]

Good job, looks great! Are you ready to take orders?

 

[hsb shadow]

Oh this was a great exercise in owning light body work and interior skills. The car I'm building is fairly high dollar and I don't think I would be happy with the dash. I'm sure someone locally will snap this up since these are hard to come by. I put it in the sun and it has one soft spot

 

[hsb shadow]

Sorry bad voice text. It was supposed to say honing

 

[hdwrench]

i’m not ready to restore my dash pad . to bad this has gotten so difficult to address. my dash pad is very poor . it needs replaced. reading of the many negative experiences from other members here i am reluctant to purchase or have my dash pad serviced by an out or town shop . way to many bad experiences for me . i have been attending the mopar events i can get to without finding a replacement dash . to temporarily address the issue i bought a dash cap which will get me by until i can find a replacement. i don’t have the rally cluster either so that is a possibility also. i can acquire both and switch them out later . the cap don’t look too bad but it’s a little short in a few places so it’s not a perfect repair.

 

[hsb shadow]

I have to agree with you. I have a 73 cuda which I repaired the dash completely and then put a cap on it about 7 years ago and it really looks nice and I almost think I could live with that

 

[hsb shadow]

HD wrench I was just curious which dash cap you bought. I was looking at the Accu form maybe. I don't mind spending the money for a good product but I don't want to get one and then have a problem and not be able to return it

 

[hsb shadow]

To finish up this thread I think that the repair technique would be fine for a few defects. I tried to repair a long segment right below the speaker and I had a total of 20 repairs on that dash. Most are well hidden and blended but it was an interesting experience.

 

[Katfish]

Looks great, I'm tempted to pull my old dash out of the attic and give it a go.
What you've done looks way better than my "recovered" dash that cost me $800.
H*ll, the dash I have with a cap looks better than what I have now.

Just need more details on going from crack to plastic welding.

 

[hsb shadow]

There are a few videos online which show how to do plastic welding and the kits are inexpensive I think you can get them on amazon. A lot of the dash repair videos have you cut a lot of the dash material out and then fill it with home Depot foam and then Bondo. I think the problem is when things get hot everything expands at a different rate and sometimes things show like with the ABS dashes. If you cut out the buckled crack and then you melt plastic in your essentially putting the same material back in and you don't have the expansion problem. My only problem with this was the vinyl was thin and one spot and when it gets hot out in the sun now it sinks a little bit because there's not enough foam under it. Most people would live with it and it wouldn't bother them. When the dash gets cool again it returns to its previous shape in that spot.

 

[hdwrench]

HD wrench I was just curious which dash cap you bought. I was looking at the Accu form maybe. I don't mind spending the money for a good product but I don't want to get one and then have a problem and not be able to return it

it is an accuform , the shipping was too much . i got on there website and got the correct part number . then found the exact cap from them on amazon . shipped free with amazon prime, i think i saved $200 on ship…

 

[hsb shadow]

Can you tell me where the problem areas were on your dash cap. The one on my 73 cuda which I think was accuform seem to fit pretty well. Thanks

 

[hdwrench]

Can you tell me where the problem areas were on your dash cap. The one on my 73 cuda which I think was accuform seem to fit pretty well. Thanks

2 key areas i found was on each end of the cap it doesn’t quite cover the pad , in the corners where the dash meets the door . the factory speaker grill needs work to set flush ( 1 speaker/no air on mine ) . and on the right side where the cap meets the windshield. other tve that it’s darn good . i’m sure after it’s all installed sitting in the drivers seat none of it is visible. actually it’s a pretty good fit and finish… minor problems compared to the old pad ….

 

[hdwrench]

Can you tell me where the problem areas were on your dash cap. The one on my 73 cuda which I think was accuform seem to fit pretty well. Thanks

clarification pics ….

 

[hsb shadow]

Thanks for the info. I think I'm going to go ahead like I was saying and send my dash pad frame in to ABC moparts to get it completely redone

 

[pschlosser]

The dash pad looks really good. But I'm not sure we know how it will stand up to abuse by the Sun, global warming, and UV rays. That may also be said for newly restored dash pads by businesses abroad.

If it was painted, is it rattle-can or 2K paints?

 

[6PKRTSE]

I had re-done my own dash pad as well. Then I had to modify it anyway with giant 7" long slits to run my A pillar bars through the dash for the purists to cringe.

 

[hsb shadow]

I used sem landau black with a matte clear on top. I did rattle paint it. I really wasn't sure I was going to like it for a finished product so I didn't want to invest in 2K paint. I think for occasional use it would have held up just fine. I decided to go ahead and send a second frame I have for replacement foam and vinyl. The quality level of the car I'm restoring is a bit higher than I would have been happy with for this dash

 

[ChallengerGary]

Excellent write up. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully I will start to work on Project Boomerang soon and may use some of your tips/tricks on my dash pad due to budgetary reasons.