How To Repair A Small Crack In Your Dashboard

When restoring older cars, it is oft too expensive to supplant a cracked dashboard. And, that is assuming a new dash lath is bachelor. In cases where new parts are as well expensive, too difficult to discover, or impossible to detect, you will need to restore what is already at that place. The padded dashboard on this 1971 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser is a good example.

Step i

As yous can see, this dashboard has a pigsty that needs to be repaired. Most erstwhile cars and some new cars have dashboards made from vinyl over urethane foam. Over fourth dimension in the sun, the vinyl gets brittle and the dash board gets cracks. Many newer dashboard don't have whatsoever foam at all. Instead, they are made from injection molded TPO or ABS. But, these dashboards tin also get croaky or get holes from exposure to the sun.

Stride 2

Utilise fourscore grit or 180 dust sandpaper to bevel into the harm. Make sure that you sand out any dried-out and crusty foam, also.

Step iii

Melt some of the polyurethane welding rod into the void that was created when you lot sanded out the crusty, stale out foam. The urethane rod is very flexible and closely simulates the urethane cream. Turn the temperature all of the fashion up and the melted rod come out bubbly. Some of the bubbles remain encapsulated inside the polyurethane and simulates the cream even more. Overfill the hole slighly. Yous will exist sanding it down and it is meliorate to overfill slightly than having to notice out that yous demand to melt more than polyurethane rod into the pigsty subsequently you have sanded it. Of import NOTE:If you lot have i of the newer dashboards that don't have any cream, you may skip this stride.

Step four

This is what it looks like later filling the hole.

Stride 5

Use 80 grit sandpaper to sand the urethane level with the surrounding area. The urethane is very stretchy and elastic so, if you use really short strokes when yous sand, information technology may just stretch back and forth rather than getting ground abroad. A good way to forestall the back-and-forth stretching is to put your thumb on elevation of the sandpaper over the area that you need to sand. Then, pull the sandpaper while maintaining downward pressure with your thumb over the urethane.

Step half-dozen

This is what the damaged expanse looks like later the urethane welding rod was sanded downward.

Step 7

Mix some Padded Dash Filler with the cream hardener according to the instructions. Use a spreader to apply the Padded Nuance Filler to the damaged area.

Step eight

Allow time for the Padded Dash Filler to cure. Sand it smooth starting with 180 grit sandpaper and so 320 grit sand newspaper.

Step 9

This is how it looks after sanding smooth the Padded Dash Filler.

Step 10

Spray on Flextex VT. You may want to spray the texture coating on something else first. You volition get different size texture depending on your spray gun settings and how much you reduce (dilute) the Flextex with lacquer thinner.

Footstep eleven

Sometimes, the Flextex may get little "nibs" on it that can easily be knocked off by lightly scuffing the surface with a scuff pad.

Step 12

This is what it looks like. Of class, Flextex is blackness. If your dashboard is black, you are finished. If not, you are going to demand to put a coat of pigment over the top of the Flextex.