HoustonZ Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Thanks for the great response about my dash project. Some of you have requested additional pictures/information, so I've decided to put it all in one place. When I first brought the car from dallas, it was a bit of a mess. The original dash was BAD, with about 8 big cracks going all across the top. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the top of it, only the front. You can see one of the cracks extending down the face, but for the most part it looks great from this angle The first step was to use a razor blade to trim all of the cracks and try to smooth the foam as much as possible. Second, fill the cracks. I used kitty hair type bondo (the green) for all the big gaps and major structural work. This stuff is very strong and sands decently. After that, regular bondo (red) was used to smooth everything out. More bondo, sanding, bondo, sanding, bondo sanding. I definitely wanted to retain the awesome shapes of the original dash, so there was a lot of hand sanding in the corners and contours. At this point, I had a repaired dash, with a major problem. The top was very smooth due to the feathered bondo. The issue was that the original vinyl had a texture to it that was hard to replicate. I tried painting it with a flat black roll on bedliner made by Duplicolor, which turned out horrible. The stuff was thin, it dried way too fast, and still didn't hide the stock texture. What led me to the spray on bedliner was the quest for THICK paint, and after all, what is thicker then that stuff? It's more like spray on rubber. I took my dash to a place off of 59/Dairy Ashford called Star Auto Accessories. The guy there was very helpful, and didn't call me completely crazy :bonk:It was $150 to get the whole thing prepped and sprayed with High Pressure bedliner. This is what I picked up. As you can see, it came out almost perfect. The transition lines between repair and original material are invisible. Most importantly, it will last forever. The inside of the gauge holes did have to be sanded slightly so that I could squeeze them in. During that process I came to realize just how tough this bedliner is... So for $170 and a few days of work, my very unique dash was completed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003z Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 nice job! Its amazing all the ingenuity that abounds on this forum 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Looks nice in the car!!! how much does it weigh? I would almost think you could scrap the steel under frame an just have a shell made of the bed-liner. Definitely much better looking and long lasting than a dash cover! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonZ Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 Possibily, but I'm not that concerned about weight. It only weighs about 5 pounds more then stock. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 Verry nice, would it be possible to go a bit softer on the texture though??? I was researching ways of fixing my old dash and this look's quit "up to code" for me but, I'd like it if the texture could be somewhat more discret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonZ Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 With high pressure bedliner, this is about the smoothest you can get. There is another system that uses a low pressure gun. This has almost no texture, which is probably the look that you're going for. Ask for samples at a shop, and you can see the huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ihatejoefitz Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Verry nice, would it be possible to go a bit softer on the texture though???I was researching ways of fixing my old dash and this look's quit "up to code" for me but, I'd like it if the texture could be somewhat more discret. You may also try some 3m rubberized undercoating that you can get from the auto parts store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Looks great installed--the car cleaned up very nicely Good work! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Nice. Would like to see the passenger's face after an (God forbid)accident though lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuntry Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I know it looks like sandpaper in the pics, but after getting a look at it in person, I must say that I was really impressed with it. It has a nice texture, a little rougher than factory, but smooth enough that you wont scrape knuckles if you brush against it. I had thought about doing this myself a while back, now it is definitely going to happen. Cold Fusion has alot of great ideas rolling around over there... definitely one that thinks outside the box. I think I might have to steal a couple from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b__sosick Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 man that looks great! and durable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Verry nice, would it be possible to go a bit softer on the texture though??? Some of the cheaper, spray can, bed liners are very durable, thinner, and can be used to control texture. When I did my dash, I was able to apply it "wet" for a heavier, but smoother texture, or "dryer" with a finer, thinner texture. I could almost get it down to almost like a 120 grit sandpaper finish if sprayed in the dry mode (spraying if from a longer distance, e.g. 18-24 inches). This was too fine so I also opted for the heavier, but smoother finish as it was easier to clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 It is an awesome idea and great results! It looks a bit shiny for my taste. Maybe it could be sprayed over with a can of matte or flat black to make it look like suede. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Thanks, I sent the request for this and in LESS than TWO days, cold fusion delivered. Thanks man. I do have one question though, what did you do about the glove box door? Is there a huge contrast between the dash and the door? Do you recommend having the glove box done as well? One Thing I would like to add is one final question. Does any one think that the center console would look good done in the way thing to match the dash and glove box door, or would that be too much? I am just trying to make the interior "flow" Thanks for you super quick response cold fusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 And another thing, if in place of smoothing it out by hand, couldn't one do what Mull did with project hugo? He placed a half cap on the dash for the most part permentaly, and then bondo'd the edges down. Would this be a good alternative to filling the cracks? Once you have the cap on and smoothed down, the one could just have it coated with what ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonZ Posted November 8, 2006 Author Share Posted November 8, 2006 Thanks everyone I actually forgot to give the glove box door to the people, so it stayed original. The difference is not very big, if it was I would have it sprayed. The glare is actually minimal in person. The flash of the camera tends to make it look shiny. It's in fact almost matte. Definitely possible, and probably a better approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Hey Cold Fusion, what are your thoughts on coating the console? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonZ Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 I would leave it as is. I don't think it would have the same good look as the Dash when sprayed, but that's just my opinion. Perhaps you should do it and prove me wrong though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoov100 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Some of the cheaper, spray can, bed liners are very durable, thinner, and can be used to control texture. When I did my dash, I was able to apply it "wet" for a heavier, but smoother texture, or "dryer" with a finer, thinner texture. I could almost get it down to almost like a 120 grit sandpaper finish if sprayed in the dry mode (spraying if from a longer distance, e.g. 18-24 inches). This was too fine so I also opted for the heavier, but smoother finish as it was easier to clean. how much you want to make me one of those dahs's?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun40146 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Well I have about 3 dashes and consoles, I'll have to try doing this over the thanksgiving holiday. Thanks for all you help cold fusion. BTW since I will be experimenting to do know of a coating that is cheap I can play with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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