Dash Repair

[cwestra]

Has anyone tried any of the dash repair kits on the market for fixing cracks?  With the high price of replacement and the undesirable feel of the caps I would think more people would be looking at repairs instead.  Does it last as long?  Any help would be appreciated.

[73EStroker]

I had mine repaired by a fellow that does new car dashes at dealer lots. Looked absolutely fabulous when I picked it up. Cost $300CDN to get done. Now over a year later, in the car, radiant heat on above, the dash has a dozen or so cracks even where it was not cracked before  . So the new dash pad I need just got $300 more expensive. What happened is that the black covering gets hard and brittle and any expansion (obvious in my case) under heat causes the cracks. What I would like to do is see if some upholsterer could glue a smoother black vinyl on as the shape of the dash is still excellent. The cracks are very fine and would not be noticed under vinyl.

[quapman]

I have filled very small cracks with black RTV. It also helps to reglue the pad to the core around the speaker hole. Contact cement and a heavy, flat object work well for this. Once done, existing cracks will not be as apt to get bigger.

I'm still afraid of large cracks.


Steve