Dash Recovering

[lro11]

Has anyone used Dashboard restorations in Bribane? Do they do good work or is there someone else that I should talk to?
Dashboard Restorations - Restores most types of dashboards to their original condition (http://www.dashboardrestorations.com.au)

[The ho har's]

I did read a thread last week about this very subject..

I pulled out mine last weekend as it is cracked and was wondering what to do:) thanks for the link;)

maybe try search:D

Mrs ho har:angel:

[stage1slave]

Do it yoursellllllf!. I've redone a few now. Is easy! Best thing I have ever found is the padded vynil off of the old style hard sided waterbeds. One I redid over 10 yrs ago is still like new! Possibly a little harder to source nowadays however. I have recently done one with marine grade vynil and it has done the job well too, albeit a little harder to work with.

cheers
Evelyn

[lro11]

DIY is not an option. I need to be sure dashboard restorations are going to do a good job, anyone who knows me or has seen my work knows how much trouble I have gone to.

[JohnR]

Not sure what he is like, I tend to recomend Dash revivals at Jimboomba. I get a lot of good reports. There is also a guy in Melbourne that does a good job but he has a 3 month wait list at the moment.

Cheers,

[TJWA]

Hey Iro11, how did your dashboard restoration go? I've had one of mine done with carpet, but I'dlike to get the other done the same as the original.

[clubagreenie]

The vinyl you need is two way stretch. so it will form compound curves better. The best suggestion (shudder) is find out who does the best custom audio work in the city or as far away as you'll travel or if you can send. The ones who do it well are extraordinary.

[lro11]

Hi TJWA, Sorry for the late reply I have been in the UK for a while and only just read the post. Here are some pics, I think they turned out quite good.
BTW the top crash pad is NOS.

[TJWA]

Oh nice, where did you get the NOS from? You ended up using Dashboard restorations in Brisbane?

[lro11]

The top came from British off road and dashboard restorations did the bottom

[LWB123]

Hi TJWA, Sorry for the late reply I have been in the UK for a while and only just read the post. Here are some pics, I think they turned out quite good.
BTW the top crash pad is NOS.

Hello - also from Brisbane.

You dash looks pretty good.

Can you tell me how you went about getting it that way?

Cheers,

[lro11]

Well the top pad was easy just unwrap the plastic and admire. The bottom was quite hard because I had to find a bottom pad that the steelwork wasn't rusty once that was done it was just a case of recovering.

[The ho har's]

We ended up doing 'zara's' ourselves, the top that is, can find pics if interested;) or look up the build thread;)

Oh and there might be a good dash out in my paddock:whistling:

Mrs hh:angel:

[LWB123]

We ended up doing 'zara's' ourselves, the top that is, can find pics if interested;) or look up the build thread;)

Oh and there might be a good dash out in my paddock:whistling:

Mrs hh:angel:

Thanks.

The top of my dash is reasonably good - no cracks and not too warped. Just needs cleaning up.

The bottom facia had a hole cut out for a radio at some time which makes it look a bit untidy. I am keen to replace it with an intact one.

Cheers,

[clubagreenie]

Has someone got a picture of an unwrapped top? Not having seen one I can't get a scope on how much foam is under there. I've only "seen through the cracks". It looks like a lot of hard foam under a hard moulded plastic cover. It's easy to layer different foams a shave/sand/sculpt to shape and vaccum form the vinyl coveering. Just need pics, and a donor dash.

[captain_funbeard]

Has someone got a picture of an unwrapped top? Not having seen one I can't get a scope on how much foam is under there. I've only "seen through the cracks". It looks like a lot of hard foam under a hard moulded plastic cover. It's easy to layer different foams a shave/sand/sculpt to shape and vaccum form the vinyl coveering. Just need pics, and a donor dash.

Here's a couple of pics of my dash top during recovering.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/11/543.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/11/544.jpg

The top dash part ended up being surprisingly more difficult to cover than the bottom part. While you can just strip all the old foam off the lower dash and replace it with closed cell foam stretched to fit, the upper dash needed MUCH more work to get smooth. As i was using 2 way stretch marine grade vinyl from a local foam/ rubber supplier, the mounting surface has to be completely smooth if you are to use spray adhesive. The vinyl shows up every little imperfection really well. The problem is: when you remove the old vinyl, the original smooth surface of foam underneath is completely destroyed. The only way I could restore this surface was to painstakingly apply expanding foam in small quantities and sand back, reapply and sand back. Did this a few times. It was hell... The stuff gets EVERYWHERE! It doesn't give a smooth surface either, kinda bubbly and rough, so i applied a skimming filler coat over the top (off the shelf at Bunnings or paint suppliers) and sanded that back glossy smooth.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/11/545.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/11/546.jpg

You only get one chance to cover it right though. If you don't get the vinyl laid down and stretched right the first time, removing it to try again lifts up the fill layer in places and ruins the perfect finish. It's a job you need a lot of patience for (in my opinion).
Vacuum forming or covering might be more effective, never done it, don't know. The only thing i would think to consider are the concave curves on the underside of the dash that need to be adhered to stay in place.

Results were pretty good, for more info have a look at my thread:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/remlr-projects/136812-series-111-gs-cargo.html

Hope this info is of some help to anyone about to attempt this job :)

[clubagreenie]

The secret to replacing that foam is to remove completely and replace with floral foam. That stuff is the ****, can be cut, sanded, glued, filled and bogged over. Secret to getting a smooth finish on slightly imperfect stuff is to use the thin foam they use as underlay on "floating" floorboards. Can be purchased at bunnings but Ikea has it cheaper and in bigger (wider) rolls. It's white and about 2mm thick. Fairly dense so it covers holes but gives enough over bumps. Doesn't dissolve in glues either.

[chazza]

So is floral foam purchased from a florist?

What is a good vinyl to use?

Cheers Charlie

[clubagreenie]

Search for florist suppliers, comes in a variety of lengths/sizes. As long as the vinyl is 2 way stretch it's ok. Buy from an upholsterer.

[korg20000bc]

Floral foam is called "oasis" as it holds water very well. But it is really soft and would dent really easily.
Maybe it could be impregnated with PVA glue after it has been shaped..?

[clubagreenie]

Doesn't seem to absorb PVA glue that well. Gluing it together (to make fiberglass molds/plugs) it would come apart quite easily. The glue was dried like a film on the surface. Contact adhesive is the way to go.

[korg20000bc]

Yep.
I was meaning to use the PVA to give the oasis some structure. If you wanted to get it to soak in you'd need to mix with water and detergent.

[clubagreenie]

What does the detergent do for it? I've used PVA for fibreglass release before but only because it washes out in water.

[korg20000bc]

Detergent lowers the surface tension of the glue and it will be absorbed into all the nooks and crannies of the oasis rather than just sitting on the surface.