Hey guys. On to my next project on my 84, the cracks in the dash. Been looking on E-bay for solutions and I am not sure exactly what to do. There are the new or used dash's anywhere from $200.00 to $450.00, (but wont they just crack again?), or the dash cap, $100 to $150(How well do they work), or do you just spend $35.00 to $50.00 beans on a cover. Suggestions and input would be much appreciated,especially if you have done one or the other and you tellwhat you think about it.

 

I spent alot of money and bought a good used dash with no cracks that came out of a low mileage vette. I installed the dash last Sunday and to my surprise I noticed a small 1/2 inch crack yesterday. Now i'm going to have to find a way to prevent the crack from spreading.

In my opinion I don't advise you buy a new of used dash unless you live in a really cold area that almost never sees sun. Otherwise you'll just get disapointed when you see a crack start to develop.I would recommend the molded plastic cover but I don't know how it will look once it is installed. You could also try to sand the cracks smooth, fill them in with some kind of filler and then recover them with some vinyl. However, it is a lot of work and there is no guaranteee that the crack wont form again. Just my .02.

 

I had an upholstry shop recover mine with vinyl where he just stiched some little end caps in and it looks just peachy.

 

Any one tried on of those caps? I am really curious how they turn out.

 

It looks just like a cap, kinda cheesey. They are made of plastic.

 

Im not trying to be pushy or anything, I just think if your going to do something do it right the first time. Trying to go out the cheap way is wrong....If you can buy straight new stuff....Also you should invest in a windshield visor to keep the sun out of your interior.

 

I agree about the ABS plastic covers for any dash. the C4 dash would be relitively cheap to have a vinyl or even leather cover sewn up.....Hmmmm.....My wife used to do Boat interriors and her brother has three double needle sewing machines.......sounds like a money maker to me. God I love this place. ........Honeyyyyy???

 

Blue shark I think you are on to something. I think I might try the leather sew on or glue or something. that way you know it won't crack again like the original vinyl covers. I am going to give it a try. Thanks for the ideas!!!!

 

I did a jeep dash pad with the vinyl liquid repair kit. I had no problem matching the color (black); the problem was texture. Here's what I did:

Spray some silicone onto an intact area of the pad.
Melt a candle onto the silicone area. It give you a texture template, and the silicone stops the wax from sticking.
Mix and apply the repair formula to slight excess. Apply your template to the repair, and add a weight - carefully -to not create contours.

If your cracks are curled up at the edges, or if the crack itself is AT the dash edge, it's tricky, and you might have to do two or more applications. Otherwise, your only challenge will be color matchup.