How To Repair Chip Dashboard

When restoring older cars, it is often too expensive to replace a croaky dashboard. And, that is assuming a new nuance board is available. In cases where new parts are too expensive, too hard to find, or impossible to find, you will need to restore what is already there. The padded dashboard on this 1971 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser is a skilful example.

Footstep one

As yous can encounter, this dashboard has a hole that needs to exist repaired. Most one-time cars and some new cars have dashboards made from vinyl over urethane cream. Over time in the dominicus, the vinyl gets brittle and the dash board gets cracks. Many newer dashboard don't have any cream at all. Instead, they are made from injection molded TPO or ABS. But, these dashboards tin likewise get croaky or become holes from exposure to the dominicus.

Stride 2

Use 80 grit or 180 dust sandpaper to bevel into the damage. Make sure that you sand out any dried-out and crusty foam, too.

Stride iii

Melt some of the polyurethane welding rod into the void that was created when you sanded out the crusty, stale out foam. The urethane rod is very flexible and closely simulates the urethane foam. Turn the temperature all of the way up and the melted rod come up out bubbly. Some of the bubbles remain encapsulated within the polyurethane and simulates the foam even more. Overfill the hole slighly. Y'all will be sanding information technology down and it is better to overfill slightly than having to find out that yous demand to cook more polyurethane rod into the hole subsequently you have sanded it. Of import NOTE:If you take one of the newer dashboards that don't have any foam, you may skip this step.

Step 4

This is what it looks similar later filling the pigsty.

Step 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 you sand, it may just stretch back and forth rather than getting ground away. A skillful mode to prevent the back-and-forth stretching is to put your pollex on top of the sandpaper over the expanse that you need to sand. And so, pull the sandpaper while maintaining downward pressure with your pollex over the urethane.

Pace 6

This is what the damaged area looks like after the urethane welding rod was sanded down.

Pace 7

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

Footstep eight

Allow fourth dimension for the Padded Nuance Filler to cure. Sand it polish starting with 180 dust sandpaper so 320 grit sand paper.

Footstep 9

This is how information technology looks subsequently sanding smoothen the Padded Dash Filler.

Step 10

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

Footstep 11

Sometimes, the Flextex may get picayune "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 grade, Flextex is black. If your dashboard is blackness, you are finished. If not, you are going to need to put a glaze of pigment over the pinnacle of the Flextex.