Re: About those padded dashes......

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2010/5/17 10:01:17

Just to repeat what I said previously, you can do a credible job yourself if you're not looking for absolute perfection and if the vinyl skin is in good condition. Myself and others I know have done the same thing with good results. Does it look as good as a $1000 new dash? No, but depending on how fussy and patient you are, it can look very good indeed.

I put the top down to let the sun beat on the vinyl skin for a few hours (you could use a heat gun for a closed car). Removed the lower inside windshield trim and pulled the vinyl skin back carefully, letting it just hang from the front edge. Cleaned all the old residue and solvent-cleaned the metal panel. I purchased adhesive-backed closed cell polyurethane sheet padding in a couple of thicknesses and durometers from MSC and cut a new pad, put it in place adhesive side down, and then did a bit of fussing with extra pieces for the corners where the little "dip" is. You'll need to chamfer the edges on extra pieces and fuss a bit here and there. Then just pull the vinyl skin back and refasten. No magic, just fussy work. Sorry, I don't remember the thickness I purchased for the main pad, nor the durometer selected.