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How to repair cracked dash?

wilpetty

wilpetty

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I saw a thread that got my attention and it was how to repair a cracked dash, but after a while of searching I could not find a thread that shows the exact steps to do so and why we are using what we are using....
Here is what I have...
Remove dash
Spray expanding foam to fill cracks
sand
put a coat of resin (what does this do exactly?)
sand
Put on bondo fiberglass fill (what does this do?)
sand
make sure it is all even then add last layer (as for me it will be the rustoleum flex seal stuff.
Please correct/add/explain these steps.
I am tring to do this with the least amount of cost possible and I'm about to head to walmart in a couple hours so help me out please! thanks guys:pimp:
 
Ok, I filled my cracks in with expandafoam. Sanded them smooth and then sanded them down a bit to make a sort of groove outa the cracks. Then I used (green) long cut fiber reinforced bondo and coated the entire dash panel. Then I sanded smooth and painted it. Simple in my case
 
Okay this sounds a lot better and easier to do. I probably have 5-8 cracks in the dash but they aren't too bad...Maybe half an inch wide. I am going to get the expanding foam and the long strand fiberglass filler bondo, and the flex seal stuff for the top coat...Seems like a fairly easy and cheap upgrade...Much better than buying a $400 dollar dash!
 
The trick is to take a 4" angle grinder and " grind" away the material in and around the crack. I took the crack itself down to the base then angled up and out on each side about a 1/4 to a half inch.

I would just skip the foam it is way to porus and spongy I sanded most of it all back off and would not use it again. The flex seal is awesome, it really lools like the origonal texture.

Good luck
 
I only have access to one of those mouse sanders but I will find a way to get it all down...So as of now the list is just the bondo and the flex seal..BTW warwgn, I saw what you did earlier as an influence to doing this:D
 
Glad it helps, it was an experiment that worked out well so far. I looked at it just like regular body work, but by using the flex seal you can skip the glazing putty, just make it 320 grit smooth and flat.
 
You know to be honest I would like to do another one and use felt and fiberglass resin, then sand and paint, and flex seal it.
 
Ahhh, I knew I forgot something in my steps. After I did the expandafoam I used fiberglass cloth strip things and resin, then did the fiber/bondo. So far its worked pretty well, I didnt get all Chip Foose on it or anything, but it looks good enough for me. The fiber strips and resin is strong stuff though, works great.
 
So should I use anything else other than bondo and flex seal? What does the resin do? Is it necessary?
 
If you use regular old grey bondo, it will crack. The fiber reinforced green kind (not sure if its all green, but the stuff I got was) will take hits and heat better, like tossing phones up on the dash like I do.
 
I got the actual TV brand flex seal rather than the rustoleum one that warwgn used...Wondering if I am going to get the same texture...Going to try it out on cardboard first to see how I like it

EDIT: used it on cardboard and I like the texture...It isn't too "rubbery" and it similar to the other stuff so I am going for it...This project will be started sunday and I will post it here and in my build just for peoples reference
 
Rip it out and buy a DIY dash :D. Your welcome Kert.
 
love his dash and it would be great, but I am broke...so anything I can DIY and save a few bucks I am down to do!
 
Yes it is...Only difference I see is glass-short strands of fiber and hair- long strands of fiber...Will get updates soon on how it all works!
 
Update: So started the little project today...
Taking dash off took 10 min...Very happy:D
Bondo is really easy to use and so far looks like it is going to work

What I did today:
removed dash
removed all vents and trim on dash
scuffed up dash
applied bondo

What is left:
sand bondo
possibly reapply bondo and sand again...
paint
reinstall
So Far this is a relatively easy and cheap project, so anyone who hasn't tried it, I recommend you do it. It is easy:thumb:
 
Finally worked on dash tonight! sanded down all of the bondo I slapped on a few days ago...The stuff likes to make little craters while I am sanding, some parts are really flat and smooth though. Put it in primer but I am going to have to add more bondo and sand down to get the bumpy parts all smoothed out. I'm a fan of getting it right the first time (as most of us on here are). Well pics soon to come and Thursday I might be done with it. This is a lot of work for a dash:whistle:
 
Oopps did I forget to mention that it was a lot of elbow grease?
 
Umm yeah:eek1: did 2-3 hours sanding and did a C job lol...also I am using a mouse sander...I am thinking that if I get it all flat with no pitts in the bondo, then I should go with a really fine sandpaper and finish it by hand. What do you recommend?
 
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