CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
How to repair cracked dash?
- Thread starter wilpetty
- Start date
wilpetty
1/2 ton status
Yeah, the texture of the flex seal helps covering some of the blemished, I am just trying to get it all flat where the bondo is without the pitting. Should only be one more application of bondo, a quick sanding, and then primer and flex seal... Thanks for the guidance so far! Always really useful when you can get tips from someone who has done it before! Will hopefully be done thursday if I have the time
wilpetty
1/2 ton status
Update: I did the dash and it turned out like a 6 out of 10 
The little mouse sander just will not eat through the bondo
I am going to buy my own sander but what to get...It is going to either be the craftsman orbital or the belt sander...I really like the idea of the belt sander. What do you guys think? Motor just blew and I have a week and a half till my brother brings me a new one so I am trying to occupy myself
The little mouse sander just will not eat through the bondo
I am going to buy my own sander but what to get...It is going to either be the craftsman orbital or the belt sander...I really like the idea of the belt sander. What do you guys think? Motor just blew and I have a week and a half till my brother brings me a new one so I am trying to occupy myself
I don't think the belt sander is a good choice for this application. They like flat surfaces and can do some serious gouging if not careful. The orbital would most likely be better, but we need the Godfather (Ryoken) of body work to chime in.
rampage
3/4 ton status
I would use something like a 2x4 about a foot long so it's not all wavy. Coat one side with spray adhesive and stick the sandpaper of your grit choice to it. For curved areas you can wrap the sandpaper around pipe insulation foam. Work the areas in a crosshatch pattern.
wilpetty
1/2 ton status
Would an orbital be much more effective than the regular mouse sander? I really don't want to spend too many hours on a dash
fabjunkie
1/2 ton status
Yes much better
technically, a mouse sander is just a small footprint orbital sander (funny shaped palm sander).. a RANDOM orbital sander is a different sanding pattern, similar to a DA....
belt sanders have no business anywhere near a car, leave that for sanding your dining room floor or similar...
little tip... put your mud on, let it flash off 10 minutes or so, than lightly go over it with 36 grit to just a bit over finish height... rips it down in nothing flat.. tho it'll load the paper up, it's 36 grit and can be tapped/blown clean easy enough, or just go thru a couple pieces... than finish it off when fully dry..
or go get a cheesegrater,
and use it in the same fashion.. couple bucks in the autobody supply isle.... same technique, scratch the bondo with the corner of it, when it's dry enough that it leaves a lighter colored scratch, file it with the cheesegrater to rough in the basic shape...
belt sanders have no business anywhere near a car, leave that for sanding your dining room floor or similar...
little tip... put your mud on, let it flash off 10 minutes or so, than lightly go over it with 36 grit to just a bit over finish height... rips it down in nothing flat.. tho it'll load the paper up, it's 36 grit and can be tapped/blown clean easy enough, or just go thru a couple pieces... than finish it off when fully dry..
or go get a cheesegrater,
and use it in the same fashion.. couple bucks in the autobody supply isle.... same technique, scratch the bondo with the corner of it, when it's dry enough that it leaves a lighter colored scratch, file it with the cheesegrater to rough in the basic shape...
What are you guys doing about the speaker holes? Just filling them in and running door speakers? I guess speaker grills are cheap and instead of the hole grid you could leave a 4" hole and bolt a grill in.
I always wanted to try stripping all the foam and vinyl off, to wrap it with new foam and vinyl for a true padded dash. But I don't have nearly the upholstery skill for something like that. I could swear there was a guy named "Stitch" who was making custom-stitched dash pads for square nose Chevy's. They were beautiful and priced about the same as a new dash pad.
I always wanted to try stripping all the foam and vinyl off, to wrap it with new foam and vinyl for a true padded dash. But I don't have nearly the upholstery skill for something like that. I could swear there was a guy named "Stitch" who was making custom-stitched dash pads for square nose Chevy's. They were beautiful and priced about the same as a new dash pad.
it's my current project too..... need to do some custom metal work first...
bigred88
1/2 ton status
Wilpetty, any pics? Other than Ryoken's craziness?
I'm just thinking about the stuff the dash is made of, and bondo, and the two of those aren't going well together in my mind, so I feel like I'm missing something. I'm probably not, but I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around this without a few pics.
Oh, and
. Now you have me thinking "ooh, I should do that!" Dammit, I have enough stuff going on already! Sounds like a cool project though.
I'm just thinking about the stuff the dash is made of, and bondo, and the two of those aren't going well together in my mind, so I feel like I'm missing something. I'm probably not, but I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around this without a few pics.
Oh, and
. Now you have me thinking "ooh, I should do that!" Dammit, I have enough stuff going on already! Sounds like a cool project though.
wilpetty
1/2 ton status
This should take you to page 19 of warwgn's build thread. He is where I got the idea and what I can see he did a perfect job on it. Now i know the trick is to get the bondo as flat as you can before it hardens. I would much rather have too much than have to sand down through a small mound...It takes forever. Anyways, this is how it should be done and how it should look. ENJOY
LINKYhttp://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268551&highlight=warwgn+dash&page=19
LINKYhttp://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268551&highlight=warwgn+dash&page=19
bigred88
1/2 ton status
Well now I'm just going to have to go check out my dash. Warwgn's work looks really good! Is there a metal base in the dash? A couple of the pics made it look that way. I've had it off before, but it's been 4 years or so...
Thanks for the link!
Thanks for the link!
be aware...
your initial thought of bondo not necessarily be the correct material for the repair is somewhat correct.... your filling cracks in foam and vinyl with something that dries very hard.. anytime you combine different materials and hardness, you may end up with issues down the road.. especially with a dash that gets baked in the sun...
cracking, separation, etc may happen...
making things look good for a couple weeks is one thing, making it so it looks good a couple yrs later are often 2 different things...
it's not a guarantee to happen, but the percentage does goes up.. but unless your filling the foam crack with similar, and recovering all the vinyl, it's often the best "gamble"...
and yes, my pic is of the metal underlay...
your initial thought of bondo not necessarily be the correct material for the repair is somewhat correct.... your filling cracks in foam and vinyl with something that dries very hard.. anytime you combine different materials and hardness, you may end up with issues down the road.. especially with a dash that gets baked in the sun...
cracking, separation, etc may happen... making things look good for a couple weeks is one thing, making it so it looks good a couple yrs later are often 2 different things...
it's not a guarantee to happen, but the percentage does goes up.. but unless your filling the foam crack with similar, and recovering all the vinyl, it's often the best "gamble"...
and yes, my pic is of the metal underlay...
wilpetty
1/2 ton status
I didnt use foam like he did, I just filled it in with bondo. Very good info to know though. I like the idea of recovering it with vinyl though 
recovering in vinyl is tough to do on these dashs, lot's of compound angles... it could be done tho....
I'll be working on mine tomorrow... fair amount of metal work first tho... but I'll be doing glass over shaped foam on mine more than likely...
I'll be working on mine tomorrow... fair amount of metal work first tho... but I'll be doing glass over shaped foam on mine more than likely...
rompinstompinmudmonkey
1/2 ton status
I'm going to try stripping a spare dash down to the bare metal, recovering it with some 1/2" foam, then seeing if I can wrap it in some soft leather. If it turns out how I have planned, it should be pretty bitchin!!!
wilpetty
1/2 ton status
RYOKEN I can't wait to see what you pull off this time. As for me, I am just going to sand back down and try to fix what I got as best I can for right now
Almost shed a tear when I jumped in the truck after work. Apparently my 27 year old dash decided to crack sometime during the day 
. Glad there is hope. Just one more project to add to "The List"
. Glad there is hope. Just one more project to add to "The List"
