Quote:
Originally posted by 82 Silverado 4X
My truck is just a work truck but I am constantly doing little things to try to improve it's appearance. I just finished repairing and refinishing my dash pad a few months ago. My dash was in terrible condition with about 10 large cracks that were opened up from 1/8"- 3/8" with the edges of the cracks curled up. The vinyl and the foam was totally gone in the 3 speaker areas.
Here is what I did to repair the pad and totally eliminate the center speaker hole:
1. After removing the dashpad from the truck I used a die grinder to remove the loose foam and to widen the cracks until the raised edges were flush.
2. I filled the cracks with spray foam expanding insulation and let it cure over night.
3. I used a hacksaw blade to cut the spray foam flush with the edges of the original vinyl. Some spots needed an extra shot of spray foam to be brought up to the right level. I then sanded it with 80 grit sand paper to get the foam slightly below the vinyl.
4. Next I mixed up some Plastic Bumper Epoxy to fill the repaired areas slightly higher than the vinyl and let it cure. This is a flexible epoxy for repaing cracked bumper covers on newer cars.
5. I sanded the epoxy flush and feathered it into the vinyl.
6. I wiped it all down with laquer thinner to clean and soften everything then I used paintable rubberized spray undercoating keeping the nozzle back a few feet I create a textured finish and allowed it to cure for two days.
7. I then sprayed it with beige interior spray to match my door panels and allowed it to dry over night.
8. The next day I put on two coats of clear semigloss urethane enamel to protect the paint and dull the finish and allowed it to dry overnight before I reinstalled the dash pad.
Total cost was $35.00. So far this summer it has held up well with none of the cracks coming back. This winter will give it the real test.
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I'm trying this right now, and I must say it appears to be working great!
I just have to do a little more smoothing and filling, but the dash is allready 1000x times better than it was before (my dash was horribly destoryed) I've even filled in my speaker holes, and am either going to redrill all the holes, or cut larger holes and make grilles for the speakers, but I must say
THANKS for the great tip!