Replicating orginial green dash pad

[TotalChevy1]

I'm hoping someone else has had this challenge. I'm in the process of redoing the interior and I'm going with a completely stock interior. The problem I'm having is I've bought a couple different dash pads from vendors and they are not the same color as the factor pad. The factor pad has more of a olive tint and is lighter. Has anyone been able to location a pad that is the same color as factor or has been able to duplicate it? If someone has been able to duplicate if you could give me the specifics......I thought the pad would be the easiest part to replace.....

Thanks,

[LockDoc]

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Are you sure your pad isn't faded? I haven't seen too many of them that weren't unless they spent their whole life in a garage..... Just a thought.

LockDoc

[TotalChevy1]

The top part didn't fade but turned into dark ? . The bottom of the pad towards the inside of the cab looks fine. It actually matches the door panels and a/c vents perfect. But I can't seem to locate a pad that matches. One of the members has the color on his truck- John H. I'm trying to avoid painting, but someone else may have found a solution.

[tcb-1]

yep, I'm having that trouble too. I think all we can do is find the correct vinyl paint. wish my interior would have been basic black.....

[72freak]

Originally Posted by tcb-1

yep, I'm having that trouble too. I think all we can do is find the correct vinyl paint. wish my interior would have been basic black.....

Yep........go to your paint store and have them shoot the area on yours you want to match. They will mix you some vinyl paint and off you go. I did it 2 weeks ago on a blazer.

[cruiserman]

Use a black pad.

[tcb-1]

black pads look like crap in there imho. I've tried it, no thanks......

[cdowns]

you can get a beige or tan pad// go to an auto paint supplier and they can mix you a can of original color vinal dye then just spray the door panels and dash pad and everything should match

[TotalChevy1]

Originally Posted by cdowns

you can get a beige or tan pad// go to an auto paint supplier and they can mix you a can of original color vinal dye then just spray the door panels and dash pad and everything should match

That's one of the options I'm considering... why a beige or tan pad ? Is it easier to see light spots or ?

Thanks

[tcb-1]

Originally Posted by TotalChevy1

That's one of the options I'm considering... why a beige or tan pad ? Is it easier to see light spots or ?

Thanks

going with a lighter pad will allow you to more control the color. the darker you want it, the more coats.

if you start with a black pad, it would be difficult to produce a lighter hue of green.

hope I made sense??

[TotalChevy1]

I've been trying to avoid using vinyl paint....I,m not a painter...more like a runner....plus it still may not fix the problem. A local shop said they can match vinyl paint but it's not cheap. I have to think someone else makes a exact or sells oem dashes.

[BurnoutNova]

the steering wheel and column color look more like the lighter medium green to me. never seen the olive and medium greens combined, interesting.

[vette442]

I have no idea where the prior owner of my truck got this one but it has some of the olive shading to it. I plan to pull this one in the next few months and replace it with a black pad, which is what the Highanders are supposed to have in them.



Terry

[TotalChevy1]

Thanks for all the help, looks like me best solution is to paint to get the match I want. When it comes to using vinyl paint is there any pointer when comes to spraying. several coats with dry time in between or several coats with little dry time or ? Thanks

[67_C-30]

Since you don't want a glossy finish on the dash pad, the best way is to hold the gun about 12 - 14 way from the pad and kinda fog it instead of laying the paint down heavy. You can do this as many times as you need to until the light spots are gone. I usually wait 5 mins or so between each coat. I see cars and trucks and car shows that someone layed the paint down so thick that it almost does away with the grain of the vinyl. That looks likes crap, and you want to avoid that. Another plus about dying one of these dashs is that the pad is not touched very often. Parts such as door panels , kick panels (in cars mostly) and armrests tend to have the dye wear off over time because there is constant contact with. You really only touch the pads when you clean them in these trucks, so there is no real fear of the dye wearing off.

[factorystock]

We still do not have every color of dashpads, steering wheels, arm rests, and seat fabrics from the aftermarket suppliers.Hopefully in the future they will add these, since many of use want to be as authentic as possible.