I don't think I'd use tape or adhesive. I'd probably use super glue or epoxy to hold it on; anything that dries into a 'rock,' instead of something sticky.

 

thats what i'm thinking.



i'd use upholstery glue.

 

I've gone through two dash pads so far and I thought of using vinyl to cover it... Before I found another pad in a wrecking yard, my plan was to spray both the vinyl and dash pad with contact cement and glue it on like that... Only problems I saw were the spots up near the windshield that are curved.. I was afraid it wouldn't conform to the shape and look like crap... I'd think if you just stuck a piece of vinyl on with double-sided tape, it would look loose and bad unless you had it on really tight somehow.

 

Actually I used adhesive glue, double sided carpet tape, duct tape, and super glue. It didn't turn out to bad, but I am going to redo it because I messed up alittle around the vent. It is hard to get to look nice, but now I know what I have to do. I put some double sided tape on the vinyl and the sprayed everything down with adhesive glue. Then put the vinyl on the dash. I gave the glue some time to set and then I pulled the vinyl over the edges and used the glue and duct tape to secure it underneth. Like I said it came out really good, and tight...you could all the lines of the dash. Just a little wavy around vent, but a new piece of vinyl is only 20 bucks, so I will give that another shot.

It looks 100 percent better than that plastic also...makes we want to wrap it all in vinyl.

 

I'd be interested in seeing pics of how it came out... It's a poor GM design making that pad so thin... I have a 2000 dash and pad I'm going to install and that dash pad is thicker and not as flimsy which is how it should have been originally designed... I thought of coating the back of my 94 dash pad with fiberglass gel so it wouldn't crack again... Never did though.

 

I shoud have taken some pics while it was out of the car, but I didn't think about it. I will take new ones when I cover it again tomorrow. The vent is alittle messy, but now I know how to clean that up, so the pics tomorrow will be much better.

 

It's recommended to use a spray adhesive (in a can) so you can apply it evenly. You're supposed to let it tack for a while so that way when you put the vinyl on you can stretch it out so it will conform to the curves really well and have a professional look.

I've also tried reinfocing my cracked dashpad before, unfortunately it cracked even more when I was trying to finish it up. I ended up venting my frustration by breaking it into a bunch of little pieces and finding one at a junkyard that was in great shape for about 20 bucks.

 

Koby, IMO, that might look a lot "cleaner" if you actually CUT out the existing window defroster vent "slots" from the dash pad. Install the vinyl, and then put like a screen or your own plastic bars going across there on the bottom. It would give it a smoother look and allow you to easily make the vinyl look a lot cleaner in that area. Just an idea

 

this is becoming a very useful thread!

the vinyl is definetely what I plan on doing.

My only problem is that, right now, i dont have anything there to begin with. my dash cracked, and i just ripped the pad all out. im going to get a card board the size of the dash and wrap that sucker in vinyl...

ill take pictures too...

 

The vent doesn't really look that bad...next time I do it I think I am going to cut out the two plastic supports on the top and bottom that secure the grill to the main dash. That way I can wrap the vinyl completely around the dash and not have to cut spaces in it for the grill vents.....Kinda hard to explain, but that is what I want to do. I'll put some pics up when I'm done.

 

and again, how much vinyl did you use? what color? and what did you use to cut it so perfectly?

 

$259



On this site...

 

I used one and half yards of black vinyl, but it wasn't enough to cover the whole thing. I would say that one and three fourths a yard or two yards will cover it all. All I did was trace around the dash leaving a couple inches, that way I could fold it over and glue it down. Then I sprayed the dash with Elmers spray adhesive and let the vinyl sit on it for awhile that way it would bond. After that just start on one side and pull the vinyl tight and start glueing it down. Super glue doesn't work to well here because for some reason It doesn't like to bond with the dash plastic, so hot glue would probably be a better choice.

 

This maybe a stupid question, but did you have the panel in or out of the car when you did this?

 

im wondering if VFN makes any fiberglass dash board pads...Im not interested in the gauge cluster yet...just the pad...

is there any other comopany that makes aftermarket dashes for that matter?