I took the panel out to recover it. Not all that hard, only took about an hour to do.

 

the thing is, i threw mine away after it broke into pieces, and im thinking that i might make a cardboard backing, duck tape the hell out of it, and then wrap that bad boy...any thoughts?

 

It'll probably work but I bet you'll have a really hard time trying to make that thing look right. If you run the "grain" of the cardboard lengthwise across the dash it might take enough of a curve that it won't buckle. It'll certainly be better than nothing. I drove around for several months without a dashpad before I finally picked one up for cheap.

 

3 options total

1. Get a new plastic dash pad $150

2. Cover it in vinyl or leather. Take it out, sand it down with 60 grit, get the vinyl or leather cut out (very large piece) then, use either spray glue like 3m (ghetto way) or get the good glue and use an actual paint spray gun (cheap harbor freight one will do) and lay the glue on it, but DO NOT cut out the vents just because it will look like a$$. That was how my last interior was done, all leather, every panel in the car.

3. Paint it. This is how I am doing the latest one. Sand it down and fill it in with filling primer, then sand smooth with guide coat etc, then paint. Then clear. Looks sweet. No rattle cans here, baby. Next is custom painted flame graphics, and more clear on certain panels.

 

I am trying to sell my vert and I got an extra dash pad. Let me know what the going price is and we can work something out if you want it.

 

I won't steal it from DontMixWithRice , but if he doesn't want it - I might be interested. What year is the vert?

 

thanks scott...i appreciate it...your a gentlemen.

im definetely interested...pm me with more details.

 

No prob. We all share a common interest here.

 

lol!

true...

"The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection" ---thats my problem!

 

That is the coolest site evah.

 

I got a 95 vert but the dash pad is from a 96 coupe

 

I'm recovering my dash now, I'll some pictures tomorrow when it is done. It is already looking better than before. The bad part though is when I took it out the second time the crack became much bigger, so the back side of the dash looks horrible since I had to reinforce it.

 

The absolute best product to use on your dash is a product called Fibertron.It works on just about any finnish. Google your area for a company that uses it for boats and car stereo installs.It's very easy to apply and come in 100s of colours. An epoxy is applied to your dack then a fiber is electrostaticy applied to the epoxy leaving an incredibly smooth finnish thats extreemly durable.It's used quite a bit on boat decks to make them non slip.

http://65.39.129.167/Fibertron.html

 

following up on my old thread.

im still in the market, and have decided that its best to bite teh ugly bullet and buy a carpet dash.

anybody have pics of it installed?

 

I also reupholstered the dash pad in my 93, it was cracked beyond recognition shortly after I got it. I'll go take some pictures really quick to show you how the results came out.


Somewhat full shot of the dash

Dark close up of vent

Ok, I cut out the grid on the defrost vent and replaced it with gutter guard from your local home improvement store. It is secured in place with crushed velvet soaked in fiberglass resin. (I ran out of 'glass mat, what are you gonna do, sue me?) As far as adhering the vinyl to your dash, the best way to go is Weldwood contact cement (red can) and a paint gun. If you can't do that, bone up about 10 bucks for a can of some GOOD spray adhesive. Spray the dash and the fabric and let it sit for a minute or two before laying it down and smoothing out. If you don't screw up too bad, your job won't look like crap.
There ya go, first picture was with flash, second without but it's just a close up of the defrost vent. As far as the defrost vent goes, don't be a dumbass like me and forget to tuck the vinyl before you fiberglass the mesh behind it. Do that step first and you'll have one sweet looking dash. I'll probably be taking it back out and scratching my head for a while to try and figure out how to fix my mistake. I've also got to cover the dash in my 97...laaaame.