I removed mine today cause it's cracked in to. I think I'll try and cover it with vinyl. Anyone ever try this?

 

Seems like a good idea. I have a friend who does paint and body and would have done that for me, but I just bought a dash mat to slap in after I clean the plastic shards off.

I was NOT considering replacing my cracked-to-hell upper dash with a factory piece, since odds are I would have the same issues later on.

I wanted a quick and easy fix to get my toy back on the road.

 

I did it, but I am still kinda so so on how it turned out. Over all it looks good, but it is very hard to finish around the vent. I'm still contemplating cutting the vent out and putting some kind of mesh in there to make it look cleaner. Either way, you can see picks of it at my website.

 

Lots of people have done the covering of that... I myself have done it.. depending on how you do the cover will determine how the finished product looks.

 

thats a awesome idea... i bought a perfect shaped used one and if it cracks for some reason i will do that...

 

I finished the vinyl dash mod and I think it turned out well. Check it out
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/815779/2
I plan on installing it tomorrow.

 

where did you buy the material at anyhow?

 

Jo-ann fabrics.
Just about any fabrics store will carry vinyl, even leather with various textures and colors. They will also have the cement and anything alse you my need.
Word of warning:
Those stores are full of little old ladies who will beat you with there cane or purse for the right piece of material.

 

That's a pretty good idea, I think I may do that if my dash ever goes.

 

I saw one vinyl covering where they tried to cut strips and wrap under the vent are where the LED light is located - looked tacky actually. What is the best way to go around the little grill area without looking bad? Maybe cutting to the edge and then installing some kind of border? Oh, and did you guys use an epoxy, glue or tape when wrapping the vinyl? Thanks!

 

I found some fairly decent vinyl/leather looking material at the local fabric store. Fuelman, I liked the way yours turned out. How did you manage to go around the little grill area - any tips? Thanks!

 

First I laid a piece of paper down over the de-frost vent. Then used a pencil to make a rubbing which gave me a pattern to cut the hole in the vinyl.
Give your self a good amount of extra vinyl around the edges of the dash. tape the pattern over the de-frost vent, you can feel it through the vinyl. Then I laid the vinyl on a piece of plywood and cut the hole out with a razor blade.
I then used some beading to go around the opening. I cemented it on from the under side, Then I sprayed the vinyl with contact cement then the dash. Let it dry till it is not taky then lay clean newspaper over the dash, I used two sheets of newspaper letting the paper overlap over the de-frost vent. If the cement is dry the paper will not stick. Next lay the vinyl over the paper feel for the de-frost vent and line-up the cut out as best you can and slowly slide the paper apart from left to right and press the vinyl to the dash pay close attention to wrinkles stretch them out before you press down or the vinyl will will have a wrinkle in it for good. Once the two surfaces with the cement touch they are bonded and probably can't be easly be lifted apart. After the vinyl is attached to the top and you think it looks good turn the hole thing over and spray some contact cement on the outer edge of the dash and let it dry. take the sissors and cut around the edges leave about one inch of vinyl to attach to the back of the dash. now cut two slits about one inch apart from the edge of the vinyl to the dash but not all the way, leave about a sixteenth of an inch so the slit does'nt show from the top, now fold the flap over and press continue this till you have gone around the dash.

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the info...did you buy the whisper soft black vinyl from Joanns? It looks like this is the matte black that is used on poker tables and looks awesome. I hope to have this finished up this weekend.

I got the vinyl on and it looks so much better. I super glued and sanded the crack on my ugly dash in preparation. I used some glad press-n-seal wrap to stick to the vent area and then traced the outline (it's like sticky tracing paper) with a felt pen. I then stuck the press-n-seal on the fabric (doesn't move at all) and cut with a razor. I practiced on spare vinyl 5 times until I got it right. I used permatex general adhesive since it can be repositioned if necessary. There is a small bubble on the drivers hump, but I'm hoping the sun will help adhere it. If not, I'll pull it and spray it some more. Thanks for the info.