Gino

I understand that this is not uncommon, but is there a remedy to 'relax' the leather so it can return to its rightful position tucked under the metal vent?

I've been Lex-oiling and even using my kids baseball mit leather mixture from Champion without success.

any hope short of replacement?

Tom F

I have asked several "authorities" about this, and they all say that there is nothing that can be done.

I have an idea that something could be done, if you were to remove the dash (or windshield), lift the leather, wet it and reglue it. This would mimic the way in which the dash was covered in the first place: the leather is wetted, then partly dried, before it is glued to the dash. The leather is also "skived" or thinned by special knives to allow it to conform, before any of this begins, so it should be easy to work again once it is wet.

This is completely hyptothetical, on my part.

There are people locally who can custom cover a dash in leather, but you will pay some $$ for it.

JoeMag

i just took dash of my car which was in excellent shape (82 930, ~35k mi car), and it was starting to curl up too around defrost vent. i think it may have actually been the dash itself curling and not the leather pulling it up. after dash was off i pulled on it a little off in that area and that dash wasn't moving.

ayglass

What is the dash made of under the leather? Mine is curling up as well and I have been having thoughts of making a mold for carbon fiber or fiberglass. Depending on what it's made of, and if it can be reshaped, I might be able to mold it. If I can get it back to shape I'm certain a local upholstery shop could replace the leather.

Gino

JoeMag-
I believe, too, that its the material under the leather that curling. I've gunked enough leather softener on the dash leather to the point where it seems loose, but the underneath material won't relax like the leather has. I think it's some kind of fibrous paperboard material...

I was thinking that THIS can be re-wet and straightened, then re-attach the leather and it will seat properly under the defrost vents for another 20 years...

senna21

Have you guys thought about stiching it down to the dash pad?

Tom F

The material under the dash is just a regular dashboard. The shrinking leather distorts it. You could try a heat gun to work the dash back into shape, after you peel back the leather. Again, just suggesting an approach I haven't tried.

Richard930

Once it's started nothing can be done. I bought an ugly brown stock dash off ebay for a reasonable amount and had it covered by a local auto interior shop that had the pattern. They matched the leather with the leather on the door tops very well and it looks pretty much perfect. Ended up around $800 CDN - I guess you have to decide if it's worth it, but seeing an otherwise nice car with a dash whos edges resembles pringles really lets the car down - even if it is original.

kens911

my 85 carrera has some kind of overlay on it. looks good not warped it was installed by the po. my car is a full leather version and I thought the dash had been replaced with a vinyl one but the other day I was looking and could see a little peice of leather poking out of one corner. It looks really good, but when i get the turbo running, I'm yanking it out . I have quite a list building up I have been working on the turbo for a year and driving the carrera to work every day so things to do to it are starting to add up.

Noah930

I think the leather dash is actually just a regular vinyl covered dash which is then covered in leather. Sorry--no advice on how to make it look nice, again.