Tom R.

My brother ordered a coverlay dash cover for his 89 NA. He and I will install it next weekend if fairly warm. Here is my thought.

When I saw Pete's last week he mentioned it was coming up by the windshield.

What if:
I put some painters blue tape on the top of the coverlay around the edge that meets the windshield, and

I put some painters blue tape on the bottom of the windshield where it meets the old dash, then

I run a bead of silicone cement (clear) across the top of the old dash where it meets the windshield from end to end, then

After I install the coverlay I put a lot of pressure on the seam where the dash meets the windshield squeezing the cement out so that I have a seal all the way across.

when it is dry I peel the tape with the excess cement off both the windshield and coverlay. The tape trick works in seams of kitchen cabinets for a nice straight silicone line.

What are your thoughts, is this a long term solution?

pete944

They only recommend a small dime sized dab of silicone every 12" or so. I think it needs to be able to expand and contract at a different rate than the dash.
Mine may have been that way from the start. You have to really look for it to see it.
The thing is "supposed" to have a lifetime warranty againt warping. I'll test that in a year or two.

Tom R.

Do you think a strip of two sided tape would hold better?

Forgot about the expansion issue.

tomc_85.5_944

I put mine in over the summer, and never got around to "glueing" it in. Knew I had work to do in the dash, but still wanted something covering all the cracks....It has warped up, and as it was such a tight fit from the beginning that I had to trim the edges near the door to even get it in. I think I am going to have to trim more and use a hairdryer to try to flatten mine out. Any of you guys had this problem?
Tom, I would assume, if you used a very flexible silicone, things would be OK, if it was spread the entire length just on that edge. Then it would still allow the rest of the cover to expand and contract like it should. If you do it, post up, as I may need to do the same thing, but on the front of mine, due to the heat warping the piece.

pete944

You have to trim it so it doesn't fit tightly between the A pillars. If it's too tight it will definitely warp.
I think Tifo has his mounted with carpet tape. His still looks good.

Tom R.

carpet tape sounds cleaner than a silicone bead.

xsboost90

i glued the crap out of mine everywhere and put a couple of black screws in the bottom where you cant see them to hold everything tight, and wedged some stuff between the windshield and the dash till it dried. Never warped or had a prob, even in this summers heat w/ no windshield reflector.

Travis - sflraver

My 84 had one on it when I bought it. It was all warped so I pulled it off to reveal only one minor crack in the dash. The crack couldn't have been 1" long...

Dan in Pasadena

I've been tinking of a Coverlay...but I have no idea if they look good or look like crap? Does anyone have pictures of one installed, perhaps closeups that show in real detail if this looks good or looks like a cheapo seat-of-the-pants fix it?

Mike Murcia

I hate mine. It's old and warped, and to make it worse, the PO actually put small nails through it on the ends of the dash to hold it into place. I've been told that in order to get a nice bond on the edges, some people have used baby shoes wedged in between the windshield and the dash while the glue is setting. I will be pulling mine this winter and replacing it with this method.

pete944

I have pics in my gallery. It really looks pretty good in person.
The previous, previous owner cut most of the vinyl off the original dash so I have no choice but to use the coverlay (unless someone has a perfect dark blue dash for sale cheap).

Travis - sflraver

Someone a while back purchased some extra material when getting a seat kit to cover the coverlay with. Maybe I will drop him an email and see if he has any picturs of how it turned out (if it turned out).

Dan in Pasadena

Travis....Uh....I don't get it? He wanted to cover his cover? What's up with that...unless the Coverlay REALLY doesn't look like the stock dash?

If you do reach the guy, ask him to post a picture of his results.

Pete944 - I will take a look at yours, thanks. I recently noticed that I have now started to develop cracks on the plastic covering the interior of the A pillar! The cracks are still tight, but it's probably only a matter of time (and UV!) before they widen and look like crap. Is there a fix, or just call Ecology944 or Parts Heaven and pay for replacements? Incidentally, for those that HAVE replaced their dashes...where'd you get your new (or at least damage-free) replacement? Cost?

Dilberto

My dad injected styrofoam insulation inside the cracks of his 951, sanded it down and repainted it. It still looks great- according to the recent owner of his old car. The Polystyrene spray insulation is exactly the same density of the OEM dash material. Estimated cost: $7. Try it!

Luis de Prat

That sounds like a great fix. Thanks for sharing.

I'm lucky that that neither my '91 with 65K miles nor my '90 S2 with 146K. My '83 however, was like a roadmap with so many cracks. I've had 2 Coverlays in it so far. FWIW they will stand behind their warranty. The first one cracked where it meets the door panel and they sent me a new one at no charge.

It was partly my fault that the first cover cracked because it's supposed to "float" on the dash by attaching it with large beads of sealant, like Pete says. First time (1994), the instructions didn't indicate this, and I spread sealant liberally over the whole dash. Big mistake. Instructions with the free replacement mentioned the beads which I did the second time around and it's held very well ever since (1995), except for some warping at the vents.

For the late dashes IIRC there was an ad in Pano a few years ago for a company that offered a "flexible" dash glove that sounded closer to the stock look than the Coverlay, but I haven't heard of anyone using them.