tab a

I found many threads on removing/installing the dash but very few on actually doing the recovering. Maybe most end up having it done for them? In any case, I have a Classic 9 leather cover (and now, their instructions--thanks!) and am going to give it a go. If you've done yours in either leather, or vinyl, and have tips or cautions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.
Thon

gbgastowers

Watch you tube videos on dash/headliner recovering. Make sure you have a spray gun for the glue and it has to set just right. Not too dry. Get lots of big sand bags for pressure. Use heat gun carefully for wrinkles. Takes a lot of time and is only as good as your prepped surface. If you fill cracks with angel hair fiberglass don’t use too much. It’s a bear too sand. If I had it to do over I would send it in. I have one wrinkle to upper right of glove box and can see a bit of uneven adhesion (bubbles) on a hot day. I didn’t use a spray gun which was a mistake

captainOCD

I brushed the glue one mine. The dap contact cement I used wasn't strong enough for some of the concave spots though, particularly where it wraps under the bottom of the dash. I've seen dap landau top glue mentioned as something to use.


I'm far from an expert when it comes to this, but I did make a couple videos recovering mine if it at least shows you what not to do.

drscottsmith

I could not get mine to fit the way I wanted and, knew I was going to have to seam the binnacle, so i used a seam all the way across the top to match. I hate it. I would much rather have a single piece which as everyone has said, takes time and heat to get right.

Michael Benno

I can share my experience as I have recover 2 dashes, two door panels and a bunch of small accessories. I have some lessons learned on what worked and what has failed. You can read about my experiences here

• DIY Dash recover - Long Term Test Results - Rennlist ...

• My DIY Dash recovering - experimenting without seams

Adhesive selection: I used both DAP Weldwood contact cement and DAP Weldwood® Landau Top & Trim High Heat Resistant Contact Cement. I found the Landau cement to be far stronger and more heat resistant. On my fist dash project I used the regular contact cement and the vinyl is releasing where I stretched into the concave curves.

Adhesive application: I used a brush in all of my projects because I do not have a sprayer. It worked fine so long as you work quickly in small areas to get an even thin coat. I like to do a couple coats in areas I want extra adhesion.

Follow instruction and let the glue become almost dry: all the contact adhesives have pretty specific guidelines about ambient temp ranges. I found very poor results when trying to work outside these ranges, eg cold basement/garage. And I have found I needed to learn the art of how dry to let the glue go before use. Basically let it dry beyond tacky.

Regarding the use of heat guns. Try to limit the amount of head you use, it will cause the glue to re-activate and release. Try and lay your vinyl down as best as you can without too much stretching. I learned the hard way that the dash is not easy to get the vinyl to stretch into all the shapes without stretching the vinyl so much I loose the pattern. I have come to the conclusion that a seamed dash would be better solution.

Good luck !

drscottsmith

Agree with Benno regarding the seam....I would just have rather sewn mine with a French seam rather than hand sewing with a baseball stitch.

regardless it’s better than cracks!

dr bob

Has anyone tried vacuum-bagging to apply even pressure? Was also thinking that a heated form could be used to support the correct stretching of vinyl before trying to apply it to your dash. Starting to sound seriously like a Jerry Feather project, but one could output a pre-stretched and formed piece of vinyl that an owner could glue and apply with a lot less worry. If formed well enough in advance, a shop-vac and a heavy-duty poly bag might be all that's needed to get a good final glue-up.

Petza914

The vacuum bag idea is an excellent one I think. I've not done a 928 dash, but I've glued other interior panels in other cars like headliners and the 928 hood pad that is also exposed to pretty hot temperatures. My car is black and it's sitting above a hot engine.

I don't think you can overlook how hot a car interior can get sitting in the sun with the sun also beating down on the dash focused by the glass windscreen just above it when selecting an adhesive for the project. I have had very good luck with DEI High Temp spray adhesive using the dry-mount method.


Had anyone tried to recover a dash with it still installed in the car and the pod and center console removed, or once you've done all that, does it not makes sense just to also remove the dash? On my Euro project I have a used leather center console and newly covered leather pod coming and my dash is vinyl, but uncracked, so thought it might be nice to cover it in leather to match, but doesn't need to be removed from the car for repair.

Rob M Budd

I covered Porsche 928, 944, 911, 996, 997 dash boards professionally for about 25 years before I retired. I worked with leather, vinyl, Alcantara and some composites. I also did some Mercedes, Audi, American muscle cars, and custom one offs.
I made a few mistakes along the way. Once in a great while, I had to redo one. Wrinkles, lifting, and crooked seams can happen.

Having owned several 928s along the way, I needed some paint work on a few of them. I sought out a professional painter. Once I noticed a flaw in the hood of one that had been repainted. I didn't feel the least bit bad about taking it back and having it redone.
Although I cringed along with the proprietor of the shop because I knew what he was feeling, and knew he would beat himself up over it, or maybe one of his people.

And while I have some limited mechanical talents I also needed some engine/chassis work done on my 928s over the years. Again I sought out professionals in that field.

The wife wanted front porch built. I didn't build it. Nor did I put on the new roof or repave the front walk.
She also wanted the dining room chairs reupholstered. That I did, although I tried to tell her it was not allowed due to the non compete agreement I signed.

Having said all that, there are some people that have a lot of natural ability which was why I sold the dash covering kits. For those people I recommend doing the research and paying attention to the details.

tab a

"I found the Landau cement to be far stronger and less heat resistant."

Did you really mean "less" heat resistant?
I had read through your extensive post and found it useful.
Thanks.
Thon

tab a

cOCD,
Thanks for the video links--I'm a 'little' less nervous now.

Couple of questions:
1. Any thoughts about using the foam? (Is there foam under the original leather?) Seems I've read that some do not use it, and think it looks fine. I would also think it would be easier to get a better bond in concave areas, to vinyl than to foam?
2. Looks like you repositioned pieces a time or two. Were you not letting the cement totally dry, only coating one surtace, or....? My experience with contact cement is that once the pieces meet, they don't just pull apart. :-)
3. Were you happy with the spray can of adhesive? 3M?
4. Other than the concave area glue problems, do you have spots you're not pleased with, i.e. trouble areas? How do they look now? Ideas to do them better?
Thon

Rob M Budd

The foam serves three purposes.

1. It covers the smaller flaws in the surface so they don't read thru.
2. The dash is subject to temperature fluctuations which makes the various components it's made of (leather, vinyl, foam, steel) expand and contract.
This is what causes the dash to crack. The landau foam is made of polyethylene which expands and contracts at a lesser rate than the other materials putting less strain on the top fabric.
3. The dash when new was actually a bit soft. The foam recreates the soft feel.

As a side note, with the introduction of the 996, Porsche started putting a layer of polyethylene foam under the top layer of material on dash boards and other interior panels.

captainOCD

See Rob's explanation for the foam. He's the expert and said so in his instructions, so that's why I used it.

I don't remember entirely from back then. I was brushing it on little by little in areas since I didn't have a way to spray it on. I probably was trying to work out wrinkles too.

I think most of my problems are due to the glue I used. I think the 3m can worked for gluing the foam down just fine. But the contact cement gave troubles keeping the material wrapped around the backside of the dash and those concave areas.



I'm just the chump here, so I'd go with what Rob says, he's the expert.

Shawn Stanford

I recovered my dash with Plasti-Dip and a textured roller.

GregBBRD

The best tip I can give you....
Pay a professional to do this particular job.