Beskow

I am a new 928 owner. 2 weeks ago I purchased a black 85' 5-speed with 53,000 miles on her. She runs and drives beautifully, and the cosmetics are for the most part good for an 18 year old car, but the leather on the dash had dried out, cracked and looks terrible. Can someone give me some advice on what I could do to be rid of this eye sore?

Thom1

Refurbish the dash with Leatherique products - no affiliation. I re-dyed the leather and vinyl surfaces on the Boxster seats with excellent results. I have not tried the crack filler yet. But, have seen excellent results. Of course, it is critical to follow their directions precisely. I would use their products for the entire process to quarantee good results. I will probably do the 928 soon. See <a href="http://www.leatherique.com." target="_blank">www.leatherique.com.</a>
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Mike LaBranche

There's a couple options. There's dash covers or you can replace the whole dash (ebay, Big 3). The former doesn't look that great IMHO but it beats a bunch of unsightly cracks. The new dash route is el mucho dinero for the part, let alone the labor unless you do it yourself. I guess a third option is to find some kind of 'filler' for the cracks and then re-dye the whole dash. If you do some searches on 'dash' and/or 'dash cover' you'll probably find alot more info.

bcdavis

Dash cover...

slate blue

Just retrim the dash, you will need to pay it some attention in the future with leather food. If the leather is cracked it's gone too far to be rejuvinated.

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Beskow

Thanks for the advice. I would like to recover in the future, but I don't have the time to do it for awhile. I am going to get a dash cover for it in the meantime. I have read some the of other posts on dash covers, but have not really gotten a good feel for which is the best way to go. Hard shell, or soft carpet or velour. I think a carpet dash cover would really look tacky with the rest of the interior finished in leather. Any one have experience with different covers?

Rob M Budd

Beskow,

I've looked at several alternative to covers. The carpet is tacky. The cap comes loose, velour doesn't go with the rest of the leather. I didn't like any of them. Just Dashes was just to expensive.
I finally bit the bullet and took mine out and recovered it in vinyl. Its just a few hours work to get the dash out & back in.
The black vinyl I used was a pretty close match to the grain of the original leather. But then I changed the whole interior color with SEM products. It came out pretty good.

I believe Dozman still has a dash out of the car just recovered in new black vinyl with the grain close to the original leather. He's in Westland, MI

Drop him a line. PSI_101@hotmail.com

AO

I don't know what wrong with me, but I read your topic as "very ugly RASH, need advice." I wonder what my subconcious is trying to tell me...

Rob M Budd

Andrew that could be the another discussion group you're suscribed to.
The one where they discuss "rugly rashes".

Thom1

Hi Beskow,

Have you called Leatherique? Their products may solve your problems. I certainly would not dismiss the option of fixing it right for cheap. They have Porsche color codes, and specials for PCNA members. They match colors from samples. They are endorsed by the Rolls Royce Owner's Club. I do not know what level of cracks can be fixed. I would really like to know what you find out. It may be easier to get lasting results on leather than vinyl crack filling. They are very honest, and straightforward. I would be shocked if they gave you any bad advice.

I would not even dream about putting on a dash cover over fixing the dash. All dash covers look like dash covers, not original equipment.
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Eric_P

I did the hard dash cover (my '79 dash was too far gone) Not too bad, but I didn't use enough glue around the heater vents, and when it got hot in the sun, it warped. Cheap crap plastic! That was my only option, really, I bought the carpet cover, took one look at it, and put it back in the box ($25, anyone?) My ol' bugger just doesn't warrant throwing a ton of $$ at the interior (much as I'd like too) I think if I did the hard plastic cover again, with more glue, it would be fine. I was just too paranoid to put ANY pressure on the windshield from the inside.
Live and learn, I guess.

Beskow

Well, I ordered leatherique, so we will see if that will condition the leather enough to stretch it a little and rebond it to the dash. The gal at leatherique recommended liquid nail for a bonding glue, any ideas on something better? I need to exhaust all resources on OE before I resort to the cover. If not I will be going with a hard dash cover. Thanks again for all the advice.

Gregg K

I've got a dash that's curling up at the vents. I've liberally rubbed SnoSeal into the leather. It's good stuff for leather. Hot sun and I melt this stuff into the dash, and seats for that matter. Still, I'm looking at pulling the dash and doing my work outside of the car. The reason being, I don't think I can do it without proper prepping, good bonding, and a long curing time with weight on the bonded area. Then it won't come back up. Oh, I forgot to say that my dash was installed new a couple of years ago, so it's in perfect shape, just curling up... Good luck. Hey, I'm about to look at the manual, but so far I don't see how the defroster vents come off... Anybody know? Does the dash come off with the vents attached?

Thom1

Beskow,

If you described your situation to Krysti with a K in depth, and she prescribed a regimen of products, I would not deviate. Did she say that the products would definitely solve your problems? There are end to end compatibility issues, especially if you re dye. Read all the instructions. Follow them precisely. When all else fails, call Krysti back for advice. Try to keep those calls brief, and she should be helpful.

Glad you took my advice. If any products can help, the Leatherique ones (and Krysti) should be the best. I bet you spend under $150, and get good results. Like I said, the cracks were the big unknown. If she said the products would definitely work, they should. Please let us know how it goes.
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Good Luck

Rob M Budd

Greg,

I agree. I've pulled several dashes and find it much easier to work on with it out. You can do a better job on it too.

The dash vents snap in place. They can remain in until its out. As long as you're going to pull the dash, take them out after the dash is out and you can see the reverse side.

When putting them back, make sure the vent slots in the dash are nice and straight, you shouldn't have to force them back on.