The Fixer

Not sure if anyone has tried this combo, took an hour to get to the spray finish phase.

Used body filler (as many have) and Plasti Dip spray to prep my Pod and Dash as a suitable substrate for the navy blue swede i bought.

Simply applied filler after prepping surface with laquer and 240 grit DA sanding. I scraped the filler off immediately as it hardened and cleaned the remaining with my fingernail and more laquer on a cloth .

It looks so much better (not even close to cured yet, been 30 minutes) that i may not try an glue swede to it.
Not perfect but very presentable and Plasti Dip obviously with expand and contract w/o cracking. It comes in a ox blood like color too.

If i (or you) took more time it could look even better.

last two pics are a close up of the pod and dash deeply cracked areas. Will see if it flattens out more by morning.

MainePorsche

Good job.
Good finish.

jwbeck17

I'm looking at my options to fix my dash cracks as well. This looks like it came off nicely! Can't wait to see the full result. Great work!

springman

Nice job fixer.

AirtekHVAC

Hey Matt, I want to do it...I got no body skillz...can you pm me exactly what you used and the prep to finish procedure?

The Fixer

Will do Ron, let me just do more testing.

I looked at it just now after 1-1/2 hours (needs 4 according to can) and it looks very good considering the time/effort and $10 cost. It is a definite improvement and the surface feels very durable with 2 coats, it calls for 4 of them.

I did not sand and or prep as well as you all would as i only wanted a stable substrate for my swede. I am pretty sure this stuff won't sand but i sprayed some on my metal shop cabinets to test.
If it sands then it will be the miracle fix, but i doubt it.

I will need to spray another 1/2 can on the dash for an even finish, If i was tying to be neat i could have maintained the hide pattern in the vinyl much better but i wasn't concerned with it.
One nice feature of the material; i simply sprayed until it filled voids i failed to prep well (defroster opening cracks) with filler and it is permanently flexible and has a matte finish once dry. It is very durable as you all know.
It also has a nice feel, like a modern dash material.

I will post pics sometime tomorrow when we get home and get to it.

NoVector

I did bondo with angel hair and SEM texture spray years ago on my 84 it it looked good for 3-4 years and then ghost cracks started showing up. I think your suede idea will be perfect. If there was a thin foam material you could line it with before the suede it would hide the cracks better than the plastic dip in the years to come. Batting material would be too "poofey"; a spray foam would be ideal... If anyone can figurre it out, it's you--seeing your pictures, you're doing some incredible work.

The Fixer

Thanks Vector, but you did a much better dash restoration.

I was looking for a quick fix.

I had it looking nice but kept experimenting and put way too much Plast Dip on.

If I had done a better job prepping with body filler and then applied 2 light coats of Plasti Dip followed by a coat of matte finish Dupli-Color Vinyl and Plastic paint it would have looked great.

Note: The Dupli-Color vinyl paint may be all that is needed if you have very minor cracks to repair, the finish is spot on.

But i used too much Plasti Dip (see second pic) and it took away the nice finish i had last night.

So in short, i over did it ( but you will not) and now i'm not too pleased with it. Will have to use the swede or buy or fabricate another dash.

Speaking of the dash; It is very heavy.

It would be nice to use something custom and light along with the o.e. instrument pod.

depami

Can't you peal off the Plasti Dip and start over?

I've never used the PD spray but from what I've read, it peals off reasonably easily. I know the PD "dip" does.

MainePorsche

I recently used Flex-Fill from ColorPlus. One advantage I think it has is that it was designed to be like a firm rubber - Some flexibility to deal with expansion/contraction, yet sandable and solid and paintable.

The Fixer

You're correct.

Sounds like a better choice MainePorsche, but my RS dash problems are solved. Why fabricate a lightweight dash, it's already there. Will paint and finish with swede.

MainePorsche

Well there Fixer.
Looks like you have it under control.
You are very industrious.

depami

Wow! Drastic change of course. Anticipating next steps.

M. Requin

Totally enjoying your latest directions! Thought you might be amused by some of the things I am doing. First, I am in the middle of a suspension rebuild, plus cv joint lube/boots, makin' Roger rich... But I am also doing some cosmetic stuff: rub strip delete, spoiler delete, and, wait for it- I'll be dipping it anthracite gray as soon as I can get it off the lift (ie before Frenzy). I have a couple of reasons for doing this: the flipper I got this car from covered the original garnet red metallic with a 20, make that 50 foot black paint job. I may some day want to restore the original color (every bit of the car you can't see from 20 feet is still garnet! the hard stuff is done!) and as you know PD will peel. But I also like to try new stuff, and this looks like great fun. I joined the DYC forum, I'll bet I'm the only guy over 30 (40 for sure) on it, it's hilarious! But good info for the project.

And with the idea of trying something new, a few years ago I went the hairy bondo/SEM route with the dash, very disappointing when the cracks reappeared. So: early this year I flocked the armrest/cassette cover in burgundy (my interior color) to see how it turned out, and how it would hold up to my dirty greasy elbow. Extremely pleased, and that is how I'll do the dash. But the cracks? No more hairy plastic, I'm using a heat shrink dacron (think ultralight aircraft/canoes) glued to the dash and pod as the substrate, which should absolutely eliminate cracks. I hope. BTW I am using Jerry Feather's patterns for cutting out the pod cover. He does some amazing things, but I'll bet he didn't think of this as an end use for his patterns!

So Frenzy here I come, flocked, dipped, and glidin'...

The Fixer

Martin you sound very busy my friend, wish you'd post a pic or 10.
Sounds very interesting indeed.
Check out this pod; 1 lb 4 oz (w/o the dimmers) it looks like it came off
a 550 RSK!