Removing and installing are the easy part.

For someone trying to redo his dash with out sending it to an expert, this rocks.

 

That looks pretty dang sweet man! Great write up.

 

Wow thanks for all the kind words. I hope it helps out, god knows you've all helped me. My wallet would be much much thinner and the Ladybug would be in way worse shape without such a great international collective. just payin my dues I suppose.

Yes, I did the pod prior to this dash. I used a foam under the vinyl to hide the cracks instead of filling them. Ill put some pics below. Pretty much the same process as the dash recover except adding padding under the vinyl. I also used a heat gun to warm the vinyl in some spots that really needed stretching. The results were alright but Im not thrilled with the padding I used, the spray glue was ill-advised, the seams are suspiciously crooked, and I couldnt quite figure out the front lower part that covers the steering column. Check out the corners? Ill probably give it another go at some point and Im confident now that I could figure out a better fitment.
Also, in the pod pics, you'll see the 1st re-install with the 1st attempt of the dash recover. Notice no seams in the dash, all one piece of vinyl, but you can totally see the cracks underneath


I cant wait either! This car consumes me with excitement, I love it. What I meant by Poo Poo, was that I figured the purists wouldnt dig it and the folks that want nothing less than factory quality, which there's nothing wrong with that, but this aint it by a long shot. Id love that too but this is more realistic for me right now. Seemed like a good option based on all the complaints I read about the lower price-range recover options.

Didnt keep track of the hours, but I figured maybe a solid 2-3 weekends. A lot of time waiting for glue to dry and really taking a lot of "focus breaks". The last recover attempts I rushed through and they turned out ugly.

I will for sure, hopefully I have everything sorted out by then. Thats the plan. I was bummed to miss it last year but I had just gotten the car and tore it down as soon as I got it home.

 

Looks great. I plan on doing a wet layup of carbon fiber on mine. Good info on removing old material and repairing cracks. Thanks!

 

Great job ! I love the baseball stitch Thank you for sharing I plan on doing this job myself very soon.

Cheers
Matt

 

Exceptional work and and a BIG
THANKS for the Dwayne quality write up! It looks good in the car too!

 

Wow, that is really impressive work! It show's a lot of skill and patience. I'm also curiuous how many hours you have into that project.

 

Thx! I don't know Dwayne , but I like him!

A couple afterthoughts:
- change razor blades often, a dull blade will make sloppy cuts

- after applying the weldswood glue, u need to let it set up so it's tacky, but even still, u also have time to manipulate your work before it's completely dry. This is helpful when positioning the panels and when your folding the seams. It allows you time to undo the materials to work out any wrinkles and such before it's dry. And if the glue does dry before your work is perfect, just re-apply another light coat to get it tacky again.

I'm so happy you all like this write up and I'm stoked that some of you are gonna tackle this job. If you get stuck , let me know if I can help.

Thanks,
Josh

Sent from my iPhone using Rennlist

 

Great job!

 

Looks great. Eager to see how it looks back in the car.

 

I actually think it is a neat alternative. What would be really kick *** is if you did the dash in white and had red stitches. A baseball themed interior!

 

Very well done- congratulations!

 

Great job

 

VERY well done. That dash looks superb, (from a baseball fan who likes the stitching!! - HA).

Gary