New Dash

[halg]

When my curent project started it was a 1972 B Coupe. It is now a 1969 A Coupe. The dashes are close enough so I continued the work I started on the 72 dash. There wasn't a square inch of vinyl that wasn't cracked. I carefully peeled off all the vinyl, trying to save as much of the underlying foam as I could. I then coated the foam with fiberglass resin to try and give it some body(didn't work) Then I used finishing bondo to reconstruct the finished shape of the dash(picture 1and 2) As it turned out the foam didn't have enough strength to be handled, it cracked everytime I picked it up. Next step was to try and make a fiberglass copy. I got some Silicone Rubber mold making material and put enough layers on to make something that could be handled(pictures 3 and 4) Then I layed up A fibreglass mother on the outside of the rubber so I could remove the dash(picture 5) After removing the dash I destroyed all the work that had gone into the dash so I could get the metal structural part out(picture 6) I then layed up the fiberglass dash into the rubber mold. The part is picture 7. The new dash with the metal bonded in is picture 8. Now how to finish the new dash painted, textured or upholstered. Suggestions.
Hal

[manoa matt]

You could do that dash repair technique with the vinyl paint and truck bed liner. So a search in cosmetic for "dash repair".
However with that method its had to get an even texture, and I'd worry about product compatability, delamination, bubbling, etc over time and in the sun.

With the level of finish your projects take on, I doubt the paint/bedliner finish would be acceptable. I'd opt to find an upholstry shop to pad it and cover it with leather or vinyl. They look the best IMO, and hold up very well.