Vinyl dye/paint? for dash repair

[JR]

What color black (yeah there are more than one) to use after patching a cracked dash. Eastwood and World upolstry have a graphite and a landau black listed. World upolstry also has a factory color for BMW seats. NE1 know which is closest match to the orig satin balack? Thanks

[02fanatic]

Sorry for the length of the post, but awhile back I posted my repair info, as requested by a few on this list. So, here it is again for you. Hope it helps!

John

----------------------

A few of you have requested that I post what method I used to repair Hugo's dash. So, this weekend I dug out my notes and materials that I put together during my research on the best way to repair my dash.

There are many fixes out there. One popular one is to use crack filler, apply a fiberglass (or other) tape over the area, then apply a textured sandable filler over that, sand and feather out the edges, spray the dash and dye. I have seen repairs like this, and some of them look alright, but they usually are obvious repairs....it's very hard to disguise the hump in the fix area.

You can find dash repair kits out there as well. One that I personally have never had much luck with is made by R.I International, Inc. in Akron, Ohio. http://www.repair-it-all.com/. 330-665-7641, although they do have a good epoxy filler. Their instructions on the website are very helpful also. They use a vinyl repair process where you apply "heat" to vinyl swatches to match the vinyl texture pattern. JC Whitney and other automotive suppliers sell this kit. I prefer to go right to the source when I can. They were very nice.

After looking around alot and talking with fellow 02er's and suppliers of materials, this is what I did:

Ordered the following supplies:

Two-part epoxy filler with spatula. I used the stuff that came in the vinyl repair kit from R.I. International, but any epoxy type repair materials should work Bondo epoxy may also work for structural repair "prior" to cosemtic repair. It's sandable also. I didn't use this however, as I had enough of the epoxy supplied from R.I. International - you can request more epoxy, if needed. I did that & they were very kind to send me more directly. They usually don't do retail sales, at least they didn't.

Vinyl repair materials from Leatherique in Orange Park, Florida. Includes the following:

Flex-Fill sandable filler material (for cosmetic use not structural repair), Prepping Agent (for redying) - 8 oz. bottle, Black dye (8 oz. bottle);

Odered 3 or 4 cans of Texture Coating by SEM Product #39853 (not 3M as I had indicated earlier - sorry). Once the repair has been made, and the dash surface sanded all over & prepped with agent - this was used before dye was applied.

If you have an old cracked dash, I recommend practicing on it first. This will build your confidence before tearing into your prized dash that you want to repair. I did this, but quickly realized that I could handle it and I thus dove right into Hugo's dash repair.

I also found some crack repair made by Performix called VLP (Vinyl/Leather Repair), although I did not try this.

Step One: Once the dash is removed from the car (you can do some repair in the car as well, like I intend to do, but it is much easier to do this out of the car), remove all heater slide panels, knobs, etc.

Step Two: Lightly sand (or wet sand) the entire dash. Some directions say to wet sand. I found that I didn't need to do that to achieve the desired results. Use your own judgement. Be sure to mask over with tape the shift pattern on the front of the dash unless you don't want to keep it. For those of you that are artistic, you can repaint them...but that's not my forte! Or you may want to leave it off, especially if you've upgraded to a 5-speed, or if you simply don't care to have it there any longer. Use whatever sandpaper grit you need to make it feel right, and it depends on the amount of damage. You will not need to worry about preserving the vinyl pattern, as with this mehtod you will apply a new texture anyway. Hopefully you will remove much of the vinyl sprays you or the previous owners have used over the years. You all don't use Armoral on you dashes do you? NEVER do that! NOTE: Some repair instructions say to drill holes at either end of cracks to stop further stress cracking. This is probably a good idea, but Hugo's cracks were so bad they went all the way across the dash, so I didn't need to do this..

Step Three: Use epoxy to fill in deep cracks or holes. This will need to be done is several applications usually to get proper bond. Remember patience is the key to this repair. If you have a hole you will need to use something underneath to hold the epoxy in place. This can be permanent or temporary until the epoxy sets up. It is also key to try to not let the dash flex when moving it around during the repair or the crack may reappear in a heartbeat. I believe this is the ONE biggest problem with '02 dashes - they are very long and skinny in section. For those engineers of us we call that a mass imbalance...there is way too much stress along the length of the dash for the weight. There simply isn't enough structural support within the skeleton of the dash to support the flex and weight. This is why Hugo's dash re-cracked when I re-installed it. I think you all know how my heart sank at that moment! :-) I plan to repair it again in the car someday, & I'm certain that this method of repair will hold up just fine without further cracking.

Step Four: Be sure to not epoxy right up to the top of the dash surface. Leave some room for the application of the Flex-Fill. Just use your judgement, based on the extent of the repair and the amount of materials that you have. Apply, let dry 24 hours & sand the Flex-Fill. Do as many times as you want to to make the repair basically not visable any longer. Remember PATIENCE is key! I used the epoxy and Flex-Fill process several times in each reapair on Hugo's dash, and I mean to tell you it looked absoultely perfect prior to the following steps. I even re-worked the crack in the instrument pod area to the point that it looked probably better than original in some ways....Hugo's dash was cracked really bad and prior attempts to repair it were botched up badly. It was re-freshing to see it all come together. As it stands now Hugo's dash has two very small hairline cracks (from flexing during re-installation), still way better that it was before the repair!

Step Five: Once the dash has been repaired as outlined above, I lightly sanded the dash all over once again prior to spraying the textured coating (320-400 grit). Obviously, if you have a one, two, or three piece dash, the process will be done per piece, accordingly. But, it is important to try to match the final texture on separate pieces for a match. I ordered my SEM Texture Coating from Eastwood Products as I recall (http://www.eastwood.com/). Just have at it with this process. This is where all the work starts to pay off. Be as artistic as you want to be. Practice on that old dash first though, as it will lessen your stress-level! :-) No, you won't get that original vinyl pattern with this process, but personally, I didn't care about that. I just wanted a crack-free dash. And, from what I've heard most places can't match the original vinyl grain pattern anyway and charge you upwards of $1,000 for the job! Apply as many coats as you desire, waiting for the alloted drying time between coats.

Step Six: Once dry, then apply the Prepping Agent for the dye, following instructions.

Step Seven: Apply Black Dye (or whatever color you want for that matter). Hey, you could even go Tan or Navy to match the tan or navy interior if you want. Wouldn't that be different? Dye can be hand rubbed on or sprayed. I believe I used 2 coats allowing drying between coats. (Note: I'm sure there would need to be some base coat color applied, especially for the lighter colors, like tan). But, Black looks absolutely great in my opinion!

That's it! I hope this helps those of you who wish to attempt dash repair on your own dash as opposed to sending it out for big bucks! I'd say the total cost for the materials was under $100 or so. But, there's alot of labor & time involved, something we 02er's are used to doing eh? :-)

And remember, if that repair re-cracks when installing the dash, I feel certain that the dash can be re-repaired following this method with the dash securely in-place (no flexing). Have someone help you re-install the dash. That might help reduce flexing. I did it by myself, and Hugo has those alligator teeth strips on the windshield opening so that made the dash hang up a little during the re-install.

Sorry this was so long, but I tried as best I could to remember everything.

Good luck!

John Weese

'72tii "Hugo"

[john_a]

Any pics of that texture? That's the part I'd be most curious about.

[02fanatic]

Send me a private e-mail to remind me, and I'll gladly take a pic later for ya.

Regards,

John

[Guest Anonymous]

(nt)

[esty]

it's very unlikely that regardless of whether you have the exact original color or not that the repainted spot will match and not stand out....every o2 dash has some degree of fading due to age..or at least every one i've own'd have been...re-spraying the entire dash is the only way to insure uniform color

a $5 spray bomb for vinyl, available from any local parts store will work equally as well as the $25.oo one purchased from a specialty store on the web...cleaning the vinyl is the key yo successful dash painting