DIY Cracked Dashboard Repair [Pic Heavy]

[joeworkstoohard]

oh wow. subbed

[Tara]

Thanks so much for posting this. I have an e30 dash in need of repair and can find no one in my area who restores dashes. I now have a project on my hands and a road map on how to proceed thanks to you!

[deianbk]

Thank you for this post, I have had a few sleepless nights trying to figure out how to fix the dash on my E21 and E28. I appreciate your research, knowledge, and sharing. I will now be able to rest easier.

[08stawil]

Do you have a video on youtube that documents this whole process?

[Yotapane]

I ended up using a 2 part 3m plastic/poly bumper epoxy on the cracked portions, smoothed the edges of where the og dash cover cracked, let it cure for a few days, applied a skim coat of flexible poly bumper filler and then used 3m paintable undercoating.... Two days of 80* heat later I applied three coats of Eastwood vinyl-interior high temp semigloss black, pics were taken before the final coat of semigloss(sorry couldn't wait to get a pic of my dash rescue)

[uri430717]

i have started this repair that looks so profesional. i have a dilema since i had to pill off all the old vinil which was totaly dry and cracky. i filled in the cracks with the plastic sticks and now i am wondering if i can apply the padded filler on top of the old sponge which was under the vinil. i am not sure if it is possible to apply the padded dash filler on the bear sponge. i would apreciate any advice.

[charter21p5]

I was planning on wrapping my dash in leather since it is cracked in several places. The upholstry shops I took the dash to recommended against it. I found this article and today I ordered all of the materials listed. If you have a Dremel tool then the supplies are around $100.

Thanks for taking the time to write this article. I will post a final dash picture when the work is done.

Thanks again!

[Thecatmilton]

@charter21p5 There is an eBay seller in the UK who has leather covers for the dash you can buy. I messaged them and they do have RHD versions of the cover that we can use.

[charter21p5]

@charter21p5 There is an eBay seller in the UK who has leather covers for the dash you can buy. I messaged them and they do have RHD versions of the cover that we can use.

I found them as well. They have a good price point for the overlay. I am curious of anyone on this forum has used their product and how it held up...

[tribri]

Do they have LHD covers as well?

[Thecatmilton]

@tribri There is a LHD version of the cover in the picture for the listing.

[tribri]

@tribri There is a LHD version of the cover in the picture for the listing.

the seller top gaiters has a listing with a pic of a RHD setup. Regardless, if they make them in LHD, that's pretty cool.

[npover72]

Well, it's been almost 9 years since I made this original post; I kind of lost track of time, so it feels a lot longer. I've had to put my car projects on hold to be a dad. Now that my son is 8 and I am starting to get back into the garage, I thought I would update this thread to show how my dash repair and restoration has been holding up. Overall, everything looks really good, with just a couple of spots that show the slightest hairline cracks. This dash never went back into the E21 it came out of because I was waiting to eventually buy another car, without body damage and free of rust, to put all my new and repaired parts back on. So over the years, this dash just sat in my garage and the pics attached show its current condition after many scorching summers in Arizona. Last year was one of the hottest on record, with over 50 days of 110 degrees. I thought that if my restoration work could survive that kind of heat in the garage, this dash could make it through anything. I posted a video below, if anyone wants to view a walk-around of the dash. There is also a video link to to this dash before the repair and restoration project was started. I still have plans of completely restoring an E21, but I need to work through another car project so I can make room for it. My current restoration is a '71 Volvo 1800, but that's for another time. Cheers to you all!

After Repair/Restoration- https://youtu.be/3NWVu0XCgjE
Before Repair/Restoration- https://youtu.be/ebIf0NHv6hQ

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[hotdish]

Wow, thanks for the long term update! This has been on my todo list for quite a while now, lol.

[John Adkins]

I am in awe of your attention to detail and your craftsmanship! But for those who don't have the time and/or skills for this project I would recommend checking out custom molded dash caps which go for about $200 and install in a few minutes, no special skills required. I owned my E28 for several weeks before I realized that it had a dash cap, which doesn't say too much for my powers of observation, but does speak to the fit and finish of the dash cap. Again, congrats of a job very well done!

[cgifool]

Does anyone know of a dash cap that will fit my '78? I'd consider it, if I could find one.

[951kel]

Whoa, this is an old thread. But that was great work on the dashboard and I hope it's still holding up. I'm the president of Polyvance, the manufacturer of the FiberFlex welding rod and the 2050-9 Padded Dash Filler that were used in this repair. I'm also an E34 owner and member of this forum, so I'm not just flying over and dropping a turd here. I just wanted to let everyone know that we have a great video on the repair process which you can find here https://www.polyvance.com/280Z-Dashboard-Repair/ and of course, we sell the products you need, too.

[typhoon320i]

This is a good post. Thanks for the walkthrough.