x

 

z

 

haha right on :flipoff2: to bad my shit is beat up and there is no sense in making it look pretty

 

Now show us how to make it magically turn into Carbon Fiber like you did with you dash cover. :flipoff2:

 

The SEM texture grain was a little large so I sanded most of it off and left the valleys. The dash was sprayed with Superior dye. http://www.superiorrestoration.com/ The final texture is done with the dye and the gun set at about 3 psi, just to the point where it makes little dots. You can see this in the last pic. It's about half dried. After that spray the entire dash and you're done.

 

:smokin:

 

Nice work!!!!!

 

As always you do great work....

 

Actually now that I see the final product I am thinkin the carbon fiber might be over rated. That looks really nice. Thank you for doing a write up on that and giving such great detail and the products you used. I am gonna be using this for sure when I do my dash pad cause I have to make a custom one to match the Lexus cluster I have.

Edit: Is it still pretty flexable like stock where you did the repair?

 

Thanks for all the compliments. The repair flexes just like the original, you really can't tell by pushing on it. No hard or soft spot. You could do the whole repair with the Valvoline compound. Excellent product. Sticks great, sands easy, and feathers out nice. I didn't get a pic of it sanded. The color is 2010 Lexus RX dash.

Edit: The carbon dash has some glare so I sanded it down with 3000. It's still a little shiny but it's cool, and the only one.

 

Yeah I may make a mold for mine and see if my buddy wants to do the carbon fiber for me but otherwise I think I will use fiberglass and maybe finish it like you did with this dash so it will look stock. I was kinda thinking the shinny carbonfiber would give me problems.

I like all the stuff you have been doing with your truck. Not only is it a 1st gen which is my favorite but you do nice clean work and keep everything suttle and kinda hidden. Like the ghost stripes, clean stock lookin dash pannels, and now stock looking dash pads. Keep up the great work. I think your efforts are really appreciated around here. Thank you for your efforts and taking the time to share it with the rest of us.

 

Looks really good. Way better then me siliconing the crack.

 

nice repair. definately gona remember this. Thanks. :smokin:

 

that is some awesome work...

not sure if you didn't already, but you could niche out a great business from that

 

This should be added to the FAQ for sure. Great write up:smokin:

 

Very sweet. All those dash pads that I have thrown away because "whos going to buy a dash with a crack" attitude. Duh!:homer:

 

Very nice :smokin:

 

Loved this picture article on fixing a cracked dash. Was wanting an update on how it has held up and if you would of done anything different. Thanks for any help.

 

I sold this dash to a friend. It's in Santa Cruz now and is holding up just fine and looks as good as the day I repaired it. The key is proper preparation and making sure you have complete adhesion of your repair compounds.

how many hours have you invested in this repair?

I think I had a couple nights in it. Lots of heat gun time.

 

how many hours have you invested in this repair?

 

If you don't want to fix your dash, or just need a new one, they're available. Someone on Ebay has had them listed for a while so I ran the part number and they're out there. Only brown or blue. I ordered one and it came in a new Toyota box, new bar code, with new packaging. I don't believe that these are N.O.S., but a re-issue. They are exactly the same as the originals in every way.

I'm not affiliated with this seller, but here are the links. You can get them cheaper if you have connections with Toyota.

Toyota Truck Blue Dash Pad 55401 89107 04 New | eBay

Toyota Truck Brown Dash Pad 55401 89107 06 New | eBay

Here's some pics from the Ebay ads.

 

Nice!!

Whats all the fiberglass and carbonfiber talk? U guys wrapping ur dashes w fibermat and resin? Be a cool way to add an inclometer or gage pod/dvd/navigation! Or clean up the stereo area and centerconsole! Fiberglass is easy to work w and finish if ur using a textured finish to hide imperfections and 200 grit sanding. Its the finish work on a shiney gloss black piece that would suck!

 

Carbon is similar to fiberglass but much more difficult to make a perfect part. There's no gelcoat or paint to hide the imperfections. The time is in making the tooling. There is a steep learning curve when it comes to making quality carbon parts.

There is only one carbon first gen dash on the planet that I know of, and it's here> http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/misc-stuff-sale/1106680-carbon-fiber-dash-79-83-toyota.html

 

If you do buy one of these brown or blue dashes and you want it a different color, that's easy. Wipe the dash down with a wax and grease remover to remove the mold release and clean the surface. Dust the surface lightly with an adhesion promoter. I used Bulldog, which is widely available. 3 light coats, too much will change the texture.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQj58rbodSA4b-sg5YbgEoOXukEoeNGbmFQczNs3a0IdXPNDkp9jg

I used SEM 15243 Satin black

Vinyl, Leather, Plastic and Bumper Coatings

 

x

 

Bumping this back up. Can this repair be done without the Valvoline compound?

Edit - the reason for the above question is because the applicator guns for it are easily 3x the cost of the compound. After a little bit of searching I've found the gun for this at good prices on e-bay, many under $20.

 

request

password request