# Old car dash repair.....any ideas? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590 "2013-02-28T03:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/1 "2013-02-28T03:27:42Z")
Anybody done any old car, cracked and messed up dash repair? It seems I tend to collect old crappy cars and many have sun cracked dashboards and very few of them are valuable enough to warrent dash-replacement. (In fact, I found a replacement for one that was more than I paid for the car!) I was thinking about trying the orange Bondo finishing stuff, maybe epoxy or something more flexable, like silicone. All to be sanded/finished and painted over. Any better ideas? ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/2 "2013-02-28T14:23:20Z")
Go to YOUTUBE. There is one video on there that shows how to do it quite simply, cheaply, etc… I’ll look for it in a sec. Good luck. hh ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/3 "2013-02-28T14:38:04Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ANE0dueAXSI/maxresdefault.jpg "How To Recover A Dashboard - Vinyl, Leather") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE0dueAXSI) Is this what you had in mind? If not, it looks like YOUTUBE has some good stuff. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/4 "2013-02-28T15:57:45Z")
An inexpensive approach might be one of those dashboard covers. [Looks like they’re around $25 - $50](http://www.google.com/search?q=dashboard+cover&hl=en&client=safari&tbm=shop&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=8X0vUZOROKe-2wWF0YDgDw&ved=0CA4Q_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=644#q=dashboard%20cover&hl=en&client=safari&tbm=shop&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=8X0vUZOROKe-2wWF0YDgDw&ved=0CA4Q_AUoAQ&num=20&sei=A34vUYKdJPGI2gXsm4HYBw&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.&bvm=bv.43148975,d.b2I&fp=74e00926e62d1b6f&biw=1024&bih=644). If the damage is limited to the upper part of the dash, this should work for you. ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/5 "2013-02-28T16:38:51Z")
So you have an old crappy car with a sun cracked dash - and you want to repair the dash? GTFO, as the saying goes. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/6 "2013-03-01T07:47:38Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE0dueAXSI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANE0dueAXSI) > Is this what you had in mind? If not, it looks like YOUTUBE has some good stuff. > > Good luck. Hilarious. When I saw this post, I was thinking of my old 944’s cracked dash and that’s what the video has. I’m with Frank. If the rest of the car is rough, why bother. I’ve seen some really nice 70s and 80s Porsches with the problem, and it annoys because that’s the only issue. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2013, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/7 "2013-03-01T10:10:09Z")
When I had a old car with a cracked dash, I covered it with fiberglass cloth, and after fine sanding it smooth, used a spray can to paint it. Looked good too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/8 "2013-03-02T06:21:23Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Is this what you had in mind? If not, it looks like YOUTUBE has some good stuff. > > Good luck. Not bad. I’ll keep pokin’ around the Tube. > [@epbrown01](#): > > I’m with Frank. If the rest of the car is rough, why bother. I’ve seen some really nice 70s and 80s Porsches with the problem, and it annoys because that’s the only issue. I guess “crappy old car” is a more of an “expression”. A few of them are highly-sought after. But I have no interest in restorations or trailer-queens. I pull them out of fields where they have sat for years sometimes. I make them run and drive the hell out of them. I spend money on mechanical parts and fix cosmetic on the cheap. I’m not gonna spend $1200 on a “new” dash. I’ll let the guy I sell the thing to for a restoration drop that coin. Meanwhile, I"m driving it like I stole it! Actually, I think you get my point exactly with your last sentence. > [@Doggo](#): > > When I had a old car with a cracked dash, I covered it with fiberglass cloth, and after fine sanding it smooth, used a spray can to paint it. > Looked good too. Thats what I’m going to try on one of the long, flat ones I have. I imagine it will turn out not too bad as it has almost no curves or funky angles. Thanks for the ideas, eveyone. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-car-dash-repair-any-ideas/651590/9 "2013-03-04T19:34:24Z")
Right under my nose the whole time! [http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/89/32/](http://www.bmw2002faq.com/content/view/89/32/)