I just picked up an '82 race car that sat in the Las Vegas sun for way too long. The dash pad is totally trashed. I was wondering if I can just scrape of the soft stuff and paint the metal underneath. Has anyone done this successfully? What does it look like?

Carl

 

If youre building a race car, you might as well pull that dash, and all the HVAC crap behind it and tube frame a new one in.

 

I'd like to see pics of this gem! I never knew anyone around here that had a 82 race car.

 

The race class requires a stock dash, so I can't remove it entirely. The HVAC stuff will mostly be removed though.

It is a Spec Rx7 being converted to Pro7/ITA. The motor in my car died and it is easier and cheaper to convert this one, especially since mine is bent on all 4 corners from meetings with concrete walls (mostly the outside wall of Turn 3 at Fontana).

Anyone out their strip and paint their dash?

Carl

 

i havnt but my dash is as bad as yours sounds and will need to be stripped at the least. i would be interested to see how it turns out though. if it looks acceptable i will be doing it to. beats the time and money of trying to find another one.

 

I'm in the process of doing work on my dash... and the metal framing underneath doesn't look really great, at least not from the backside. I was thinking about using some Bondo to fill the cracks and covering the whole thing with 3M Di-Noc. Pretty cool stuff.... looks like dry carbon weave, but it's vinyl, and thick enough to cover up imperfections in the dash.

 

So have you already stripped all the padding off the dash? If so, could you post a pic or send to cbjohnk@inetworld.net? I'm wondering what the metal structure under the padding looks like. I did find glue on pads for less than $100 that look pretty good. My dash is too far gone to glue to the remaining padding.

Carl

 

i just primed and painted my dash while i was painting the car. Seams to be holding up fine.

 

I'm not stripping my dash actually. I pulled it to deal with wiring.... but the frame underneath isn't so pretty.

 

you might be better off looking for a good dash.

 

Is the backing on the dash pad metal or fiberboard? I haven't stripped anything yet, but it looks like maybe the arch above the instrument cluster is fiberboard?

 

I think it's all metal. The part around the shifter and everything else on the under side is plastic backed.

 

Its easy to paint vinyl surfaces like the dashboard.
Ive done a couple dashes and door panels sucessfully.

Just make sure you clean it really, REALLY well with dish soap and water...a few times!
(most of the failures happen when years of armor all / oils are not fully removed before painting)

Then a coat of adhesion promoter and a high quality flexible vinyl paint. A few thin coats and you retain the "grain" of the vinyl.
I have used SEM and also some less expensive duplicolor flexible coatings.
Both worked just fine.

As long as you take your time you wont be disappointed!



Edit: LOL.. totally skipped over the fact that the pad is trashed. so much for that idea!
The metal underneath is very unpleasant looking.

 

You are right the metal underneath is very unpleasant looking for a street car. I stripped it all off today. I think it will look good for a race car that has to keep the stock dash. I might be stretching the definition of stock dash. I'll post pictures when I get it cleaned up and painted. I think POR-15 followed by chassis black should be just right.

Carl