Just wondering if anyone had recovered the FD dash in vinyl, i was considering this feat to do a color change to my interior, but i was wondering if anyone had any words of advice before i give it the go ahead.

 

I've done some dashes, not an FD, and the only bad thing about this is that in given time the material will not adhere too well and it will start lifting up, specially in hot weather. You can purchase from a paint shop "vinyl dye" and spray your dash with the color of your choice. The last time I sprayed one the stuff sold for about $60 a quart. However, the problem with that is that the dye is not very durable as it scratches or fades easily specially with any type of cleaner like glass cleaner, armorall, etc. However, the one method that seems to work is fiberglassing. I will post some pictures as I did one for a friend of mine and he was very pleased with the outcome

 

Pics of the stock dash. I removed the actual vinyl and left the foam padding. Put a few layers of fiberglass/bondo mix and began sanding.

 

After more sanding and sanding and sanding, dash was taken to the bodyshop for paint

 

And the final steps as graphics and other colors were added on and the final outcome. So just wanted to show you another option that you may consider. Very time consuming as it took about 2 months to complete, but in the end it is worth it in my opinion. Too bad that it was a damn Honda

 

how did you remove just the vinyl layer from the foam without tearing the foam off/up

 

Ok got the vinyl off, now did you just resin up the foam and then bondo it to smooth it after, im interested in hearing more if you get the chance. thanks

 

Wow, that Honda looks like a Circus. Lol, quality work but funky colors. Has anyone tried Ultrasuede? What adhesive should i use if i go with suede?

 

why would you ruin a perfectly good FD like that? I don't get people.

 

Thats a honda?

 

Yeah, pretty much that's all you have to do. I had to drill some small holes around the whole dash (first pic) and glue strips of fabric, like an old t-shirt, on the bottom of the dash . The dash has to be mounted back into the car and I put about 3 coats before I removed it. Once it formed then I went to town with sanding and fixing all the low spots with putty filler. Its a lot easier to sand than using regular bondo, specially around the areas where the air vents go (second pic). I also did 1 coat on the bottom of the dash to make the whole piece strong. This would be called the "sandwich method" because if you don't do it this way the foam will completely separate from the dash. You have to make sure that the foam is completely glued to the dash and the only thing that would work would be a hot glue gun. This is the only stuff that I have used that will hold when laying fiberglass resin. I've tried all types of glue and this is the only thing that seems to withstand all the heat once the resin cures. I mixed half fiberglass resin with half bondo using both hardeners and the stuff dries pretty well. Once all the body work is done, I put 2 more coats and did the final sanding.

 

Well, it's my buddy's car so I can't talk to much smack about it , just different I guess.

 

yep, 96 accord

 

What about flex in the foam,, just make sure not to put to much direct force on it?

 

Uhh, please tell me no one without the name "Bozo" actually drives that car in the picture. I actually laughed out loud when I saw that, as I hope was the perpous?

 

Well, it just a matter of opinion. This particular vehicle competes in all the big car shows here in California, including Dub, Low Rider, Lay Low, LG, etc and it always places in the top three. Granted I don't expect everyone to like it. Every competition season always someone comes out with a crazy interior, paint, body mods, etc. The purpose was to show the fiberglassing work

 

Zapco: I know that resin and bondo can melt/react with foam, does this not occur with the foam used in the dash or did you spray the exposed dash with something before?

 

Well, the foam on this particular dash was not as thick. I just made sure that before I put the first coat of resin the foam was glued to the actual plastic part of the dash so it wouldn't lift once it cured.