The coating then becomes hard, brittle, and can no longer expand or contract in relation to the temperature. The FiberFlex will link into the foam and form a solid, yet flexible, foundation for the filler that will be applied. The best way to check the quality of your repair is to subject the dash to similar temperature conditions that will be experienced once installed in your car. SEM makes three types of black paint for re-spraying plastic and vinyl car interiors: Landau, Satin and Gloss. Scratch Protection from a bike rack - apply sugru to the metal clips of your bike rack to avoid scratching the paintwork on your car.

Shake the can for a minute and spray a light coat over the entire dash, including those areas with no undercoating. Both components have to be mixed together in the ratio prescribed in the instructions and spread over the area you are repairing. Flexible resins are used to give the flexibility required to withstand the expansion and contraction brought about by extreme temperatures. We have seen people use sugru to remount their aerials also, this is Rennie's Honda aerial and Carsten in Germany hacked an aerial from a wlan antenna, very smart. A dash repair made with this type of filler will expand and contact with changes in temperature, unlike Bondo, which will most likely crack and ruin your repair.DO NOT use thick coats of filler or expect to completely fill a weld in one pass; too much product laid down at once will require major sanding to knock down high spots, which are inevitable when using this dash filler. This DIY was written so that even a novice could complete the repair, so please excuse the heavy details in some areas as well as an oversimplifying of what might seem obvious to the more experienced forum member. This filler comes with a small tube of hardener and you won’t be using more than half of it for the entire job. Gently roll the stamp on the filled in holes, applying gentle pressure, enough to make an impression without squashing the sugru out of place.

Any sanding on this last coat will make those sanded parts of the dash texture uneven compared to the rest of the dash that is not sanded. Be sure to apply almost no pressure to the sandpaper at this point, otherwise you will sand away the texture. When finished, the filler should still cover the edges fo the vinyl so as to keep them buried under the filler. Remember, by keeping the welding stick just a little below the surface of the dash, you will provide something for the surface filler to bite into.Special attention should also be paid to covering the three windshield vents in the top of the dash if you choose not remove them from below.

If this is the first time you are attempting this kind of repair, I would recommend taking the time to read through this entire post first. Since I live in Arizona, I am much more concerned with the impact that heat will have on my dash repair than the effects of cold weather.Your goal here is to sand down these edges enough so that there is a smooth and almost imperceptible transition from the original dash surface to the filler.

I have tested many different products and techniques (spending quite a bit of money along the way to fully experiment) to repair this specific type of dash, which is constructed of polyurethane foam, hard plastic and vinyl. You should continue melting the welding stick into the groove until you are able to bring it within 1/8” of the top surface of the dash. If you have any kind of welding gloves (or other thick work gloves), you should wear them to help protect your hands from accidentally being burned. Finish sanding with the 320 grit sandpaper to fully smooth out the filler so that all scratches left from the previous sandpapers are rubbed out.If small things like the gear knob, steering wheel cover, and floor are also renewed, even an older car can feel brand-new. Maybe Josh (JRCook) can add this to the DIY/FAQ section as an updated version for others to try out. This is the first step of the repair sequence - opening up the crack and removing the curled up vinyl. I chose gloss because its sheen is closest to the original finish of the E21 dash and it’s more of a pure black than the landau color. The dash filler used in this repair hardens like Bondo, but stays flexible due to its elastomeric properties.