Experimental repair for 1980-86 dash

[david85]

Anyone familiar with this era knows how badly these dashes can deteriorate. Those of us still keeping these trucks on the road don't have too many options:

1. Do nothing (which is always an option)
2. Find a used one in better shape
3. Use a slip-on dash cover from Coverlay
4. Have the dash professionally restored ($$$$!!!!!)

The original "maroon" burgundy dash in my truck is probably too far gone to save, but I have a grey dash out of another truck that is better shape. After mulling over various options, I'm going to try using Duplicolor's Burgundy Vinyl Die/paint. It doesn't seem to be a perfect match but I've had no luck finding anyone that makes the ford OEM "Maroon" interior paint for the pickups.

The Grey dash still has some early stage failure starting at the same fake speaker location. So I had the idea to blank off the speaker opening from the inside using a flexible urethane sealer/adhesive. I have no idea how well this repair will work, but here's the method so far...

1. Clean and degrease the dash. Be gentle at the speaker opening because it will break very easily, especially if cracks are already starting.
2. Tape off the speaker opening from the topside using masking tape. Again, be gentle but do your best to make sealed to the surface, especially around the speaker holes.
3. Backfill the speaker opening with urethane paintable calking. Do a fillet around the edges against the crumby foam first, then fill the middle.
4. Gently spread the urethane and press it in using a putty knife (I used a piece of cardboard).
5. Add some metal pins as needed to help reinforce and realign the vinyl surface at the break. Stretching the masking tape across the speaker opening will also help restore the original curvature of the dash. Some metal mesh may also work well here.
6. Wait 2-3 days for the heavy layer of Urethane to cure.
7. Peel away the masking tape. Because the urethane solvent was directly against the sticky side of the tape, it will be gooey but this can't be avoided.
8. Wipe glue off with isopropyl alcohol. This required a few passes but the glue did come off eventually.

As mentioned earlier, I will be painting (dying) the dash but after trying this, it made me wonder if this treatment could be used preventively on any dash. The black urethane doesn't seem to bleed out from the holes and isn't very noticeable. My original plan was to only blank off the side with the broken edge. But it worked so well that I blanked off the remaining three openings now. You can see how the first try was a bit messy on the underside.

I also tested the same vinyl paint on the urethane from underneath. Time will tell if it can bond to the urethane as well as it did to the vinyl.

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[Scotty4]

My thought here was to fabricate a tray that screws to the speaker bracket somehow so it'll have a nice ss or alum piece to hold maybe sunglasses or a wallet while driving.

 

[subway]

One of my favorite youtube guys covers his take on dash repair. He used body filler and rebuilt a dash that was pretty far gone. This will probably be the way I repair mine eventually.

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[cozinsky]

New ones are still available:

1980-1986 F-150,250,350 Ford Original Tooling Dash Pad - Dashes Direct Classic Car & Truck Restoration Products

1980-1986 F-150,250,350 Ford Original Tooling Dash Pad|LifeTime Warranty on Dashes|Ford,Chevy,GMC,and More.

dashesdirect.com

They're spendy but worth it if you're restoring the truck. I bought one about 8 years ago.

 

[1mouse3]

One of my favorite youtube guys covers his take on dash repair. He used body filler and rebuilt a dash that was pretty far gone. This will probably be the way I repair mine eventually.

I have had bad luck with the bondo cracking in the past and know someone that did this to there dash with bondo that cracked back up. Not sure that I have seen the use of higher teir body filler but this person brought it up, makes me lean less away from the use of filler.

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[david85]

New ones are still available:

1980-1986 F-150,250,350 Ford Original Tooling Dash Pad - Dashes Direct Classic Car & Truck Restoration Products

1980-1986 F-150,250,350 Ford Original Tooling Dash Pad|LifeTime Warranty on Dashes|Ford,Chevy,GMC,and More.

dashesdirect.com

They're spendy but worth it if you're restoring the truck. I bought one about 8 years ago.

Eight years ago...How did I not know about this? That is actually about what I was ready to spend for used Ebay dash once. I'll have to ask them if they can get the Maroon color. Thanks for sharing.

 

[cozinsky]

Eight years ago...How did I not know about this? That is actually about what I was ready to spend for used Ebay dash once. I'll have to ask them if they can get the Maroon color. Thanks for sharing.

They're only available in black or white but you can easily paint them any color you want.

 

[Old Goat]

I started working on my 86 Dash a couple yrs ago, then got side tracked onto other things.
First I tried using JB Weld, then saw a You Tube video where he guy as using Super Glue and then sprinkling on Baking Soda. Makes some kind of Chemical Reaction, and it turns rock hard. He was using on something else, and I thought maybe might work on the dash.

I thought also maybe cutting out the Speaker area and placing in some kind of tray. It gets hotter than heck on the dash, so plastic things can get warped in the sun. Had a Casset tape one time get cooked pretty good along with some sun glasses that got tweaked.

Only way to preserve a Dash is placing a Rug on it or use of a Wind Shield cover.
It`s great some one is making these new dashes, as old as these trucks are.

As far as color goes, I prefer Black, as it does not reflect in the glass as a lighter color does.

Goat

 

[cozinsky]

Only way to preserve a Dash is placing a Rug on it or use of a Wind Shield cover.

Yep. Sunlight is what kills these things. I use a windshield sunscreen whenever it's parked outside and wipe it down with UV dash protectant a few times a year. Mine still looks like new.

 

[asmith]

Yep. Sunlight is what kills these things. I use a windshield sunscreen whenever it's parked outside and wipe it down with UV dash protectant a few times a year. Mine still looks like new.

I use a thick layer of dust and dirt to protect my dash.

 

[slyhog022056]

I did mine in my previous truck but I removed mine, stripped everything off of it and fiberglassed mine with fiberlass mat, 4 layers on the underside and 2 on top. lot of work but it did come out pretty good for me. the other advantage to the fiberglass was being able to imbed a piece of 1/4 round rod in places for reenforcment and put washers around the holes for mounting. Plus I was able to cover up the ugly ashtray hole and form a place to mount rocker switches for LED lights and my air compressor for my air bags

 

[david85]

Here it is. The only complaint is the color seems a touch too bright. The color is also brighter than the cap on the rattle can, so it might be something about how I applied it. I've read that applying this kind of dye in heavy coat or in high humidity can cause problems. The speaker blanking worked ok, but some of the holes didn't fill perfectly. It's noticeable, but not too bad.

The duplicolor vinyl die seems to work well, but time will tell how it holds up.

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[david85]

Another brand of dye arrived so I decided to give it a try, even though the dash was already in.

This new stuff appears to be a tad too dark but since I have to cover on top of a brighter red, I thought maybe I could get it closer. I used the old dash to make a few test patches, and to verify compatibility with the older (brighter) dye. I tried two coats of the new dye over the old dye test area and it still turned out a bit too dark. So in the end, I added only a single light coat onto the new dash. The result looks like a very good match but on a late cloudy afternoon, it's hard to say for sure.

The previous comparison between the two dashes clearly shows the new dash is brighter. Another comparison still shows it slightly too bright. But in the truck cab it shows slightly too dark. I'll have to see what it looks like in sunlight, but it's probably as close as it will get. I might also try to revisit the speaker blanking holes but this is already better than I hoped for.

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[Old Goat]

Great looking job. I have the whole interior out of my 85 extra cab. Washed out the cab with the garden hose an soap. And then Dyna matted the whole interior. Floor and back and side walls.

My next step is to paint the plastic panels which are also red. Some places are sun faded to a whitish white look.
I did a lot of Google searching to find the correct paint for plastics. Looks like SEM paint is the preferd one. Found this thread on FTE.

Interior plastic paint to match factory plastic?? - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

Paint & Bodywork - Interior plastic paint to match factory plastic?? - Does anyone know of a source to get paint for the dash that will match the original paint that Ford painted the dash at the factory?? I don't want to use a generic paint-I dont want to have to repaint all of the interior...

www.ford-trucks.com

looked up to find a dealer for this paint and we have one about 20+ miles from here.

If your color does not match exactly, probably due to sun fade the past 30+ years....see if you can find 30 yr old faded red paint....

The top of the stupid plastic door panels always fade and then crumble from the sun, one`s on my 86 are more gone than there. Iam wondering if painting a new set will preserve the tops of these longer? I have 2 sets I bought, (I forgot I already ordered panels, door seals, window channel, wing glass rubber and new manual window winders....then ordered again)...(the blessings of getting older........ but also have 2 trucks so nothing lost.

Probably the best thing also is to have the darkest tint on the windows the law allows, to cut the IV Light.

Goat

 

[david85]

Yeah, I'm not sure what to do on the door panels. Both sides have turned dusty pink due to so much sun damage.