david85
Full Access Member
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.
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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