Capri dash pad fix - Pics

n20capri · Post by **n20capri** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:56 pm

I posted this over at FEP but figured there are some users here that might find it useful too...

Dashpad started fading and bubbling recently after having refinished it about 10 years ago...no problem since last time it went well. I took it out once again and in the middle of scraping the old stuff off - successfully I might add - I stand up to take a break and the scraper I had on my lap fell off...DOH - of course it had to hit the speaker holes area and you guessed it...

I now had a nice hole in a perfect dash pad...see pics. (Note, this was mid paint removal so the surface looks horrible - don't mind that)

The bubbling here is from a heat gun...it worked awesome to get the old stuff off...it bubbled nicely then I just scraped it off...

I wasn't sure how I was going to fix this...just repair that section or cut out the entire area and go from there. First, I re-created the "holes" on the computer to cut out of vinyl as template...I made one out of metal and a few "tests" out of plastic where I replicated the damaged area. (Yes I center punched and drilled all 147 holes several times lol)

I tried fiberglass, Mighty Putty and some epoxy gel stuff. The winner ended up being, believe it or not, the Mighty Putty...lol. The epoxy gel stuff was strong but a bit too pliable for drilling. The fiberglass was awesome but the test area got messed up when I tried to sand it. The test plastic didn't really sand well (my fault) so I decided I'd need to re-test that method. In the meantime, the Mighty Putty test had cured so I started working with it and ended up really liking the way it turned out so I rolled with it.

This is the repaired area from the bottom of the dash...you'll see 2 areas - the smaller area got damaged in the process too...lol. I had a backer piece of plastic on the other side so the putty didn't just fall through. It protruded just enough to take 2 seconds to sand smooth...there was no seam either.

The area after primer...

The area after final painting...

...AND back in the car...(hard to get a good shot in the garage

Overall I'm super happy with the way it turned out - way better than $100+ for a new (used) dash pad.

tfs2121 · Post by **tfs2121** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:05 am

how can i get some mighty putty?

i cant even see the repair... its amazing

n20capri · Post by **n20capri** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:09 am

HI BILLY MAYS HERE!!! lol

I got it from someone at work - apparently it has a shelf life and she wasn't going to be able to use it all so she gave me a tube!
https://www.mightyputty.com/

plumkrazy · Post by **plumkrazy** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:12 am

how much do you charge, and will it work for cracks!!

looks great!!!

Post by **negusm** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:18 am

Very nice repair...but if your pad is getting that bad, its going to crack in the middle area soon. Then its impossible to hide any repair.

Good news is that FMR is working on a PERFECT repro. Your repair should hold you until then.

Mighty Putty is probably about the same as "Wonder Putty" (I super highly recommend Wonder Putty). Wonder Putty is great stuff in that you can shape and sand it down with your wet finger while it hasn't cured. Afterwards it is very hard. There are other 2 part putty epoxies that I have used that look more like mighty putty but they don't work as well as wonder putty. For very very large repairs, those are cheaper though.

-Mike

Post by **negusm** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:19 am

n20capri wrote:HI BILLY MAYS HERE!!! lol

I got it from someone at work - apparently it has a shelf life and she wasn't going to be able to use it all so she gave me a tube!
https://www.mightyputty.com/

Wonder Putty has been on my shelf for 3-4 years now. Works great even today.

Get it here:

http://www.wonderputty.com/

n20capri · Post by **n20capri** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:22 am

I'd probably just try to superglue the cracks...I actually have a few cracks that you can't even see...I didn't even worry about them...

Not sure I want to handle the painting but I'd do a similar "holes" repair for $50 if you pay shipping to and from...

Post by **negusm** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:26 am

plumkrazy wrote:how much do you charge, and will it work for cracks!!

looks great!!!

Cracks can be filled with JB Weld. However, it will be noticeable even after painting.

These dash pads are simply imploding, there is almost no way to save them once they start cracking in the middle. It really sucks that we don't have a high quality repro as of yet.

-Mike

n20capri · Post by **n20capri** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:27 am

negusm wrote:Very nice repair...but if your pad is getting that bad, its going to crack in the middle area soon. Then its impossible to hide any repair.

Good news is that FMR is working on a PERFECT repro. Your repair should hold you until then.

Mighty Putty is probably about the same as "Wonder Putty" (I super highly recommend Wonder Putty). Wonder Putty is great stuff in that you can shape and sand it down with your wet finger while it hasn't cured. Afterwards it is very hard. There are other 2 part putty epoxies that I have used that look more like mighty putty but they don't work as well as wonder putty. For very very large repairs, those are cheaper though.

-Mike

It lasted 22 years...it's brittle for sure but the only reason I had a problem was my dumbass was careless!!! lol.

Hopefully the new pad is reasonably priced...

Post by **negusm** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 12:34 am

n20capri wrote:It lasted 22 years...it's brittle for sure but the only reason I had a problem was my dumbass was careless!!! lol.

Not really. If you had dropped the NOS pad I have, this wouldn't have happened. The flexibility of a new Ford pad and a 22 year old one is night and day. They simply survive for just so long.

I'm waiting for Sandy to call me up in a panic when he sees the first hair line crack in his 86

-Mike

tfs2121 · Post by **tfs2121** » Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:10 pm

wouldent a nos pad be about 20 years old anyways?... i think its the sun not the age

85blackvert · Post by **85blackvert** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:13 am

That fix is fantastic - well done. You have more ingenuity than I Mike. There's no way I would have thought of fixing that w/ that putty.

When I first got my car I learned the hard way about how brittle the dash pad can get. The previous owner had my car at the beach all the time, so the pad got EXTREMELY brittle. I was simply cleaning/wiping down the dash when one of the speaker holes basically imploded on me. I have a temporary replacement (incorrect pad) for now, but I'd definitely be in the market for a nice repro dash pad or NOS pad down the road.

Post by **negusm** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:22 am

tfs2121 wrote:wouldent a nos pad be about 20 years old anyways?... i think its the sun not the age

Replacements were made as late as 1995 I believe.

-Mike

Post by **negusm** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:23 am

tfs2121 wrote:wouldent a nos pad be about 20 years old anyways?... i think its the sun not the age

But yes, sun and temperature plays a big role in pad life. But regardless, plastic and vinyl and foam can never last forever.

-Mike

ProTouringASC · Post by **ProTouringASC** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:36 pm

I have never tried this!!! But, I once read that GoJo does a very nice job of bringing a dried and brittle dash pad back to a nice and flexible condition.

Also, Just Dashes can restore an old dash pad to new condition, but it definitely isn't cheap!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill