So I repaired my dash...(just the bad spot)

[trav1856]

Until I build a vacuum table to do it properly with a full sheet of vinyl (it's like $6 a yard here)....I decided I was going to patch my dash and make it look passable until I could fix it completely.

It had the typical big crack near the vent on top, so I cut off that whole piece of vinyl from seam to seam, and cut out a piece and glued it into place, and sealed it with SealAll, then used Vinyal Paint and painted it all black.

Here are the results.





It looks brown, that's because of the lighting, I had to use night mode, because my phone doesn't have a flash, and there's only one light in that room.

[nathan_b]

Wow, you did an excellent job, where did you get your supplies?

[trav1856]

the foam to fill in the bad part was old carpet padding.
To help even it all out, I cut out a 24pk pop carton (diet Dr. Thunder to be exact)
1 yard of vinyl from Hobby Lobby
1 box/utility knife to cut along the seams
1 tube of SealAll
1 can of Vinyl and Fabirc Paint from O'reilly Auto Parts

This was just a quick and dirty repair until I can take the time to get it right (I want to get a spare dash to try out the vacuum table method)

[maxfax]

For quick and dirty, that don;t look bad at all...

[trav1856]

I'll take some pics when I get it all re-installed. It was all maroon, I went with Black (black goes with anything after all)

[rallydiesel]

That looks very good. Want to do mine? Seriously, there is no shortage of threads on the vortex of people wanting their dashes repaired. You could make some money.

[trav1856]

That's kind of why I want to get my vacuum table set up, they charge 800-1200 to repair a dash I'd do it for much much less. Heat up the vinyl a lil' so it forms correctly, and then suck it down on there good and tight.

[trav1856]

also wanting to find some spare dashboards so that I can try a few things without having to take mine out, because I need to start driving it, because my commute bill is killing me in fuel costs.

[Rabbit79]

I went the REALLY cheap and easy route and put a dash mat on mine. I was surprised as heck to find out they still make one for a 79 Rabbit but amazingly enough they do.

[trav1856]

I went the REALLY cheap and easy route and put a dash mat on mine. I was surprised as heck to find out they still make one for a 79 Rabbit but amazingly enough they do.

cheaper than $6? I think not ;-) The vinyl was the only thing I had to pay for, I had everything else.

[burn_your_money]

I drove my car for over a year with no dash...

Your repair looks good, hopefully you can get some clearer pictures up to really show the details

[trav1856]

I'll take some more pictures when I get it in. Right now I'm trying to pull the tranny from a donor car and it's proving elusive.

[Rabbit79]

I went the REALLY cheap and easy route and put a dash mat on mine. I was surprised as heck to find out they still make one for a 79 Rabbit but amazingly enough they do.

cheaper than $6? I think not ;-) The vinyl was the only thing I had to pay for, I had everything else.

True.... not quite as cheap as $6. I can't remember exactly how much it cost, around 20 bucks I think. My dash isn't in terrible shape, just a lot of cracks that I got tired of looking at.

[trav1856]

right on.

I'm also covering my glovebox door with vinyl, but it's proving to be more difficult, there will be a little bit of uneven-ness to it (some of the foam came off when I pulled off the old liner)...and I'm kind of just doing things to see what and how they're done at present; to see what's possible. It's kind of a plastic backing plate with a foam form over it. I tried plastic paint originally and the stuff just stayed tacky on the glovebox door...(mental note...NEVER use plastic paint on the rubberized vinyl parts...always always always, use vinyl paint...$6 at O'reilly's/Autozone/Advanced Auto Parts...Lowe's *SAYS* they have the Rust-o-leum version, but it's hit-or-miss with them. I see lots of engine paint, but the vinyl paint was a losing prospect at Lowe's)

anyway...I've learned that using a hair dryer is good for getting the vinyl to soften up as I'm molding it around the glovebox piece. It may not be perfect, but it'll match until I can find a proper one...when I build my vacuum table, I think I may make some sort of low-heat oven to pre-cook the vinyl before I put it over a dash, to get it to be really soft and stretchy when it's time to vacuum mold it to the dash...

[ToddA1]

I'm in for better pics. 

One issue I foresee with the vacuum table is that the vinyl will have to have seams in some areas.   I've used 4 way stretch vinyl in the past and although it stretches, don't expect miracles.....  especially if you'll be using padding under it.  I used landau foam, 4 way stretch and 3M Super 90, and it failed.  All the concaved areas areas eventually lifted.  That was about 4 hours work, down the drain.

Weldwood contact cement is a popular adhesive, although some said it'll fail when subjected to Summer heat.  Most of the upholstery guys tell you to use upholstery contact cement (duh!).

-Todd