New “under dash”

DodgeLady · Jun 4, 2020

I finally gave up on my crumbling under dash. I just bought this on eBay! So excited!

I have a new top and new bezel. This will be a challenge to replace... but it can’t be that hard...right?
I’m going to replace all of my vent doors when I do this.
If anyone here has tackled this I’m all ears!

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Stox5225 · Jun 4, 2020

That’s not new, is it????

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DodgeLady · Jun 5, 2020

Stox5225 said:
That’s not new, is it????

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Well, according to the description on eBay, it is used. The picture is supposed to be what I bought, but I think the picture looks like it’s new. I’ll be disappointed if it’s not in excellent shape.
Can’t wait!
I ordered a new set of vent doors today. I may replace the vent door actuators while I’m in there.

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DodgeLady · Jun 13, 2020

I received my “new” dash today[emoji3].Definitely NOT the one in the picture on e-bay.Looks pretty faded, has a few hairline cracks that will probably grow when I try to wrestle it into the truck[emoji53].
But... that being said still much much better in the instrument attach lattice than my old one.
I am replacing all the blend doors and blend door actuators, blower motor and blower motor resistor while I have everything out.
This is the most challenging dyi I have ever attempted on my tuck. Hope I can pull it off!
Here is the dash I got:

I may be able to use my old glove box cuz it looks better than this one! I’m thinking of painting it with the dodge color from LMC Truck. Anyone have any experience with that paint?

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Joe w. · Jun 13, 2020

I painted all my lower dash parts and door panels with the paint from LMC. It did great I just cleaned and prepped all the parts first.

Stox5225 · Jun 13, 2020

Man. That’s some BS. Apply some sealant to the cracks. Maybe some kind of JB Weld product. Also, I’ve seen some guys apply a sound deadener to the back side of the panels to make it more solid. A product like Noico or Dynamat. Not to cover it, but a few strips here and there to help with vibrations that could ultimately crack these things.

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Spike95 · Jun 14, 2020

I haven’t totally removed my lower dash, but I have done some repairs to my existing one. I used JB Plastic Weld. Tried to get it into the cracks as best I could and let the first application start to cure. Then I came back with heavy aluminum foil with a light coating of the JB on it and molded it around all of the repairs to give an added layer of support.

I do plan to someday completely remove my dash, make some larger repairs, and perform some preventive modifications. Having access to the backside of the dash will make this much easier. I think a thin layer of fiberglass mat, and maybe some sound insulating material like mentioned above, would make the old brittle material much much sturdier. Then you can make cosmetic repairs to the front as needed.

Spike95 · Jun 14, 2020

One other note, if you decide to trash your old dash, you might want to at least keep some pieces of it. The plastic can be used as filler for making plastic welding repairs. There is also a technique where you use acetone to make a slurry out of the old plastic that can be poured into cracks as a repair. When the acetone evaporates, the plastic left behind is molecularly bonded into the repair. The older these trucks get, the harder it’ll be to come by the original plastic, and the more creative we will have to become to repair and preserve them. Depending on what yours looks like, I might even be interested in buying some pieces of it off of you to plastic weld into areas of mine.

DodgeLady · Jun 14, 2020

Spike95 said:
One other note, if you decide to trash your old dash, you might want to at least keep some pieces of it. The plastic can be used as filler for making plastic welding repairs. There is also a technique where you use acetone to make a slurry out of the old plastic that can be poured into cracks as a repair. When the acetone evaporates, the plastic left behind is molecularly bonded into the repair. The older these trucks get, the harder it’ll be to come by the original plastic, and the more creative we will have to become to repair and preserve them. Depending on what yours looks like, I might even be interested in buying some pieces of it off of you to plastic weld into areas of mine.

Thanks for all the tips. I really appreciate them. I like the idea of the thin layer of fiberglass. I wonder... could I use bondo on it? I’ve never done any body repair but I’ve heard of bondo...[emoji16]
I was thinking of spraying the back with something. I’m not familiar with the products mentioned but I’ll check them out!

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Spike95 · Jun 14, 2020

DodgeLady said:
Thanks for all the tips. I really appreciate them. I like the idea of the thin layer of fiberglass. I wonder... could I use bondo on it? I’ve never done any body repair but I’ve heard of bondo...[emoji16]
I was thinking of spraying the back with something. I’m not familiar with the products mentioned but I’ll check them out!

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Bondo is a body filler for little dents and dings in your body panels. I don’t think it would add nearly as much structure and support as fiberglass would.

Okiespaniel · Jun 14, 2020

I've noticed that my instrument mount area has some cracks. I thought about removing and glassing the whole thing, but have also had some success using model glue and pieces of styrene as gussets...on smaller pieces

Bondo would useless for plastic. Something called "kitty hair" which is fiberglass epoxy with shredded fiberglass strands in it would be better.

My problem has always been adhesion. Lots of products (like epoxy and JB weld) appear to work but over time pull off the base material. This is after both thoroughly cleaning and and roughing the area with coarse sandpaper.

The Testor brand model glue seems to remelt the plastic and then cementing something over the crack, like welding patches of plate over a cracked truck frame, seems to have merit.

Edit...I've used the interior paint on the side panels of my front seats and the Agate color is an excellent match. Dries a bit more matte but shines right up with non armor all protectants.

Okiespaniel · Jun 14, 2020

The big thing that causes these dashes to deteriorate is the lack of UV inhibitors....which actually holds the petroleum oils in suspension in the plastic. As these microscopic molecules of oil separate and evaporate, the plastic breaks down and becomes brittle, cracking and breaking with minimal stress.
This is why when you patch your dash pad or instrument panel bezel it cracks or breaks elsewhere, often next to the repaired area!

Rado · Jun 14, 2020

DL this may help or at least give you a idea of a way to paint the dash !
Eastwood may be a good source for paint/dyes. Their stuff has good reviews

https://www.eastwood.com/paints/interior-dyes.html

https://www.wikihow.com/Custom-Paint-a-Car-Dashboard

https://autoleatherdye.com/products/leather-vinyl-dye

Stox5225 · Jun 14, 2020

Anyone use hot glue? Came across an article that says it basically plastic and works great repairing/reinforcing old stuff. I think I’m going to try that along with Noico 80 mil on the backside.

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Okiespaniel · Jun 14, 2020

The can that gentleman is spraying color from is the same brand that LMC truck sells...

DodgeLady · Jun 14, 2020

Spike95 said:
One other note, if you decide to trash your old dash, you might want to at least keep some pieces of it. The plastic can be used as filler for making plastic welding repairs. There is also a technique where you use acetone to make a slurry out of the old plastic that can be poured into cracks as a repair. When the acetone evaporates, the plastic left behind is molecularly bonded into the repair. The older these trucks get, the harder it’ll be to come by the original plastic, and the more creative we will have to become to repair and preserve them. Depending on what yours looks like, I might even be interested in buying some pieces of it off of you to plastic weld into areas of mine.

I will keep the old pieces and you are welcome to some of them! No charge! I’m laughing thinking about a post on eBay or Craig’s list...”cracked up pieces of gen2 dodge dashboard for sale”. It just cracks me up. No pun intended!

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DodgeLady · Jun 14, 2020

Spike95 said:
Bondo is a body filler for little dents and dings in your body panels. I don’t think it would add nearly as much structure and support as fiberglass would.

Just to get you up to speed here: I purchased a used complete dash on eBay. It certainly isn’t the one that he pictured! A little disappointed but it is still much better than my original. So I’ll have essentially a whole dash of cracked plastic to distribute to the gen 2 club! Lol!
But the new used has some cracks that I need to reenforce. I hope I can get it installed without it totally breaking up.
I’m replacing the vent doors and actuators while I’m at it. I just had my heater core and ac evap replaced a year ago. Which finished off my old dash due to (in my opinion) carelessness of the tech that worked on it.
This new used does have a good instrument attach lattice. So we’ll see! This is the most ambitious thing I’ve tackled on my truck.

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Stox5225 · Jun 14, 2020

How about plastic welding? Another thing I came across. I picked up “core” from CL that needs some repair work.

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Stox5225 · Jun 14, 2020

Hot glue didn’t work lol. Unless I didn’t have the right kind. As soon as it dried, it pretty much peeled off. Got this stuff:

It worked very well at reattaching broken pieces. Here is my application of the Noico 80 vibration dampening stuff. Huge improvement so far IMHO:

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DodgeLady · Jun 14, 2020

Stox5225 said:
Hot glue didn’t work lol. Unless I didn’t have the right kind. As soon as it dried, it pretty much peeled off. Got this stuff:

It worked very well at reattaching broken pieces. Here is my application of the Noico 80 vibration dampening stuff. Huge improvement so far IMHO:

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That looks good! I’m glad you tried the hot glue and reported back. That sounded like it could be a winner. I looked up plastic welding and that looks like it might be good - but I think re-enforcing is necessary for success.
I used a product today by JB Weld called @ quick weld”. It did good.

Not so pretty but I hope I can sand it a bit if everything else goes well.

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New “under dash”

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