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IMO that looks like something pointed pressed down on brittle, aged vinyl - I think you could reskin that...
In my case, I didn't chance it as the split in my pad was because the foam had swelled and broke the vinyl into pieces from the inside and the exposed foam was the color and consistency of peach cobbler... It was done.
Just to clarify something, a reskinning job means installing the new skin on top of the old skin, right? You don’t try and remove the old skin? Is this added thickness a problem on assembly?
Never done it on a dash pad but I've done arm rests and C1 grab bars ....it is my understanding you remove the old vinyl from the underlying foam and install new vinyl over the old foam.... Prep is critical of course...
I wonder who did these for GM in the sixties, the company may still be around. The link Frank provided looks promising, it's always been difficult to replactate a factory product like this so I would like to see a finished C2 pad and compare.
The pads you installed in your 63 look nice Frank, I wonder where these frames come from and where the vinyl is installed.
I wonder who did these for GM in the sixties, the company may still be around. The link Frank provided looks promising, it's always been difficult to replactate a factory product like this so I would like to see a finished C2 pad and compare.
The pads you installed in your 63 look nice Frank, I wonder where these frames come from and where the vinyl is installed.
Corvette America; the seller supplied them with the car when I bought it and I installed them...as to who CA uses to build them up, haven't a clue.
Honestly - I compared the grain, shape and fit to the original pads I removed - I could see no difference....maybe others might..
Its sooooo nice to get reproduction parts that are faithful to the original pieces, most of the times its very disappointing...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; Mar 23, 2019 at 07:06 AM.
Wow, having to remove the old vinyl shines a new light on what I thought was going to be a simple procedure. Looks to me like the foam surface is super critical to prevent any waviness or irregularities from transferring through. Need to talk to my upholsterer again!
You do have to remove the old vinyl but it's really not hard. It will also give you an opportunity to fix any imperfections in the foam if you have any. They're not super hard to put on but I let a retired upholsterer put mine on and I helped. I'm glad I let him do it because he used a few little "tricks" I wouldn't have thought of. Just take/cut the vinyl off carefully then take it to a local shop and let them do it. Simple
I've had good luck with vinyl repair on my C1 hardtop headliner - but with something constantly exposed to heat and sun I'm not sure how long a repair would hold up....I think my repair was $45 and invisible 9 years ago...
There is an advantage to letting an upholsterer "reskin" the dash, part of what you have to do to get a tight fit is heat the vinyl with a heat gun/hair dryer. Too much and you'll melt the grain - inexperience can be costly... I generally heat the vinyl until I don't really want to keep my palm on the piece - and that's enough.
That crack in the dash pad looks very repairable. See a vinyl repair guy if you're interested in saving a few bucks.
I’ve heard a good vinyl repair guy can do wonders, I’m worried about the texture and color not matching the other new pad. Also, if it’s cracking like that, the vinyl has dried out and susceptible to more. I got a quote from an upholsterer of $120 to install my furnished skin but I need to verify with him that that includes removing the old vinyl. If it does, then reskinning is probably the way I’ll go.
Dash Pad
