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The new to me 1982 has a slight crack on the front edge of the dash on the passenger side. FL car.
I have read what I feel was close to 100 threads here about what to do with cracks on dash boards in the various build years. Not too many threads on the 78 and up dashes, though. Before this, I was hoping I could simply throw a Coverlay on there and call it a day, as I did with various other cars in the past, but what I read about "skins" and "caps" doesn´t make me happy. A new dash for 600$ is not an option right now either.
So I am leaning towards a "repair" and have to decide if I´d better use the Permatex Leather and Vinyl repair set with the heating device (seems to be hassle as well with mediocre success, from what I read) or simply use some bodo I have anyways and then use some interior dye on the spot - or rather the whole front edge of the dash. I wished the crack was in the black top plate and not right where it´s this visible, but hey...
My two cents. None of the repair kits work well. You won’t love the results but it will look better than what you have.
First clean the area aggressively with some denatured alcohol. Scuff the area lightly. Slide a piece of thin material under the the crack. Lift the edges and add some vinyl adhesive on the thin material and use tape to keep it flat as it dries.
After that fully dries start adding thin layers of the adhesive to fill in the damage. Let them dry well. Once you are level lightly sand the repair and clean it. Put a very thin layer of adhesive and extend it beyond the repair and let it get tacky. Take a piece of Saran Wrap and crush it into a ball and dab the adhesive to simulate the vinyls grain and let it dry. You might need to do this a few times.
Then dye your repair. It will improve the look but ultimately you will need to replace it. This is more of an art then science. Good luck!! Ike
1982 dash repair - best practice?
