Does anyone have any good ideas on how to repair a crack on the lower dash panel? Its where one of the center bezel screws penetrate the lower dash on the driver's side. I have lived with it for years and it was not too bad at first but over time and after taking the center gauge cluster out more times than I care to remember, it has gotten progressively worse. Most of the time I never noticed it, but lately it has been bothering me. There is one small chunk that is literally hanging by a thread and if it goes it will be quite an eyesore. I thought about getting some super-glue and doing it that way. I'm not really concerned about the long crack that goes to the speedo bezel because it is not really even noticeable, except in this pic of course.

 

Try it. No harm, no foul.

 

Hi Scott,
Because of where the failure is I wonder if the bezel screw has undermined the 'plastic' backing of the dash pad itself and contributed to the surface damage.
If that's so I'd think the bezel needs to come out one more time and the dash pad too so the substrate can be repaired and then the vinyl repair done.
I don't see this visual problem being solved well with the dash pad in place. It's too involved.
A tough one!
???
Regards,
Alan

What is this… a crack?

 

Remove the screw from that area. Mask off the bezel so it won't get stuff on it. I would recommend that you find a flexible resin or body putty material to use for patching that damage.

To begin, you will have to treat the area without any vinyl so that whatever patch material you use will adhere well. A light coating of 2-part JB Weld epoxy would work; so would a vinyl dye (paint with flex agent) or [flexible] primer.

Once that area is treated and cured, whittle a small spatula out of a popsicle stick or tongue depressor. It should be no more than 1/8" wide at the working end and make then file the edges so there are no loose fibers on it. Get a small bit of the patch material on the tip of your 'tool' and work it down into the deepest part of the damage. Build up slowly, so that it will dry as you are working. If you have areas that are more than 1/8" deep, you will have to build it up a layer at a time and let dry completely between sessions. Fill all so that the surface is up to where you want it. If possible (depending on what patch material you choose), use a small, sharp tool to embed surface detail as the patch is firming up. You can 'etch' stitching and surface grain, if you have a good eye and a steady hand.

If you already have some matching vinyl dye for your interior, get a small artist's brush and put some over the patch. Repeat as necessary to cover the patched area. On a final coat, you want to almost 'dry brush' the dye over the surface: put a bit on the end of the brush, then on a scrap piece of paper or cardboard, tap the end of the brush onto that surface a few times so that the dye imprint is thin and frosty/feathery (rather than liquid looking). That's how you want it on the brush when you apply it. It sort of resembles how a light airbrushing of paint would look. Do this on the patch and for a bit outside the perimeter of the patch. This will help blend the patch area in with the rest of the undamaged panel.

Let dry and see how it looks. Then, make adjustments as you need to make the repair 'invisible'...or as close to that as you can.

Sounds troublesome...but if you get the materials together and "have at it", you will be surprised how much better you can get it to look.

P.S. Before you reinsert that screw, use a toothpick to push a little wad of JB Weld [putty] stick epoxy down into the area for the screw threads. That stuff sets up quickly, so you need to work fast. And you don't want to "fill" that whole area...just spread it around in there to take up some space (and tighten up the screw). Put a light wipe of lube [wax, grease, oil] on the screw thread surface only, then install it into the bezel/hole; you may need to push a bit as you thread it in. Just take it down to the bezel surface--don't tighten it. Then let cure for about 10 minutes [longer if cold in the garage]. Now remove the screw and let epoxy harden completely (24 hours). Put screw back in a tighten it snuggly...but NO MORE. None of those bezel screws should get more than 'snug' torque.