suede dash and center?

[Skeeg]

ive ripped out my dash and center section, but im not sure how to go about wrapping and im worried about the corners and if i should use one large piece or cut up sections and have seems.

if anyone has done this, or has a good detailed DIY on it that would be great!!

[Mangudai]

I looked into this as well and was informed I was better off using alcantara. Anyone can shed light on this?

I know that didn't answer your question but I suppose its something to think about.

[BoostedCoupe]

I wrapped mine befor. I did it with the dash in the car. it looked ok besides were it had to be curved.When you do it use one piece of fabric. If you just use sections it will look like garbage. But im willing to bet after a month or so you will rip it out. it will get old quick. The suede collects dust and its really hard to clean it, it also fades easily. But it does look really nice and keeps the sun from glareing in your eyes.

[Skeeg]

did you use the spray adhesive? how did you cut the corners and mold it to the curves?

[sick_lazy_gray-s13]

I took out my dash. Sanded it down. cut out all high spots were cracks were. then I filled in cracks with bondo. I sanded again to make it all even, I primered it and then sprayed truck bed liner coating on it. I'm going to do it again using a two part epoxy to fill in the cracks. I think it will be more flexible when in different temperatures. I'll post pics when I do it. My dash looks pretty good. The important thing is making sure there is no high spot.

[Skeeg]

reason for this is blown out airbag.... so my "crack" is rather large, i planned on using some sheet metal and foam to cover the hole... as i dont have the money for a new dash and i will never find a junkyard with one.

any ideas on that would be great also.

[sick_lazy_gray-s13]

Put some gauges there

[Skeeg]

hahaha... i duno.. guess i could do that. let me get a picture of this hole...

[Skeeg]

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/SkeegBMX/162536700de8.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b169/SkeegBMX/0d6ac899f88b.jpg

had to remove the top cover, and cut away the bottom as it was all binded up and just not going to work.... but i mean, its big but not un-do-able

[BoostedCoupe]

i used elmers spray adhesive. I did no bondo no nothing. Just sprayed the fabric and the dash and layed it down. IF i was you i would get some fabric find some one that can sew. Get them to make a pattern and put together a dash mat type deal. But spray glue on the under side to hold it or use double sided tape. Also were the airbage uset to be sew some hard carbored under the suede to give the fabric some support where the hole is. If its done right it will look great. since the dash is already out the pattern can be made to fit like a glove. But like i said befor it will get dirty really quick and fade quick aswell. But if you need anymore help just let me know.

[ZenkiCam]

not sure if this helps but gives good pics.. he will do yours for a price...

http://240atlanta.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7322&highlight=Suede

[Bushido]

2 words.

FLOCK IT.

http://www.suffolkflockingservices.co.uk/examples-flocking-dashboard.asp

What is Flocking?

Flocking is the coating of a substrate with nylon fibers using high voltage, electro-static equipment.

Each individual nylon flock fiber is just a fraction of a millimeter thick. Nylon is used because of it's excellent durability and strength, a high melting point (220c) and superior lasting qualities. It is an ideal candidate for application which requires abrasive resistance and resiliency.

An electrostatic charge is generated that propels the fibers at a high velocity onto the adhesive coated substrate. This causes the flocking fibers to penetrate and imbed in the adhesive at right angles to substrate. This forms a high density, uniform flock coating or layer.

This dense and durable finish has excellent anti-glare properties. Hence its use on WRC car interiors.

[S14DB]

Flocking looks like crap most of the time and gathers dirt. Race car maybe but alcantara is a much nicer option.

[SW20Racer]

theres a writeup somewhere around here about leather wrapping a center console...i see if i can find the link. you would use the same principles..give me a second...

while im looking for the link, have you ever considered using the stock dash for a mold and making a fiberglass dash? you could paint it gold and put a naked aztec lady on it...

edit: i cant find the link...you're doomed...

[Skeeg]

yea i thought of fiberglass... i figured id try the suede 1st then if all els fails just glass and paint it.

[a_ahmed]

I've seen a guy who did his whole interior in a red suede, it sucked, it got dirty so bad and it then became just super ugly

I used to want to fiberglass and paint my interior (ricer days i didnt know whats good + was overly excited about doing ANYTHING and everything to my car when i first got it), bad idea, i didnt do it thank God, but basically that would make you not see anything even with tint lmao... reflections = die

[The Chad]

Yeah suede is great for parts that dont gather much dust and dont see much sun. I'm going to suede little sections throughout my car but not the dash. For your dash i def recomend alcantara or matching vinyl/leather.

Just make sure you get a decent quality for whatever you choose otherwise it'll start fading within a year and you'll be back to square one wishing you had spent the extra money on a nicer vinyl (spoken form experience on my 1979 Datsun :( )

[S13Dreamer]

To fight the fading, I had all my windows tinted even my front windshield. Before we all go crazy about it being unsafe, it's a 80%. To be honest, you can't even notice it but it blocks out 99% of UV rays. My seats are wrapped in alcantara and were fading until I tinted everything.

I did my roofliner and rear seats in alcantara too. I'm not sure how bad it is for the dash but the roofliner was pretty easy. Some spray adhesive and about 20mins was all it took. My mom knows how to sew so she took apart the stock fabric as a template and redid everything.

Keeping alcantara clean is a real pain in the butt. Even a vacuum cleaner has trouble getting all the dust out. Alcantara on the seats is pretty nice though, keeps you glued to it. Hope this helps. :bigok:

[exitspeed]

2 words.

FLOCK IT.



One of the DA cars like 4 years ago had a flocked dash. I never knew what it was called until right now.

I wonder how that would look on just the center section of the door panels?

[g6civcx]

FYI, suede gets dirty really really quickly, and can be a pain to clean.

[exitspeed]

I just looked into the flocking option. Doesn't seem like a bad idea. Cheap too. It's gotta be better then the tweed on the doors.

[Bushido]

yeah, flocking is the best route out there. forget suede, it is a bitch to apply unless you're a professional reupholsterer, holds dust and dirt, and in my opinion, just looks shitty. every time you touch it the pile changes direction and the pattern never looks uniform.

[IIIXziuR]

Yeah Flocking looks so awesome and it really isn't as expensive as I though it was. And like mentioned above you always see it on the bad ass race cars/WRC cars.

I like suede/alacantra too but I just keep thinking how impossible it must be to maintain and keep looking pretty.

[exitspeed]

I did some searching on google of some places to buy flock. Any recommended places?

[Skeeg]

well i still have to cover the hole, and that is the reason for the fiberglassing.... about the glare, i wasent going to use a gloss finish paint. was thinking more of a flat black.

the flock seems like a good idea, i had some experience with it in school. its rather simple. but yea im thinking of just covering the hole with some some sheet metal, bondo over that to make it smooth, or even use some foam and lay down some glass.

solid idea? or another route? any DIY's on fiberglass?