Rescue operation, -69 Imp instrument panel pad

[OldWarHorse300]

...ok it's not a -69 it's -72 but it's going to be in my -69 Le Baron.
Original pad was in bad shape and I found -72 pad , vinyl was ok but fitment was loose and the PU foam was detached from the frame in the edge areas. I removed the foam in the edges, then carefully sandblasted metal frame, epoxy primer and then gluing the vinyl back to the frame with 3M 550 FC . Some places fitment was loose but with 550 you can make new material to make nice fitment.550 is flexible but you can grind with sandpaper , I even used that as a filler and covered all surfaces with that.
When "body work" was done it was time for first paint, 2k matt polyurethane. After this there was some small holes but finalizing putty can fill them. Then one layer semi matt gloss 20 2k pu- paint.
Let it dry 24 hours, and then fun begins...
It's time to fit and tighten the curtain fabric over the surface. Then I made paint mixing, 2k pu- paint with Matt lacquer and some structure addive and then carefully painting over fabric with low pressure. Remove the fabric and you're done! I'm quite happy with a result..
Regards
Mika

 

[OldWarHorse300]

More pics..

 

[3175375]

Looks great! What a labor of love!

 

[detmatt]

Wow, great work as usual!

 

[Sport Fury 67]

May I ask where you procured the curtain fabric material? Always like to learn about restoration techniques.

 

[OldWarHorse300]

May I ask where you procured the curtain fabric material? Always like to learn about restoration techniques.

Actually my friend found it from local fabric shop, we already used that in his Packard restoration project. To me it's important that fabric structure is somehow natural looking with out any symmetrical pattern. To be honest, it took some time to find correct material..
Regards
Mika

 

[vdk2010]

Looks really good! Pretty nice work!
Seems like the best option since a new vinyl wrapped dash from Just Dashes is $2500.

 

[bnz84]

Looks awesome. I have a true 69 dash pad in the rafters with cracks and wanted to try to restore. So you had no cracks in the vinyl? After all the work is the dash still brittle or does the paint solidify it a bit? I am wondering how the 3M 550 FC will look after a few summer heat cycles. I've got cracks and voids to fill so the filler consistency and bond to old vinyl and foam is important. That 3M stuff looks pretty good as do a lot of the polyurethane caulks and seam sealers.

U think old lingerie that is too stretched out now would work
https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/how-to-custom-lace-paint/

 

[OldWarHorse300]

Looks awesome. I have a true 69 dash pad in the rafters with cracks and wanted to try to restore. So you had no cracks in the vinyl? After all the work is the dash still brittle or does the paint solidify it a bit? I am wondering how the 3M 550 FC will look after a few summer heat cycles. I've got cracks and voids to fill so the filler consistency and bond to old vinyl and foam is important. That 3M stuff looks pretty good as do a lot of the polyurethane caulks and seam sealers.

U think old lingerie that is too stretched out now would work
https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/how-to-custom-lace-paint/

Yes, the vinyl was crack free but the foam and metal base was separate in the edges. 550 seems to have very good adhesion to vinyl ( carefully cleaning with soap and water, silicone remover and sanding with 80 grit ). I think this type polyurethane is close to original little flexible surface. Paint layer should be as thin as possible to avoid cracking.
You're right, direct sunlight is difficult friend in this case.
Open cracks can be difficult to hide , maybe you can use some support material over the crack, thin fiberglass mat maybe?
First wet layer of 550 and then this mat on that, sanding and another layer over that. I think it's important to glue cracks edges to base metal before trying to do surface.
I used 550 like a" bondo" because the surface wasn't smooth.
One thing is for sure, fiberglass or bondo is wrong material here...
Hope this helps,
Mika

 

[bnz84]

Yes, for my big dash with cracks and holes I'll need a filler that is sandable and at least 1 layer one top. Probably 2. Going to be 4-way stretch vinyl on top. I'm always interested in possible fillers that adhere to old material and have a slightly flexible constancy when dry. Ther are plenty of examples of people that have tried and mtrl that is designed for this (forgot name). But the longer I delay the newer things pop up so thanks for posting.