Great Dash repair for under $30.00!!!

[ossodiseppia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akitaman It's been in the sun for three days now with a wind sheild on top of it and I've had no problems yet.

[rogerspeed]

Your points are valid, and I am and was aware of the "gassing issue" The expanding foam seems to have prevented any flexing or gassing issues. The body filler once it was sanded away was VERY, VERY minimal. Also the the bed liner is a high build element and it hides the exposed foam very well. And last is It's been in the sun for three days now with a wind sheild on top of it and I've had no problems yet. Not to mention this is not what I beleive to be a long term cure but a nice solution until one can afford a new, correct dash.

I'm with you. I think using the fiberglass can make it a long term fix, I'll be posting pictures of two differnet dashes, one is a 1750 Berlina where I used fibreglass then painted with "Hammered Metal Paint" Between the paint and sanding marks it looks good, similar but not exactly like the original. The 2000 berlina used fiberglass with bedliner, it really looks original. The first dash I did took three tries, the bubbling/lines seem to happen after about two weeks after being in the hot Socal sun. The first one I used SEM vinyl paint, which usually works great, but after being in the sun, it did wrinkle on the dash over the bedliner. I also think thinner rather than thicker for bedliner is preferable.

[akitaman]

Okay I'm back. Rogerspeed had me rattled so I just retrieved the dash from the test area ( driveway under a 58 MGA windshield) and today's test results are in: Keep in mind 99.9999 % of the dashes out there are not as bad as mine. The only issue I can see of out gassing is a 1/32 to 1/64 wide crack about 3/4 of an inch long at the back wear the dash ends near the window. Once installed it will never be seen!
That concludes DAY THREE of sun test.
The foam was home depot "great stuff" and yes I wanted it to expanded because I wanted it to fill cracks and slightly over flow the dash as to cap off the crack and so I can sand it level. Keep in mind the the body filler is not to be used as a leveling element but a "pours of the foam filler". That is why I think it has worked so far.

[Touringspider]

Great job, and the price was certainly right. I suggested something similar to a friend on a limited budget, but he never got around to doing it before getting rid of his car. Nice to see that this sort of concept is executable. I bet this will hold up as well as a dashcap.

Regarding expansion and contraction, don't forget that dashcap materials are not necessarily identical to those of the underlying dash and can dimensionally change at a different rate under heat exposure. Most dashcaps are not 100% bonded to the dash either, so the different restraint conditions can affect how well a cap works. I have seen plenty of dashcap installations that look pretty lousy after a while.

One key issue is surface preparation to ensure that things bond properly. What did you do (if anything) in the cracks themselves as far as cleaning/scuffing goes?

Again, nice job.

Arno Leskinen
AROC-USA National Concours Chair
102
115
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[akitaman]

I'm really surprised at the overwhelming amount of private E-mails that this particular subject has generated. 61 at last count. As far as surface prep, the first thing was to level all the cracks. This exposed a great deal of the original foam. When there is that amount exposed foam you will have a never ending gassing problem, so I used an old artist trick. Any art supply store has a product that is meant to protect your art from from being smeared. It's made by Krylon and its called UV resistant clear acrylic "fixative". This product sprays a very, very fine mist. I focused on spraying it in the cracks only. I did want a possible rejection issue later with the bed liner. This is "the key" to stabilizing the gassing. Then the spray foam over that. I realize that I didn't point out all the steps on the site. I didn't know it would be this strongly viewed. But anybody who emailed me, I have shared the finer details.
Thanks, for the great question.

Akitaman

[ar1750gtv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akitaman I'm really surprised at the overwhelming amount of private E-mails that this particular subject has generated. 61 at last count. Akitaman

[akitaman]

I think it's a safe assumption, if the car is from a state that has sun, then the car is going to do it's impression of the grand canyon while your not looking. And if you catch it doing that impression then it stays that way. Unfortunitly my car had a two shows a night act in Los Vegas for 35 years! LOL! I CRACK my self up! SUSSSH the owners comming!

[smestas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akitaman I'm really surprised at the overwhelming amount of private E-mails that this particular subject has generated. 61 at last count.

[akitaman]

As always good point SMESTAS! I did notice that most of the folks were guest and not registered with ALFA BB. Why I don't know. But my private email has been SMOKED! My wife is getting a little bugged that I'm doing so much Emailing. I said it could be worse, I could be at the bar. She said NADA!

[smestas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akitaman I said it could be worse, I could be at the bar. She said NADA!

[akitaman]

Yes, it was via my real e-mail. Heres another one for you, just about all Alfa owners are great people who mean well, one guy (he shall remain nameless) actually asked me " if I send you $30.00 would you do it for me" and was serious. I'll help anybody with anything I can, anytime, but restore your car for you?????

[sono veL.O.ce]

Update please! is it holding up?

[akitaman]

I have had no problems as of today.

[Slackjaw]

Akitaman, this is great stuff. As Osodisseppia asked earlier in the thread, would you consider posting a "how-to" type thread which lists all of the materials, the procedure (including photos), and maybe addresses some of the more common questions you've gotten in all of those private emails?

Also, you mention no problems as of today; is the dash is back in the car? And if it is, can we get a photo to see how it looks with everything back in place? Thanks!

[LSUFAN]

Sweet job. How do you keep the texture correct on the fill in spots to the rest of the dash?