How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
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How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
the author rolla_rage
Like many cars of this age the dash had some nasty cracks in it from years of life.
What I did about it
(1) Removed dash, its not that difficult.took about 20-30min
(2) removed out existing cracks in foam/vinyl with a utility knife to give putty more to adhere to.
(3) filled cracks with a two part plastic resin (blue) This is an industrial product designed for making casting molds. you could skip this step, it was just my first attempt at a fix. it was too runny to fill the way I needed.
(4) filled the cracks with SEM polyester putty ($25) see pic (5) SANDED......(6) repeat #4 and 5.......and again......
(7) sand and lacquer thinner the whole dash
(8) now I had the problem of the repaired areas being smooth and the rest of the dash having the vinyl texture...a paint job at this point would make the repairs show very badly. so i fogged the whole dash with automotive undercoat ($5-10). holding the can back about 2-3feet and making even passes.
(9) once achieving an even surface finish I painted over this with SEM flexible paint ($10) see pic.
(10) Done! Looks great, seems fairly durable. I just have to see how it holds up in the hot summers and cold winters.
Keywords: fix, cracked dash, dashboard, old, repair, repaired, paint, 1982, 82, corolla wagon, 3TC
Like many cars of this age the dash had some nasty cracks in it from years of life.
What I did about it
(1) Removed dash, its not that difficult.took about 20-30min
(2) removed out existing cracks in foam/vinyl with a utility knife to give putty more to adhere to.
(3) filled cracks with a two part plastic resin (blue) This is an industrial product designed for making casting molds. you could skip this step, it was just my first attempt at a fix. it was too runny to fill the way I needed.
(4) filled the cracks with SEM polyester putty ($25) see pic (5) SANDED......(6) repeat #4 and 5.......and again......
(7) sand and lacquer thinner the whole dash
(8) now I had the problem of the repaired areas being smooth and the rest of the dash having the vinyl texture...a paint job at this point would make the repairs show very badly. so i fogged the whole dash with automotive undercoat ($5-10). holding the can back about 2-3feet and making even passes.
(9) once achieving an even surface finish I painted over this with SEM flexible paint ($10) see pic.
(10) Done! Looks great, seems fairly durable. I just have to see how it holds up in the hot summers and cold winters.
Keywords: fix, cracked dash, dashboard, old, repair, repaired, paint, 1982, 82, corolla wagon, 3TC
The day we learn to think
Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
Came out nice great work
Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
Yeah handy guy
santos wrote:Came out nice great work
The day we learn to think
Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
That looks nice! I hadn't thought of using undercoating to get an even texture after repairs.
- 781masshole3tc
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
very impressive, this will be a project for me in the close future.
- deaconfrost
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
Nice write up! I'll have to do this, you saved me a lot of trouble!
Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
Post the progress when you start doing it pleasehemilove wrote:this is my next project on my rolla very nice
The day we learn to think
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- oldeskewltoy
- Posts: 242
- Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 10:17 pm
Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon
I paid a guy to recover mine...
I also had real Brazilian Cherry wood veneer made for the fascia surfaces... the piece in front of the driver has gotten some finish, while the vent panel is without finish
I also had real Brazilian Cherry wood veneer made for the fascia surfaces... the piece in front of the driver has gotten some finish, while the vent panel is without finish