Restoring the 280z Dash

Is your dash worse than this?? Let me know in the comments. Hopefully not, but if it is I show you how "I" restored my old beatin up cracked dash.
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[@bertone83]

Good result but I dont think it will last very long. The hardness of the Bondo is too different from the hardness of the rest of the dash which will cause cracks very soon after restoration. You need a filler with a compareable hardness. I take PU foam to fill the cracks and then a layer of Sugru, then sanding and painting.

[@geepswitzer]

Nice job!... I'm an auto interior trimmer, so my next step would be to wrap it in new vinyl, using contrast stitching around the gauges.

[@123hohohot]

Is there some specific durable vinyl you would suggest?

[@atranfanatic]

Wow man, nice job! Makes me feel confident that I can repair my 280zx dashboards. Thanks for the video and inspiration!

[@Aikidoman06]

Great job. I did very similar job to 65 mustang. I covered it with vinyl afterwards. It lasted about ten or fifteen years.

[@cjc1216]

That came out fantastic I didnt expect bondo to work well with this application because of its hardness but I'm pleasantly surprised. Grade A sir .

[@andrewwilson8317]

When I restored the dash cover on a 240z I stabilised the foam core with epoxy resin after iAd gouged out the damage. The epoxy soaked into the foam core and made it much stronger and more stabile to repair. The gouges were filled with filler with fibres in it.. the surfacing was done with semi flexible bumper filler. I used a textured spray paint to give a uniform finish. Customer was very happy with results,maybe 90% of new looking. Not bad as was pretty much unusable as it was. Had considered getting it covered in upholstery vinyl?

[@JEROMEGORDINI]

Awesome job, the result is very impressive. I'm French and unfortunately we don't have these products here

[@Lyrest]

This trick has possibly saved me quite a bit 😁 thanks heaps for the video, I’m almost finished doing this with an Australian 1979 Holden Gemini, so far it’s looking great ☺️

[@austins1k133]

Awesome job! This will help with my 84 camaro project!

[@johnbobbitt6470]

doing the dash is kind of a right if passage for Z-car owners. It almost sets the standard for your where your project will go. I did mine with my dad in 1997. He did his with HIS dad around 82. Lot of fun

[@kensendelofski3761]

Nice job, I never heard of padded dashboard filler. Now I can give it a try. Thanks for the video enjoyed it.

[@denatieanhenton9231]

I have to thank you. I have a 77 280z and my dash is in the same condition as yours was if not worse. I was looking around for another dash but now I will try this method. Great video.

[@daemickey]

Denatiean Henton. Mr Henton you can get a full dash cap for about 80 bucks brand new, less work better look. They have em on ebay

[@saintkevin5286]

I had a vinyle welding business in fl. Around 1980- 82 Datsun dealers were my best customers. They all crack in the same place.

[@HomeBuiltByJeff]

Looking good. Coming together nicely.

[@StewartMotoring]

Thanks Jeff

[@karlygarrison1596]

Thank you for this tutorial! It's the best video I've found and has made me feel better about trying to do the repair myself! thanks!!

[@StewartMotoring]

Glad it helped

[@nathanchalecki4842]

I do think you should sand the top down again with course paper and then lay down a full layer of glass. At the moment your base is very weak and will just keep cracking as the foam shrinks

[@parmjitsingh2329]

Nathan chalecki thanks for your knowledge

[@jimjones8428]

Nathan After 35 years, the foam has done all the shrinking it's going to do.

[@MisterAdam-jj5jv]

Looks great…how is it holding up? Also how do you clean and or protect from the sun damage? Thanks

[@mthuthuzelititi7674]

Gud work bro. you make me so confident as well. give us more ideas about repairing

[@bg75flh]

Looks good. I went slightly different, expanding polyurethane foam , then flexible bumper filler, primer, then finished it off with spray truck bed liner. The truck bed liner i held at a distance to give a nice texture, then after it cured for a couple weeks i wet sanded it with 1500 grit to give it a nice smooth feel. It looks very stock.

[@FranksShitBoxCollection]

bg75flh How are you like the bed liner? Bed liner was the first thing I thought of for this job but I see people going with other methods.

[@Ojibwe1979]

Yup did the same thing to my G37 and it just cracked again. Re-doing it striping it down and putting new foam. Will rap my in faux leather...

[@jerryjohnson2225]

good job!!!,,,ill be doing a 70 ford ltd soon,,its pretty flat ,,easy ,, thanks for showing what too do here !!

[@absabsy6742]

Good job, don't think it will crack for a long time as the cracks only appear on the curvature and streach areas, these have already been filled in and blended properly by yourself thanks for making the video

[@lvauto1]

to all hater comments. keep negativity to self if u dont like it dont see it. its a great project guys all these haters and negative feedback its because they cant do 1/4 of what u guys accomplished so they have to talk smack. looks really good iam doing the same to mine hopefully i can do it as good as yours. thanks great tutorial

[@robbyddurham1624]

I like negative feedback or critical thinking in the comments. It gives me another idea or view of how I might do it.

[@MrPingpong90]

Auto like! Awesome work on the dash! Looks incredible💪👍👌

[@StewartMotoring]

Thanks!

[@markblades4536]

Great video mate, well done really enjoyed it, out of interest how’s it lasted, realised you flicked too, keep up the great work

[@snoopu2601]

This guy make plastic caps that go's over the dash that won't crack it just pops over the stock dash. But I'm glad you are going to show a diffrent way to do it.

[@spauldingclassics]

Who makes plastic dash covers?

[@mikecrawford5331]

Plastic dash covers look like plastic dash covers

[@troysgarage]

Great work! Looks amazing compared to what it was! Taking notes for a project coming up. Thanks man!

[@StewartMotoring]

Thanks. Never expected this vid to become some popular. I would have spent more time editing haha

[@troysgarage]

@@StewartMotoring Haha, I get it. My most popular video was one that I almost never even posted! You just never know. I'm a fan bro, subbed and "rang the bell"! Keep it up!

[@whatskilz]

keep up the good work man

[@moehoward01]

Loved the "Fade to black" at 3:20. :)

[@elvispresley3340]

At the end of each crack in any type of plastic repair - ALWAYS drill a hole two to three times larger than the crack (the size of the hole will typically depend on the material your are 'trying' to repair - the operative word being ",,,trying..."). This helps eliminate stress riser cracking later on. I learned this my 'first job in life' as a dental technician. Repair a crack in a plastic denture without drilling a hole at the end of the crack - and BINGO - snap it in two with little effort. With the hole drilled - 'good as new'. This dash repair has excellent blending out - but could have been improved by a hole at the end of each crack - always 'better to be safe than sorry' type 'insurance'. CHEERS from AUSTRALIA.

[@bertone83]

I also repaired my middle console like this, but I asked myself if fiberglass filler really is the right material since its flexibility is very different from the remaining original material which means that if the dash / console is bent it could crack between the filler and the old material. So far my repair looks good, but I ask myself if anybody of you has long term experience with using fiberglass filler for that purpose.

[@garageworks4226]

I got to tackle mine eventually...Mines not that bad I got about 3 cracks to deal with and rust on the dash frame. Not going to be touching it for some time probably. Been waiting to see how you did yours. Great vid and thanks for posting.

[@StewartMotoring]

Glad I could document it for you. Rust on the dash frame... normally that would surprise me but its a datsun...so no...

[@MarkK01]

Great job. Please don't to the haters. People that have no experience doing this should not comment. Its always I saw this on You tube and he did this or that. As long as you are happy with it that's all that matters.

[@matthewmiller2728]

Great job alot better than other videos I've seen.

[@ryanotown22]

Nice job getting ready to do mine also!

[@StewartMotoring]

gOOd luck

[@zal_models]

satisfying to watch!

[@snoopu2601]

Came out great!!

[@enermaxstephens1051]

What about using a can of spray foam to fill in the cracks? Then just level it off with a razor blade. Fill in whatever is left with body filler. Then you wouldn't need the fiberglass, and maybe less body filler.

[@swamp40acp82]

How is it holding up I think I might try this myself

[@inox1ck]

You can also wrap it in carbon I suppose fiber for super durability. But it's a bit of work and will change the original look.

[@CarsBikesandCoffee]

Well done man!

[@nelsonramos2218]

Good job ! Looks 100 times better!

[@brt-jn7kg]

I have a 1996 Chevy pickup. My Dash especially right there next to the windshield where the vent grates are there are three screws that attach the dash up there and they have cracked and broken is there any way to put in or hide in that area some type of seller or something little still at the defrost work but doesn't look like a giant oval hole? What do you get on completely refurbishing a dash like this if I was to send it to you?

[@padlockbeats151]

Great job man

[@spicymeatbanana4611]

How well has this held up? any cracks formed?

[@punkbloater]

Awesome work man! Do you know if it is possible to spray wrinkle finnish on something like this or does that only work on metal surface?

[@StewartMotoring]

Yep you can spray it with a wrinkle finish

[@henrykenick5423]

That is a killer job!

[@jesse5222]

Wow what a difference, nice job man

[@JulioLopez-qy1vy]

Looks great

[@a.l9313]

Looks great!

[@chrisa6845]

Plastic x from upol is nice for finishing and comes in a good size tin

[@borilopez8581]

Great job men

[@nicknite6597]

I would have done fiberglass filler on the other side to make it stronger but good work um raptor bedliner spray can to paint the dashboard to give it a texture look

[@1dickycat]

Did the same to my S130 dash last winter, and doing my Z31's. So far it holds up great and I used the same prosses besides the dash filler (I used bondo gold and short strand fiberglass filler). Once the Z31 is done, then I'm gonna flock both of them.

[@jarretpaul]

Were your speaker holes OK? Mine are busted up and I'm not sure what to do with them.

[@1dickycat]

jarretpaul Mine turned to powder when touched.. But I just filled them in and smoothed it out. I tend to not like my speakers reflecting off the hard windshield. They tend to be overly "bright". I prefer them down in the kick panel myself.

[@Tyler-789]

Please make a video when you flock it or is there on already out?

[@LuisSantos-np8xc]

what did you use to cover it first???

[@walterarmijo5668]

I thought he was ganna life hack this with ramen noodles 🤣😂

[@walterarmijo5668]

@@jrayv i have an old dash too dude, i have the same problem as you.. I made a silly, this is a great vid and it helps out alot good luck ✌

[@scor440]

Damn you are the dash man👍

[@koont666]

Nice job mate.

[@brianjschumer]

Does look good!

[@innocentmutasa6895]

Awesome job man.

[@StewartMotoring]

Thanks!

[@lioalan9413]

Looks really good not like the last guy I seen using caulking and house paint

[@byrdsdoityourselfgarage7330]

And coat hangers! Lol

[@jayjjdawg9090]

excellent job

[@BeloshapkaAutoBuilds]

Nice! I did something very similar. Wish I would have watched this first

[@rayoloco5000]

good work man

[@StewartMotoring]

Thanks

[@edwinmarquezcolon4232]

What sander did you use?

[@Gabriel.4190]

Do you touch the vin when you do the process. Im trying to figure how to approach my dash in terms of restoration without removing the vin. Any suggestions?

[@StewartMotoring]

I taped up my vin so I didn't destroy it. I would probably recommend against cutting the spot welds on it to take it off.

[@DustyMacsGarage]

That turned out awesome!!!!

[@writehaseeb]

Why bondo as second filler? can you just use the same fiber glass bondo again if there were any valleys? both are sandable so why two different compounds?

[@StewartMotoring]

Fiberglass bondo is very very hard and then very hard to sand. It also tends to have a lot of pin holes from air being trapped and won’t leave a very smooth surface due ti fiberglass hairs. So to make a nicer finished product along with being quicker, you rough in the fiberglass, and cover with body filler (second bondo). You can try to do it all with just fiberglass bondo, but I think you’ll learn quickly why you don’t only use it.

[@paulgallardo2194]

Great job!

[@JackStrangelove]

great job

[@fidelmedina1697]

Good work

[@Behine.DeChilis]

Thinking of tackling this on my 78 280z. How is it holding up? Any new cracks/expansion/contraction issues?

[@StewartMotoring]

I ended up using a dash cap, so not entirely sure how it’s holding up. I had 1 crack come back, but I already had the dash cap and then I flocked the cap. Honestly I’d recommend going with a cap, they fit really nice

[@Behine.DeChilis]

@@StewartMotoring good info! Would you mind sharing the vendor of the cap? Full cap or half cap? Thanks for the great videos btw.

[@StewartMotoring]

Hmmm I can’t remember the vendor sorry, several years ago now. But it was a full cap. Used to be around 150 bucks

[@georgetorres8834]

GREAT job!!!

[@nta208]

What is the putty for Lexus RX350 year 2008? Please

[@kirrus4781]

Why didn't you fix the crack? Add more bando and lalala...?

[@DavidPlass]

Wow, considering how bad it started, the outcome was great.

[@doug2993]

Nice job!!

[@spalkin]

Big thumbs-up achieved at 11:46.

[@raceday-iy7vm]

Great video bro I'm going to do the same to my 280z hopefully it goes well 😅

[@MMaikell92]

What putty you use?

[@miguelzavalza6645]

Great video how it holding up by the way

[@jamesclukey7488]

Mine had just two cracks, but was really ugly. wish I'd seen this video when I had it. Also, I wondered if the dash is a suitable candidate for carbon fiber ? Any professionals out there wanna' hazard a guess ? Just askin'.

[@cloudbydayfirebynight618]

Pretty amazing. Wonder if that wrinkle paint would have been better?

[@StewartMotoring]

Most people do use a wrinkle paint from I think Eastwood as a finishing paint. I have seen them turn out really good. But in my case, I am going to flock the dash when the car is ready to drive.

[@henkholdingastate]

Nice work

[@Oblithian]

Fiberglass and bondo, that's a lot of work, and you did an excellent job. However, for most people... some of the other methods look almost as good with barely any effort. It seems like, if you are going to go through this much effort, you might as well make a mold and form a new dash out of a modern foam (more flexible and better elasticity) and you won't have to worry about more cracking down the line.

[@Spiritof_76]

Might as well make a mold and form a new dash... like that's not a lot of work and difficult.

[@shawnlogue8716]

So did u wipe the whole dash with a layer of the fiber bondo?

[@StewartMotoring]

.......no

[@shredct3118]

Holy shit , that looks mint. Cause,RACECAR!

[@lawrenceirvine8759]

nice job.

[@chandlerwhitley1723]

I've got a dash that's only slightly better. Just curious, about how many hours of sanding did this take?

[@StewartMotoring]

I probably spent around 5 hours of sanding. Im slow...

[@syrthdr09sybr34]

Damn, you widened the shit out of those cracks bro. Got a little carried away with it.

[@Drew_peaballs_128]

Nice work!!! Came up great!

[@StewartMotoring]

Thanks BBC (:

[@aserta]

Whilst you did good work, it won't last (in the long term) because something else will crack. The long term solution is to strip the whole underside and much like in a orthodontic prosthesis, attach structure points and screw jacks where current cracks exist and then tighten it up slowly, finishing with a full on reflashed glass reinforced bottom. Only then, the cosmetic side of things can be tackled. This comes from watching one of my car mentors repairing one of these (not as bad) and asking him why such an elaborate process. The basic answer was, 'it's junk, it was junk from the start, and like all junk, you patch one hole and it cracks in another.'

[@veganpotterthevegan]

aserta that wouldn't last that long either. It'll just crack elsewhere. Filling the cracks instead of tightening the dash back up means that the stress has already been relieved from the dash.

[@schwartz664]

Most of those cracks are UV related, no UV protectant coverings back then.

[@skyjockey55]

Aserta Do you recommend a video for the process your talked about? I'm restoring a right hand drive, 1978 Mazda Rx-7.

[@brainstorm4207]

carnuba wax has been around for a long long time. if u mix a little with a some oil u can make a predecessor to armor all

[@haschengrubex7131]

i hate you lol

[@gorgon9786]

How about used foam..-like the isolation type, -and scraped off the excessive amount when expanded??..

[@StewartMotoring]

I mentioned that some people do this. I just think the way I did it, is a bit stronger

[@brentwhitley7590]

looks like a lot of work but the result was great!

[@edwardfleming7890]

Hmmm, turned out nice.

[@user-fl1jv9cv7z]

@ 8:55 you shouldve left it alone on the 1st pass Gotta know when to leave it alone and just sand it a little

[@chrisa6845]

Fibre glass is very rigid would only use on metal or fibre glass body not on a flexible surface such as the dash or bumbers flexible bumper repair or urethane rods would be better. But thanks for sharing your work

[@455Transam]

Problem is the other parts of the dash are old and weathered and will crack too.....

[@chrisa6845]

I would use welding rods for polyurethane and a soldering iron, or alternatively flexible bumber/ plastic repair adhesive as it flexes a lot more than fibre glass, fibre glass is actually not that flexible.

[@austinlewis5443]

Nice video. My 1975 cheyene is actually worse than that.. so that's going to be fun

[@StewartMotoring]

Goooooooood luck

[@atranfanatic]

Don't feel bad, besides my 280zx cars, my '72 Chevy 4x4 3/4 ton's dash is pretty bad as well. lol Best of luck to both of us.