Fiberglassing dash

hey guys, I got an old dash that is in pretty bad condition, got a lot of cracks and is a little bent because of cracks. could you tell me what would be the best way to fiberglass it? should i use some sort of foam to plug up the cracks and also when surface is uneven (one side looks like it has a dip in it) what should i do to even it out? ~Dan

poor dash.. must be getting old, its starting to sag.. if anything you could use something like bondo hair, tiger hair, ect. to fill in the cracks, sand it down, and glass over top. just make sure you prep first.When you do things right, people won't realize you've done anything at all.

well that particular dash looks like it is vinyl over foam, in an older car it is most likey fused to a pressed cardboard armature... you will have to strip the foam and vinyl off and from there it should be a pretty straight forward glassing project.. i have to tell you though there are always suprises and this may not be an easy task.. you will most likely have to temporaily reinforce the underside of the dash, especially the edges, as when you glass it and it cures, it will most likely twist, warp and shrink on you.. it may be easier to just build a fully new dash, with a wood skeleton and strech it with fabric...and there again that is no easy task either.. both task would most likely require you pulling the windshield, as there ia certain amount of work that will hae to be done in the car...Fiberglass Guru.

it is an older car and as far as i know dash consists of hard leather cover and foam underneath, I am not sure about anything else, but i'll check tomorrow when i pull the dash. guys what should i do to level out sagging?~Dan

porsche 944? Mine was like that as well.

When you fiberglass it, how do you want it to look after you are done? Will you be making a copy of your current dash and do it in fiberglass? Are you making a fiberglass "cover" for your dash? Or... Are you just trying to correct those cracks and keep your dash looking the same?I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best -- that is inspiration.

yeah it is a 944 i would like to keep that dash as stock as possible to the design, but i would like to fiberglass over it, then paint it and clear coat it.~Dan

guys what should i use to fill in the sagging? should i use a foam of some sort and then sand it down to a level? or should i use some sort of body filler? I am hoping there is some sort of foam.~Dan

Do you mean use foam on top of the dash to fill the gap?  or spray under the dash to push it back up?  I dont think you could use a foam on top of the dash to fill the gap, unless you were going to recover it in vinyl.  Body filler might stick, but i dont know how good it would work.   You might need to look for another one. 

yes i mean foam on top of the dash, all i need is to make a form as in fill those gaps to level out the surface, then fleece it and glass over.~Dan