dash board restoration, dont throw that away Options

[sean_v8_914]

I’m sure I have said this many times before. “I wish I hadn’t thrown that away”. I tossed much better cores than these pictures I’m about to post here.

Crack free dash is like saying rust free chassis. Early cores are even harder to come by. The cores have gotten so bad that they are not even stiff enough to handle once removed from the car. It’s like the patient is not strong enough to survive the surgery. I have had to get a little more creative to make these viable for a re-covering. They have to be stiff so I can stretch the cover. They have to be smooth cause who wants to see a lumpy dash.

I tested various materials in long term sun exposure. Most shrink, crack or puff up under the vinyl when they get hot. I settled on a glass stranded polyester/epoxy resin blend. But even that is not enough. Lots of sagging gauge hoods now.