Liquid Leather Quick 20 Dashboard Repair Kit

Product Information

The E21 dash does not have a consistent pattern of veining; it's random and difficult to match up, even with a duplicate in hand. First, a little background on the welding stick you will be using and why I chose it over other plastic welding materials. Consider the kind of extreme temperatures that your dash will experience where you live and then test your repair accordingly. Open the can of Filler Prep and use the cotton swab to clean the melted Fiber-Flex weld and about an inch outward on either side of the weld. A completely cracked dash is hardly salvageable without removal and putting in a good three-days of work.

The other issue with these kits is that they are intended for small hole and crack repairs; they never seem to come with enough product to do a sizable job.

Also, be careful not to mark the paint or gouge the undercoating when putting the dash components back in place. Moving the sandpaper in small circles along the edge of the filler with light pressure can also help with this problem. This acts as a release agent so you can get the texture off the surface without sugru sticking to it. If you repair only the top plastic surface of your dash, chances are very good that the crack below will eventually work its way back up there.

An attractive and flawless dashboard gives the overall impression that your car has been taken care of and well-maintained. The length of this video is in no way representative of the actual time required to perform a complete repair and therefore should not be used for estimating purposes.

Pay particular attention to thinning out and feathering the edges of where the filler begins on each side of the repair. This kit contains: 7 heat cure repair compounds, mixing bottle, 2 vinyl adhesives, powder hardener, spatula, grain packet, mini heat iron instructions and color match guide. If you choose not to test your dash repair at this stage, you risk possible problems with your repair showing through when you are finished. You will know that you are achieving this when the filler around the edges becomes so thin that it is translucent. If anyone out there has had success with duplicating the dash texture over a larger crack, I would like to hear about it.

Always follow all instructions and warnings and wear proper eye, ear, skin and respiratory protection. I remember visiting that DIY dash repair thread a long time ago; those pics never showed up for me either.I chose to repair the donor dash because it was in much worse shape and I wanted to experiment with the restoration process on one that would be more challenging. Ultimately, you want to build-up a texture that is uniform and smooth across the entire dash surface that will fully conceal the filler and weld repairs. I am wondering about using on of those vinyl repair kits with the little bottles of filler that you put in the crack and then heat with an iron to set. Remember, the filler will not adhere properly if spread over too large of an area that is completely flat; you need it to bond onto a surface that has a gap or divot which can be filled in. The dash filler used in this repair hardens like Bondo, but stays flexible due to its elastomeric properties.

In some cases, touch-ups may not leave a texture the same as the rest of the dash and a light re-spray of the entire dash is recommended. This SEM product comes with a longer spray nozzle tip that helps to diffuse the product more evenly than the regular spray nozzle. After laying down your first thin coat, allow the product to flash for about 10 mins before spraying another one. We're here to help and we speak 13 languages in our team: French, English, Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Catalan, Mandarin Chinese and Korean!As you work, it’s easy to forget where the plastic handle ends on this particular heating iron; I found out the hard way. I was torn as to which method to go with since there are a few here in the DIY section of the forum but I think I'm going with this one. Begin knocking down the hardened filler with 80-100 grit sandpaper, only if there are excessive high spots. Since I live in Arizona, I am much more concerned with the impact that heat will have on my dash repair than the effects of cold weather.