Porsche 911SC Dash Pad Recovering

1
Porsche 911SC Dash Pad Recovering

• Salvaging a 24 year old Dash Pad
• By
• Mike McCaffrey Jan 2007

2
Project Scope

• Material
• 1 yard of Neoprene Cloth 15
• 2 Cans of spray trim adhesive 15 ea.
• 1 tube of 3M 8002 trim adhesive 6
• 5 new plastic spring clips 2 ea.
• 12x24 sheet of 1/64 Plywood 15
• Total Cost 76
• Tools
• Small, hand-held Iron (set at 300-350F)
• (A heat gun, or household iron would be fine)
• Staple Gun and 3/8 long staples.
• Razor Blades
• Sharp Scissors (cuts cloth and 1/64 ply)
• Time needed to strip, straighten and recover 15
  hours

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Ugly, Warped, Torn, Dash Pad
Sorry about the blurred pictures. It looked even
worse!
Torn seam
Warped Edges
Warped vent opening
Edges and flap have shrunk to half their original
size
Warped Edges
4
Leather Dash Pad Covering Around CornersAreas to
pay attention to when refinishing the corners
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Starting Point
Stripped and Straightened Dash Pad Use lots of
heat to soften the plastic. Once hot, push back
into place or reshape as needed.
Leather covering used as template for vinyl. Note
how the instrument cover is at an angle to the
passenger side Face
Shelf
FACE
6
Gluing Cloth Backed Neoprene

• The covering is matte black, with a leather like
  texture. It has a soft foam layer between the
  skin and the cloth backing
• Cloth backing is knit, not woven. You need the
  added ability to stretch
• It takes 3 very heavy coats of spray adhesive to
  soak into the cloth and foam
• The wet cloth wants to curl, so put some wood
  dowels over it to keep it flat.
• Spray three heavy coats over the course of 30-45
  minutes. Let it sit for 45-60 minutes so most of
  the solvent can evaporate
• Remember to spray the dash pad a couple of times
  and let it sit too

• Glue will still be very tacky after 45 minutes.
  It will grab, but you can still pull it up and
  reposition.
• If you need a little more stick, just spray the
  region and let it sit for a few minutes, and you
  can continue
• Getting around the ends of the dash face is the
  toughest, start in the middle between the
  instrument bump and the vent hole, work your way
  to the ends of the pad.

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Covering the Face of the Dash Pad
FACE
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Trials for Bonding Neoprene Covering to Shelf

• You must cover the staple with 8002 glue to make
  it less visible through the shelf skin

Note how skin is folded under the plywood.
60 Grit Sandpaper improves Adhesion by opening
surface For glue penetration

• 1/64 Plywood forms smooth edge
• Stapled and Glued to plastic dash skin
• Staple goes through plywood, shelf skin, face
  skin, and then into plastic dash

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Finished Product
1/64 Plywood (green dotted line) forms smooth
edge. Stapled and Glued to plastic dash skin with
shelf skin wrapped around under the plywood
The toughest area to glue!!
FACE
If I did it again, I might make the plywood match
the whole shelf outline (orange dotted line)
Shelf
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Finished Product
Ignore the blue tape. I covered the face with
tape while I was working on the shelf region to
prevent overspray. I forgot to removed it before
the pictures
Shelf
FACE
3 of 5 new clips