Dyeing/painting dash

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:12 pm
I have a 1990 mustang and need to replace the dash. It is hard plastic. I have painted with the wal mart vinyle dye before. It looked ok but eventually peeled in spots and faded. Is there a good product to use on these?

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:39 am
I've had good results with SEM brand vinyl dyes. I believe they have an adhesion promoter
mixed in, but if not, use one before topcoating the dash.

If this is a new dashpad, clean it using Dawn detergent and scuff it lightly with
a gray scuff pad before dyeing.

Good luck. :goodjob:
"If you can't move it, paint it." - U.S. Army



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PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:00 pm
I have had good luck using Sem Vinyl Cleaner-Adhesion promoter first, then Nason Vinyl Dye mixed to the factory interior color code. Spray 4 light coats with flash between for good results. Did two cars 10 years ago that I still own and the Dash Pads still look good. 66 mustang dyed it red from a neutral tan (new Pad) and a 89 Ford Ranger redyed the factory grey. I sprayed both of them before installing.



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PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:29 pm
...and if you feel limited by the color choices that SEM has, MANY TEC/Base formulas in Martin-Senour can be converted to a vinyl dye and be injected into a spray can, or mix 4:1 with TEC reducer. Use an adhesion promoter over hard plastic.



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PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:07 pm
SEM rep said their "dyes" are paint, but often misrepresented. He suggested their waterborne products with a crosslink additive, followed by their waterborne clear, which is available in gloss, semi-gloss and flat.
I ended up using urethane base. Found the PPG interior color code for the car, ordered a pint, then topped it off with a mixture of Kirker flat clearcoat and Kirker Ultra clearcoat for a satin finish. I'm sure there are other brands of clearcoat you could use to get any finish you want, but I already had the Ultra. My dash was in good shape, just faded. A jobber suggested this method because the UV protectors in clearcoat will greatly help prevent fading. Prepped it almost like NightTrain said. Washed with vinyl cleaner instead of Dawn, lightly scuffed with a green pad instead of gray, and sprayed an adhesion promoter following the instructions.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:59 pm
Why not just get a new dash and be done with it. "Band-Aids" dont last long.......................
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:09 pm
For the '90 Mustang, being hard plastic, you could probably find a repro in the original color, and probably around $100.
A lot of vinyl replacement dash pads come only in white or black. If you need another color, some companies will paint it for you at an extra charge, no gurantee on a color match.
For my '63 Tbird, about $400 would get me a black or white vinyl dash pad that fits '61-'62 Tbirds, then get "combo" door panels for another $550, and modify the dash so the pad will fit. Or, for $1200 with shipping, have a vinyl dash pad molded to the dash, and pay extra to have it painted, because the color choices are black or white. The next option would be to buy a cheap hard plastic dash pad cover in the color of my choice. They're real chintsy, and a poor choice for a restoration.
I was lucky enough to find a '63 Tbird dash in the color I needed, with no rips, tears or buckling. It was faded, so I painted it. Total cost was less than $250. I figure it's not much different than painting plastic bumpers.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:16 pm
I had a similiar problem to Ed's. My 78 Bronco had a rare emerald green interior including the
dash pad. Good used ones were non existant, and repo's came only in the standard colors.

Sometimes you just have to paint 'em...
"If you can't move it, paint it." - U.S. Army



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PostPosted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:41 pm
For $125 more than the combo panels, I got door panels made for late '62-'63 Tbirds in the right color and grain vinyl. The match to the dash is really close, most people can't see the difference. Glad I didn't have to paint those as well.

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