How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

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BOBLOOK
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How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by BOBLOOK »

the author rolla_rage

Like many cars of this age the dash had some nasty cracks in it from years of life.

What I did about it

(1) Removed dash, its not that difficult.took about 20-30min

(2) removed out existing cracks in foam/vinyl with a utility knife to give putty more to adhere to.

(3) filled cracks with a two part plastic resin (blue) This is an industrial product designed for making casting molds. you could skip this step, it was just my first attempt at a fix. it was too runny to fill the way I needed.

(4) filled the cracks with SEM polyester putty ($25) see pic (5) SANDED......(6) repeat #4 and 5.......and again......


(7) sand and lacquer thinner the whole dash

(8) now I had the problem of the repaired areas being smooth and the rest of the dash having the vinyl texture...a paint job at this point would make the repairs show very badly. so i fogged the whole dash with automotive undercoat ($5-10). holding the can back about 2-3feet and making even passes.

(9) once achieving an even surface finish I painted over this with SEM flexible paint ($10) see pic.

(10) Done! Looks great, seems fairly durable. I just have to see how it holds up in the hot summers and cold winters.

Keywords: fix, cracked dash, dashboard, old, repair, repaired, paint, 1982, 82, corolla wagon, 3TC


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santos
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by santos »

Came out nice great work
BOBLOOK
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by BOBLOOK »

Yeah handy guy
santos wrote:Came out nice great work
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Foxau2
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by Foxau2 »

That looks nice! I hadn't thought of using undercoating to get an even texture after repairs. :)
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781masshole3tc
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by 781masshole3tc »

very impressive, this will be a project for me in the close future.
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deaconfrost
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by deaconfrost »

Nice write up! I'll have to do this, you saved me a lot of trouble!
hemilove
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by hemilove »

this is my next project on my rolla very nice
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BOBLOOK
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by BOBLOOK »

hemilove wrote:this is my next project on my rolla very nice
Post the progress when you start doing it please
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chris76corolla
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by chris76corolla »

what type of brown is that
corolla lifestyle
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oldeskewltoy
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Re: How I fixed my cracked dash in my 82 Rolla Wagon

Post by oldeskewltoy »

I paid a guy to recover mine... :o

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I also had real Brazilian Cherry wood veneer made for the fascia surfaces... the piece in front of the driver has gotten some finish, while the vent panel is without finish
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