Dash cracking
 

My 82 300D has two small cracks in the dash. On each side by the speakers. I noticed the on on the passenger side beginning to get bigger.

My questions are:

Is there something I can do to make the cracks stop getting bigger, and is there some sort of filler I can add to patch them?

Should I drill a tiny hole ahead of the crack like you do in sheet metal?

Thanks!

They sell a dash cover ,the dash will get worse ,im betting if someone come out with a dash that was crack proof the auto industry would beat their door down .Armoral it every chance you get ,this will keep at least some resistance to it getting more brittal.Ive seen every MB DASH LIKE THIS .

You never want to use Armoral on your dash, it will degrade the plastic and make it worse. ;)

I do not use Armor All, as I did see that happen in the 80's, and the reflection caused by it in the windshield is very distracting.

I dod have for UV protectant stuff that I have been using on my'89 Nissan P/U. Still no cracks.

Any ideas on stress relief on the cracks so they do not get bigger?

I have read here that you can drill the ends of the cracks with a small drill bit, then fill the cracks with black silicone (if you have a black dash).

There is no hope for my blue dash (see picture) so I just ordered a $30 fuzzy dash mat. If it looks too junky then I will try a plastic dash cap or possibly look for a new dash.

Thanks BGKAST!

I was hoping I could drill it. I do have a pin vice drill since I also do model railroading (my winter time hobby).

Does anyone here have a dash cap? I wonder what they look like on the car.

No problem. Hope it works well for you.

Sun sheild, and 303 should keep it from getting much worse. If it bothers you that much replace the dash. I had dash covers, never seen a nice one.

A dashmat would be nice too. or a dash cap. Sample of the dashmat in the 280e

At least one of our members, Ron Johnstone

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/member.php?u=2885

has a dash cap in his wagen. It looks great! I didn't realize it wasn't the actual dash until he llifted it up. Maybe you can get him to post a picture.

Jeremy

Dash cap pictures
 

Here are some pics of the dash cap in my '84 300TD. It's been in the car for about two years and so far it hasn't split or warped. The color match (blue) is really good but the grain pattern is completely different from the MB grain. It's not perfect, but it's better than the badly cracked dash that it's covering.

There are some nice cloth dash covers. They cut down on windshield glare and won't degrade. The only problem is they usually cover up the speakers and muffle the sound.

dash cover
 

Adsit co. sells dash cover that looks like OE.

That looks good. If the carpet dash mat looks bad I will try one of these. Where did you order it from and what was the color you chose?