Dashmat, Velourmat?
 

Hey folks,

Loving my new 83 300D, and I'm happy to be back in a car with a black dash, instead of the blue one which cracked all over. The black dash in my 300D is 90% immaculate, with only one tiiiny crack forming along the right speaker grille. I want to keep it from getting any worse, obviously, and will be purchasing a dash mat.

My only question to you folks, is have any of you tried the *other* dash mats available from dashmat.com ? They sell the old-original DashMat, but for the 300d they also make VelourMat and their "Signature Series". Obviously they'll all serve the same purposes, but I'm asking on a purely asthetic level, which would look nicest. Thanks!

On a purely asthetic level, the coverlay molded covers are miles ahead of the dashmat. Carpet on the dash just looks so...cheesy, IMHO.

I keep our dashes wiped down with Formula 303, and use a custom cut winshield screen when parked to help preserve the dash.

Jim

I agree that the mats DO look kinda funky (though I can see them looking good, if you get one that's cut well enough)... but it's better than having a cracked dash.

Thing is, I can never see myself using a sunscreen / applying 303 weekly (hell, even monthly). I love my 300D, but when it comes to that kind of thing, I usually get lazy. Heh, therefore I'm looking for a mat solution that doesn't look like something out of "Pimp My Ride". :)

I bought the cheapest one from dashmat.com and it serves its purpose very well. The fit, however, is not very exact but my dashboard was in such bad shape that this still looks much better. The color match is very good, for asthetic reasons I would probably try to find the same material as the carpet in the car. They changed it to velours somewhere in the early 80s.

we have a Dashmat type cover on our 85, no name on it, bought if from an indy we were using at the time. been on there about 10 yrs. looks better the cracked road map of a dash. I get lost every time I try to use the map ;).
The one we have is black like the dash underneith. doesn`t look bad, don`t even notice it being on there. the lighter colors will reflect in the glass where the black doesn`t. a lot of people on the forum wouldn`t be cought dead with one, have to keep the Germaness of the cars. If there are plans of a concours coming up, take the cover off.
My wife clued me in, we don`t have the velour. she did make a cover for the back, covers the rear shelf and the top of the rear seat. now won`t get sun baked.
you can buy the material at a carpet store and make your own, just make a pattern to custom fit.
I have a Dashmat on my 82 Datsun that has been on for 26yrs. not one crack on the dash.
So it`s Crack, or no Crack:dizzy2:

Charlie

I have a 96 e300d, and purchased the Signature series cover for its dash, and it turned out to be better quality than I expected, and fit like a glove. My dash had about 2 cracks adjacent to the front speakers, and I could not think of any alternative other than using a mat. The other thing is the fact that even though the front speakers are covered by the mat itself, the sound is not degraded in anyway whatsoever, and are somewhat protected for the strong rays of the sun. Hope this helps you in making your decision.

Quite a bit, thanks! What kind of material is the signature series made of, anyway? A felt-like material, velour, low-pile carpet?

Thanks. :cool:

I need to look into one of these.. I bought some meguiars interior detailing stuff... I hope it slows down the one crack that has grown!

The FL sun has killed my paint but it will not kill my dash

The material feels and looks a lot like "kid glove" leather bound to a firm under support that are both cut to the exact measurements of your dash. On my car, it is held in place by velcro strips, but within a day or two, the mat just conforms to the dash and the strips are not really needed at all....best wishes...........

Huh, so I'm guessing like more of a pseudo-suede, then. Not sure how that would look in a 24 year old 300D, though. I'm thinking of going for the VelorMat, since isn't the side-carpeting in a 300D made of velor?

I don't know exactly what the side carpeting on my car is made of, but the mat I got was a pretty good match both in texture and color. When I had my 240 D, I purchased a dash "shell" which recovered the entire dash and ac vents. It looked better than my original dash, and was made of a flexible thin plastic material. The car was a Florida car, and the dash took a beating from the intense heat. Good luck with whatever you decide...

The carpeting was changed from loop to velor after about '82 I believe.
I like the Signature dash mat they look great, the black doesn't look very obvious at all. whatever you choose is better than letting the dash bake in the sun, unless its already cracked :eek:
The stick-on shells look nice but the best fix is replacing the dash (oh dear I have two to replace, what a yuk!)

The Texas sun had pretty well cooked the dash on my CD (and the leather seats) so, too late, I had the windows tinted, use a sun shade religiouly and put a molded dash cap on the dash - it looks good, hard to tell it's a cap - people have looked inside the car and commented on how well the dash is hold up. My wife has one of the mats for her dash - it fits fine, but it looks to me like a carpet scrap laying on top of the dash - I'd put a molded cap on hers, but I haven't seen one for the SD's that looks good.

I'm going to ask santa for one

Buying this sucker today. I think I'm going for the VelourMat, since I have my doubts that suede would look very good in an old W123 (and since the floormats & sidemats are made of velour!).

I need to find myself a woman who has decorating skills, since I'm completely stupid when it comes to these things. :P Should I get the palomino velourmat (Dash is black, car is tan), or should I get a black mat to match the black dash? Sorry for all the questions, I just want to do this one time, and get it done right. :)

Instinct says "Get the black one, moron.", but in the back of my mind, I keep wondering if I should get one that matches the carpeting. Have to wonder how good that would look, though...