The dash pad was cracked on my '86 190d. Also, the p.o as randomly fitted toggle switches to opperate anything that stopped working. I have yet to locate a replacement dash and needed to do something about the dreadfull look. After some reading, I decided to try the filler and pickup bed liner fix. Turned out fair enough, all things considered.

Materials used:
Plastic bumper repair kit - $16
black E-Z bed liner - $10

both prodcts made by Dominion Sure Seal

filled the worst cracks and the toggle switch holes with the plastic bumper filler, stays flexible. sanded smooth. Masked off areas not to be sprayed (yes I did it without removing the dash from the car) wipe the dash down with acetone. Sprayed multiple thin coats of the bed liner.

The area I actually repaired looks half decent. Crack is gone. I was hoping the hairline cracks would cover up. They filled in but are still visable. Not as much though. I should have patched them. I only sprayed the top of the dash and one spot beside the steering wheel. The texture can be controlled by how far away you spray and how long you let it set up between coats. Keeping it wet between coats gives a better match in texture. The key here is thin coats, allowing time for the liner to tack up. More is not better.

This was not intended to be a perminent fix, only to give me more time to find a nice dash at a decent price. Given that it looks decent enough for now, I will report back on how it holds up.

another option I thought of after wold have been to texture the filler and try re-dyeing the whole dash.

The pickup bed liner is a sprayable (rattle can) liquid vinyl.

pics?

I'm sure if there is enough demand we could have new dashes made. I know DMC (not the original but the new owners) took 2-3 years to have new dash boards made to match exactly to the OEM but made out of hard plastic like new cars. $200 a dash. But they aren't too complicated

I rarely take pictures of anything. This was never intendedd to be a perminent fix, just sharing what I did and maybe someone else can benefit from it.

Dashes can be recovered, for a price more than I'm willing to pay for a $500 car (sorry, just have to brag about what I got it for). Plastic dash caps are also available.

New approaches to old problems are found by people trying what they think. Or suggest. Some work out well and some do not.

The other night for example I thought about why some engines will run on waste vegatable oil and not diesel fuel. We assumed or the bulk of us that it was element bore wear.

On some it may be but on the majority I suspect it is something else. I will post this information soon. Not being a true altenative fuel type myself does not mean that no guidance should be provided in this area. Plus for the guys that pickup vegatable burners that they want to run on diesel may not have to swap out so many injection pumps.

All the information just adds to the common knowledge.

When I returned to my car my car that was parked in the hot sun today, I was greeted by a long crack in the middle of the dash (first one ever in my 1985 MB) with mbtex interior . From what I have read (searching here for "cracked dash" ), it seems crack repairs are sort of experimental (vs a plastic cap ) but I will give it a try . Any particular suggestions for one like this are appreciated .
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if the edges of the crack ar heaved up you will need to cut them back. This means making an even bigger slash in the pad. I sliced a v channel at the crack.

Make sure the dash is very clean. Wipe it down with a good degreaser, I used acetone. Careful as it may burn the dash.

Fill the offending crack with 2 part urethane filler for plastic bumpers (stays flexible). this is what I should have used. I was impatient and bought the wrong kit wich was just overpriced bondo. Still turned out okay but the repaired area is hard as rock now. Sand smooth.

I did mine with the dash in the car. Tape off everything you don't want to get sprayed. I didn't spray the whole dash pad, only the top. I let some overspray blend the repair to the top with the unrepared front. I used the defrost vent as a cutoff point for the repair as it would have been too tight any closer to the windshield.

Make sure to use vinyl based bed liner, not asphalt undercoating. Shake well, spray from a distance, don't get close. I did and it made a huge mess of the whole project, took hours to repair. Spray thin even coats allowing it to tack up between coats. You are going to be tempted to touch it to see if it is dry enough. DON'T! spray a piece of cardboard after each coat and touch that.

You can remove the masking tape once it is dry to the touch but wait until it has fully hardened before sanding. You will want to sand it down as it will be a fairly rough finish. A light hand sanding smothes it right out. A little vinyl shine and it looks like new, or at least presentable.

One thing you might want to try if you are corageous enough would be to finish it with vinyl paint instead of bed liner. Just paint over the repair and the entire dash.


This is another option - http://www.coverlaymfg.com/store.php/categories/mercedes-dash-covers/

A friend of mine uses gorilla glue instead of the bumper filler with good results.

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Brad
1981 300TD - daily driver
1963 Chevy II
2001 F-250 7.3 Power Stroke

Thanks - I want to do this simplest thing possible .

The Coverlay caps are great but I want to give the repair a try .

BTW - I saw some threads mentioning the use of black silicone caulk,super glue , SEM flat black vinyl paint .

- Thanks

One of the things I'm religious about doing is putting up my sun shade and spraying down 303 every time I clean the car.

I haven't had any crack happen yet, but I don't live in a hot area. :-/

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.