Is this a good way to fiberglass your Dash

[IIIISFL]

Alot of people want a fiberglassed dash board and for alot of good reason
it is very functional in the sence that you can mold Pods, Monitors,
Turbo timers, Stereo decks, Speakers & Subs. The list goes on.

No one has posted the way to do it, Well not that i could find on the search anyway.

So my idea is, Can you just uninstall your dash remove the upholstry and lay
fiberglass right over the preped dash piece untill finish then just reinstall?

Easier said then done, And of course i mean taking your time and making sure all
the curvature will but up flush to all the surrounding pieces.

And adding your custom pods stereo decks and monitors with you own molds
as you are applying the fiberglass.

Does anybody object to this way and if so why and if you are objecting I am
guessing you must know a better way.

 

[super97gst]

well you are on the right track if thats what you really want to do. first off you will have no passenger air bag anymore. seeing that someone could die in your passenger seat you might want to mold a container around the airbag assembly, underneath your glass dash. then reattach the airbag.

this job is gonna take a LOT of prep work. you will end up having tons and tons of hours in it. i would start off by pulling all the material off the oem dash. then start building a template frame on top the of the oem dash. that could be done with mdf board. after that is done you can start laying your fleece on the template and covering in resin. and so on and so forth. if you are thinking about doing this job im sure you have some knowledge about it.

or you could try it from another angle and just make a totally different template from the oem dash, but a different dash altogether. make that out of 1/2" conduit piping. weld yourself up a frame that corresponds to the oem dash and then you can start glassing it.

good luck on this job, i think you should think long and hard about it before you start ripping the dash out. it might end up being more work then you want to get yourself into.
hope this helps you some.

 

[IIIISFL]

Yeah I understand where your coming from.

I had in mind to get a dash from a salvage/junk yard and do the project on it first
and if i like it then just swap them so i can keep my stock one and so i dont mess
mine up.

I also was not going to use fleece you can use that on your sub box's
and works because it's thick.

I am planning on using the fiberglass matting and several layers
i think it is better that way so you can work the contour better and
it takes less time and is easier to prep for paint.

 

[Livid]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995...ewItemQQcategoryZ40017QQitemZ8031646891QQrdZ1
or
http://www.eautoworks.com/html/ord-Auto~styling-Nu~Image~Custom~Dash~Cover-1-36256.htm

Plastic, yes, but I thought it could give you ideas.

 

[eclipse_tuner19]

there are alot of ways you can fiberglass a dash...i have done two dashes and i might do my eclipse one. first it is going to take awhile, it took my first one a month and that was from stock to all one part with console and that was in my 280zx. if u lay down a fleece cover then you have to cut everything that goes or hooks to the dash down because with the amount of layers you need of fiberglass half once mat and the fleece will make alot thicker than oem. the best way to start would be to take the top layer of the vinal and just brush one layer of resin on the dash then put three layers of half once mat. then sand and paint.i do fiberglass work for a shop and fiberglass is wonderful but it takes times to get it perfect for like paint and what not...hope this helps

 

[IIIISFL]

Yeah it really does, Thanks you guys.
I really just needed to know if it would turn out alright if i just went over the
preped OEM dash with resin and matting like i said i'll buy a second dash
from junk or salvage yard and give it a try.

 

[eclipse_tuner19]

never hurts to try...i just tried it like a couple years ago and now i do it for fun and as a job....

 

[DarkTalon2GNT]

I'm currently doing about the same thing, but I dont know the best way..I wanna keep more of the stock shape...but add some random stuff and GET RID OF THE AIRBAG!(I hate 'em...if you're a seatbelt user they're just a hazard IMHO). Anyway, I'm just worried about having to reshape if I remove the factory covering...and would rather get rid of it..but the actually dash itself underneath would require LOTS of shaping to get back to a similar shape to stock....

 

[IIIISFL]

I'm currently doing about the same thing, but I dont know the best way..I wanna keep more of the stock shape...but add some random stuff and GET RID OF THE AIRBAG!(I hate 'em...if you're a seatbelt user they're just a hazard IMHO). Anyway, I'm just worried about having to reshape if I remove the factory covering...and would rather get rid of it..but the actually dash itself underneath would require LOTS of shaping to get back to a similar shape to stock....

Hey i'm pretty sure (on most dash boards i've seen) they are the same
shape under the upholstry it's just a layer of cloth and/or leather
over the actual shaped dash

i was going to go to a salvage yard and just pay the 2 bucks
to get on the lot and find a random car (eclipse if i could find one)
and just knife the dash to see
but i haven't got around to doing that

oh but if you meant like shaping an even amount over the dash
like a consistant half inch over the dash mold then you just have
to have alittle experience doing fiberglass work

as for the molding new pods and what not in with the dash
just make your thin frame with your material of choice
then use the fleece method over it and use a staple gun
screw the hot glue gun it's not very effective i've learned


the tips i can give you are...

get the frame setup right on the dash where you
want the piece to be (make sure it is sturdy)
wrap the fleece over the piece and staple it
(do it with no fiberglass on the dash yet)
make sure to cut away all excess fleece material
around where you stapled it then start applying your
resin and matting dont lay your matt over the fleece
try to cut the matting as your working it down really
close to where the fleece is stapled so it meets flush
then on your second application of matting go over
the fleece and matting to make it one piece
after you have the desired thickness of glass
final coat it with you resin wait to dry sand the hold
thing real good apply your bondo/body filler
then after it is dry sand the filler smooth and flush
if it isn't smooth and flush after using the filler the
first time then just apply more and sand again untill
you get the nice smooth curvature you want
then just prime and paint make sure you use
a build up primer and put more then one coat
after it drys you can see the quality and how
smooth it is when it's primed that IS how it's going
to look after you paint it the texture and bumps i
mean if it's still not smooth you can sand down to
primer a bit and if it's still kinda bad you can add
filler over the primer and then just cover it with
second coat but if you dont have a paint sprayer and
you have to use krylon spray paints then just do the
same as above.


check out these guys websites they explain alot

http://webpages.charter.net/devlish/

http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/main/

and it will justify anything you didn't understand
about what i explained above

 

[4UH8ERS]

hey go to www.squidskins.com then click on skins then go to eagle and you can buy the dash already fiberglass and it already has the hole to keep your airbag stock. might want to check it out its nice.

 

[sk8shorty01]

hey i am currently doing this in my car... what i did was entirely remove the oem dash... then i took chicken wire (with about 1/4 inch squares) and put that all around in the general shape that i wanted the dash to be in... this will give you a great start because the shape will be there just need some finishing touches... next after that i took panty hose, yes panty hose, and stretched it over the chicken wire in order to brush the resin onto the chicken wire and have something to soak it up... next just put a really thin layer of half by one chopped matting and start the finishing process using duraglass, or featherfill, something like that... this was pretty quick and easy.. only took about a week working on it about 4 hours a day... not to long for a really custom look