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How to Expertly Wrap a Cracked Dash

January 31, 2012 By Naseem Muaddi

At some point, nearly every classic car suffers a cracked dash. But finding reproduction or pristine original parts for rare cars can be extremely difficult. What’s more, repairing and recovering dashes can be a challenge for even the most experienced trimmers because of the complex curves and sharp edges.

Thankfully, there are folks like Roy Keith of Roy Keith Classics in Hot Springs, South Dakota to teach us how.

Roy has published a great how-to pictorial on his website that teaches trimmers the process step-by-step. What’s note worthy about Roy’s approach is that he uses no seams – wrapping a dash in one solid piece of vinyl for a true factory finish.

To check out how Roy brings new life to the dashboard of a 1971 Roadrunner, visit Roy Keith Classics.

Filed Under: Archive, How-to Tagged With: Auto Trim, Auto Upholstery, Car Interior, Dashboard, Roy Keith Classics

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. tinabanana says

    June 6, 2012 at 7:08 pm

    this is another great how-to article. these are indispensable to new comers to the business that are not able to get proper ‘on the job training’.

    • Naseem Muaddi says

      June 11, 2012 at 3:12 am

      We’re glad you enjoyed it Tina!

  2. Timothy @ Velocity says

    June 28, 2012 at 9:43 pm

    Great timing on seeing this article. A client just drop of a cracked dash pad to recover this morning!I was contemplating using landau foam to “repair” it. Now I know it is a great idea. Thanks for posting this!

    • Naseem Muaddi says

      June 29, 2012 at 12:04 am

      Your welcome Timothy! I’m glad it helped. Also, there is now a 6 way stretch vinyl offered by DLT Supply that should make going over the curves of the dash a little easier.

  3. JoJo says

    July 6, 2014 at 2:44 pm

    The link is no longer viable..

    Is there another source for the info?

    Thanks!

  4. Bret says

    August 28, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    Your link to Roy Keith Classics is dead, I am in the process of doing this on my 280zx

  5. Mike says

    August 3, 2015 at 1:17 am

    Someone please provide a good link or the article.

    • Naseem Muaddi says

      August 3, 2015 at 1:21 am

      Unfortunately the link is no longer available because Roy Keith Classics has shut their doors and taken down their website.

  6. Cesar says

    August 4, 2015 at 4:34 am

    It’s an interesting issue to discuss. As you said, sometimes is difficult to find a special dashboard for rare cars, that’s why, we have to resort to the help of an upholsterer. Some car dashboards are not so difficult to vinyl-wrap in one piece, but others would be done by sewing some pieces…either way, this is not the difficult part…the difficult part is to ‘repair the cracks’ on its surface. For small cracks ‘epoxic resins’ are useful…if too deep, small amounts of ‘fiber glass’ would help to refill and add firmness…’car body filler’ works great, too:http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=7614563#7614563
    If you want a more pro-repair, check Mr. Kresho’s video:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiGhGhzFmCg
    Check Greg’s Garage with more ideas to restore a dashboard:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW8u2AdMzAU
    And a good any direction stretchy vinyl would help a lot.

  7. Studebiker says

    March 27, 2016 at 5:55 pm

    Or do it like this:
    https://youtu.be/Qz1wUkJZ7ns

  8. FRED D ZWIGER says

    January 8, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    I have a 71 Firebird that needs the dash pad recovered. I would like to add a double din GPS to the space where the radio and ash tray are located. If I make these alterations, can you still cover this padded dash? I hope you understand what I am asking as I would have to do some fabricating on the original cover.

    Thanks in advance for your help.

    Fred Zwiger

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