Shaving a stock vinyl dash?

I decided i may use my stock dash and want to eliminate some holes on the dash. It is a vinyl dash and i want to know whats the best was to eliminate things such as defrost vents, etc. Should i scuff it and lay the matte down or is there another option? I dont want to peel the vinyl off. Something like this one, stock dash smoothed out.

Any suggestions or ideas?

youre best bet is to take the vinyl off..because if you glass over it it may work but could crack cuz of the foam and/or vinyl under the glass/paint

Ok vinyl is off, what now? Resin and fiberglass matte?

you might be able to use something a little heavier than just mat, check out Fabricland or whatever you have there and use their cheaper cloth as a base.

I was thinking of adding the resin to the foam and sand that then add filler. Will that work?

You can add the resin to start your first layer. Resin doesn't add strength, and cloth is good for sandwiching chopped mat to make it smooth. For your application it would be easier to staple t-shirt material or polyester cloth to shave the holes. Then add about 2-3 layers of 1.5 oz chopped mat over those holes. Then use a product such as dynaglass or duraglass to smooth out the rest of the dash. Then high build prime (evercoat featherfill works great).

check out fiberglassforums.com before starting any fiberglass project, all your answers are there... try the search option, it actually works on that site.

Originally posted by exotic dreams



You can add the resin to start your first layer. Resin doesn't add strength, and cloth is good for sandwiching chopped mat to make it smooth. For your application it would be easier to staple t-shirt material or polyester cloth to shave the holes. Then add about 2-3 layers of 1.5 oz chopped mat over those holes. Then use a product such as dynaglass or duraglass to smooth out the rest of the dash. Then high build prime (evercoat featherfill works great).

Oh ok now i gotcha. What if i used Great stuff to fill the holes then sand even with the dash? I only ask cause i have some and if i can use what i have that would be great.

Edited: 6/24/2008 8:58:44 AM by exotic dreams

I've never tried that, i would think the expansion and contraction of the filler would make it crack. Here are some build pics to give you some ideas. After the short strand body filler, i used Plastiflex by Evercoat to cover everything. It's a little pricey but i can punch my dash with no worries of it cracking.