Coverlay Dash Pad 12-112

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Anyone ever use one of these for the first gen dash pads? Finally got mine torn down. Was going to do the filler work, but the SOB is so dry rotted, there's no covering it with new vinyl without risking it blowing up again in a year or two.

Also. Last guy filled a few holes with plaster (maybe baking flour? Cartel-issued white powder? Don't know what it is.) and brush painted it with Rust-o.

Paint seems to have weakened what was left. End result is remaining pieces shatter when you touch it.

Looked at the coverlay replacement pads, but can't find reviews.

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[PetroleumJunkie412]

Anyone ever use one of these for the first gen dash pads? Finally got mine torn down. Was going to do the filler work, but the SOB is so dry rotted, there's no covering it with new vinyl without risking it blowing up again in a year or two.

Also. Last guy filled a few holes with plaster (maybe baking flour? Cartel-issued white powder? Don't know what it is.) and brush painted it with Rust-o.

Paint seems to have weakened what was left. End result is remaining pieces shatter when you touch it.

Looked at the coverlay replacement pads, but can't find reviews.

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Said powder.

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[Bird76Mojo]

I bought a 1st gen about a year ago and whatever dash cover the previous owner used had to be fastened on using silicone. It's a somewhat rigid, flexible plastic, although it is pretty thin. I don't know what brand it is but I can't stand how it looks and feels, and it's trying to peel up as well.

I was thinking of sending my dash off to have a professional shop strip it down completely and make a new pad using a vacuum forming process, much like how the factory dash covers would have been produced. At one time I had located a shop online that does it this way, but I've since lost track of the business.


Following for future reference..




GB

 

[Ranger850]

I bought a 1st gen about a year ago and whatever dash cover the previous owner used had to be fastened on using silicone. It's a somewhat rigid, flexible plastic, although it is pretty thin. I don't know what brand it is but I can't stand how it looks and feels, and it's trying to peel up as well.

I was thinking of sending my dash off to have a professional shop strip it down completely and make a new pad using a vacuum forming process, much like how the factory dash covers would have been produced. At one time I had located a shop online that does it this way, but I've since lost track of the business.


Following for future reference..




GB

sounds pricey $$$

 

[Bird76Mojo]

sounds pricey $$$

True, but some things are better left to the professionals if you want them done right. Money well spent.

Spend once, cry once, as they say...




GB

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I bought a 1st gen about a year ago and whatever dash cover the previous owner used had to be fastened on using silicone. It's a somewhat rigid, flexible plastic, although it is pretty thin. I don't know what brand it is but I can't stand how it looks and feels, and it's trying to peel up as well.

I was thinking of sending my dash off to have a professional shop strip it down completely and make a new pad using a vacuum forming process, much like how the factory dash covers would have been produced. At one time I had located a shop online that does it this way, but I've since lost track of the business.


Following for future reference..




GB

Sounds like the LMC glue in cover. Works okish, I see mine is cracking on the top where it goes from the vents to the cluster on the drivers side.

You have to do it just right so it can expand and contract at its own rate... which I am not really sure is possible to do.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Whatever it is, it's a real piece of crap. Not worth wasting hard earned money on in my opinion. I plan to remove it and buy a dashboard filler restoration kit, or having a company redo the dash for me. We'll see..



GB

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Whatever it is, it's a real piece of crap. Not worth wasting hard earned money on in my opinion. I plan to remove it and buy a dashboard filler restoration kit, or having a company redo the dash for me. We'll see..



GB

But wait... when the old dash cracks it peels up. So the instructions say to trim back the curled up parts which makes the actual openings/cracks much larger.

I remember thinking "I sure how this works" because right before I put the cover on my dash looked a lot more hideous than it did before I started out.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=_x8qtvG-Y8U



GB

 

[Ranger850]

Cool video. He did a nice job. Technically body work on a dash. Only reason I would do that is if it was a rare or hard to replace. Ranger dashes are out there enough that you could just replace it with a nicer one.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Not for my 87 model. I've been searching out Rangers and Ranger parts since owning my 86 model over 25 years ago. I've found several dozen 1st gens in salvage yards and not a single one of them has a usable dashboard.

I own a few 1st gens and several 2nd gens, both Ranger's and Bronco II's, and the 2nd gen dashes do hold up a lot better over time, and while I could certainly swap my 1st gen to the 2nd gen dash, I hate the look of the 2nd gen dash.




GB

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Appreciate the feedback so far. I'd replace mine with a better one, but I'm working on a black interior. Most of the junkyard ones I'm seeing are in the similar sad shape mine is.

Thought about doing the repair work to mine and covering it in 2mm foam and vinyldue to mine being so badly damaged. The only reason for the foam would be to avoid future cracks from showing through the stretch vinyl. The original is so badly damaged by a chemical reaction with the Rust-O the last owner used on it, it cracks when you handle it. Also considered using mine as a mold and fiberglassing a new one.

Still. Was hoping a "good" less labor intense option was out there.

And yes, I think the LMC one is the Coverlay.

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[Bird76Mojo]

From the looks of yours, you'd be better off finding another one in a junkyard that's in quite a bit better shape, and then fix it to your liking.

On my 87, I'm wanting perfection, and I want it to look exactly like OEM.




GB

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

+1

Cracked but intact ones are all over in JY's.

I have yet to come across a good solid tan on though.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

So, at this point it's seeming that the replacements are probably crap across the board.

Mine is an old, brittle piece of plastic with no flex or give. Why waste "good" materials on it that probably have more flex and give to them then remains of my pad? Going to try something really, really dumb and irresponsible. Or, if it works, freaking genius.

Have some JB Stick left, and "Avant Garde" brand name body filler ($9.95/gallon, with a tube of hardener included lmao), as well as a yard or so of four way stretch matte vinyl and half a can of loctite 300 spray adhesive. Why not try a cheap assed way to fix it instead of just tossing it?

From what I can tell, the fancy assed fillers, cleaners, etc are going to be around the same price as finding and repairing a "good" one the "right" way, so, nothing to lose.

I mean, yinz saw the look on my cat's face. She knows it's crap. We all know it's crap.


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