Dashboard restoration

[boomerang147]

Hello,

Has anyone out there had a dashboard restored professionally or done it themselves?
I'm contemplating pulling out my dash and having a go at it myself.
At the moment the top is covered in black vinyl and the front is covered in vinyl which is tailored around the instrument holes. I would like to redo the top in a matt black velour type material and redo the woodgrain close to original. I have found this vinyl woodgrain on eBay which says can be contoured with a heatgun:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WOOD-GRAIN-VINYL-Roll-Sheet-Adhesive-TEAK-Woodgrain-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem1c03362637QQitemZ120312964663QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
If this was done professionally how much would I be up for?
Nick

[Barry Edmunds]

Nick
You don't mention what car you are working on. I had the top of my dashboard done by DASHBOARD DOCTOR, Sydney Road Coburg and I was more than happy with the work done. Was not overly expensive as I recall but you generally gets what you pays for.

I would steer well clear of the vinyl woodgrain material on ebay. There are a number of much better alternatives that will last a lot longer than any vinyl.

Barry

[boomerang147]

Thanks barry, the car is the one pictured, which is a giulia sprint GT Veloce
Nick

[cjheath]

I recently had my dash ('69 GTV) done by Dashboard Doctor. I've also done a little vacuum forming, but I wouldn't attempt anything as complex as this even if I could get the right material. They use a grained vinyl with a padded adhesive layer on the back, and I suspect that the whole thing is heat-shrink/vacuum formed as well as being vacuum-bagged - quite a complex operation and not for the amateur.

One thing I do recommend if you take it there; give them the tach&speedo, the metal surrounds for the wood-grain areas, and the heater vent inserts, and ask them to make sure it all fits. Check it before you pay! Otherwise it will come back with every gap about 2-3mm under size, and that is a right PITA. In my case, they received all the bits except the heater vents, and so everything else fitted nicely but re-fitting the heater vents required a little creativity.