Cracked dash...Fibreglassing???

[slyhog-22056]

I have a cracked dashboard in my 1984 BMW and cannot locate another one, can I remove it, fill the cracks with resin and fiber the entire dash??
This dash is in a 20 year old BMW and some of the cracks are split open about 3/16 inch and raised up slightly. Removing the dash wont be a problem but I have modified the rest of the car but have tis embarressing dash to look at. Also, behind the passenger seats the is a flip open headrest...sort of.. the padding and leather are seperating from the steel frame, can I remove all of this and just build up with foam and fibre over that??? I love working with fibreglass but sure dont want to mess up the only dash I have experimenting.

[TheSilentChamber]

Yes.

[slyhog-22056]

YES........... short and to the point, I just lloked and found a link in here to instructions...... OOPS my Baad

[artistic]

What kind of bmw do you have?

[slyhog-22056]

Originally Posted by artistic

What kind of bmw do you have?

1984 BMW 633 CSi

[artistic]

My dad has the same problem with his 83 320i. Cracks in the dash and stuff. He said he doesnt really want to do anything to it because he's looking for a 2002 bmw.

[slyhog-22056]

Well, this is my baby and I have to do something, I have found a few other models of BMW and Jaguar I want to buy and will have to do the same thing to them, so I guess I need to try.

[Cbass]

This is a common problem with 924's as well. One of the people on the 924board.org did something similar to what you are describing. He uses fibreglass resin to fill in the cracks, it helps by permeating the fibreboard and keeping it from cracking anymore. His technique after that was to block sand it smooth, bondo it smooth and then paint it with black primer. It turned out ok on his first attempt, but he didn't sand and smooth the bondo enough so he had to do it again. I can probably get some pictures from him if you want.

[slyhog-22056]

I understandwhat to do as far ae filling the cracks, but what about those places where it is cracked on top and bowed up leaving a gap under the bottom where it meets A/C ducts, etc??? Fill and level them and only bring down the top? When I go around the openings should I remove the plastic covering downto the foamand fill with glass so I dont make the openings smaller, or should I try to remove as much of the plastic from the entire dash as possible?? How rough does the plastic need to be for the resin to stick???