Re: Fuse box, dash restoration questions

[John Hofstetter <hofs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Saturday, June 7, 2003, at 08:36  PM, David Bongo wrote:

>  Would it be advisable to coat the entire dash with a layer of this
> stuff, in an effort to seal it off from moisture (remember, I am a 
> mailman
> and water gets into my truck.  "It was raining" doesn't work as an 
> excuse
> for non-delivery so the window stays open) and anything else that may 
> cause
> it harm?
You certainly couldn't use the gel to coat the whole dash and get a 
decent looking job. Coating the whole thing with a more liquid Acraglas 
doesn't sound like a good idea to me.  Well, at least not as a finish 
coat. To go beyond filling the voids, you would almost have to use a 
piece of glass cloth to hold everything together.

> Also, if the answer to the previous question is "yes" how would it be 
> as a
> top coat?  It would save me the hassle of recovering the dash with 
> carpet or
> leather or vinyl.  Probably tougher and easier to clean than any of the
> others, I hope?
How about using something like the Rhino lining to cover the dash after 
you get the cracks filled?  The rough surface would hide a lot of 
imperfections and seal it to water.

> Lastly, if the answer to that question is "yes" would it be a good 
> idea to
> go with one of the atomized metals listed on their page?  Steel, 
> obviously,
> is a bad choice because of the rust potential.  But any of the others 
> should
> work.  Bronze is the cheapest, pound for pound, but the Aluminum isn't 
> THAT
> much more.
I use a lot of the atomized bronze. Perfect for bedding gun barrels. 
But overkill for your dash, probably. I think I'd use fiber, but the Al 
would be OK too, I guess.

I read what Thomas said about covering it with leather, and I really 
liked the sound of that, but I understand why you wouldn't want to do 
that. I don't know if vinyl can be shaped that well, or not.  I guess I 
favor the Rhino coating type of stuff for lack of having any other good 
suggestion.

John Hofstetter