This original '71 Buick dashpad has seen better days. Cracking in the surface vinyl is due to the constant expansion and contraction of the original foam as well as years of UV rays from the sun. The entire top of the dash is covered in spiderweb cracks and splits.
One of the most difficult aspects of rebuilding or restoring any musclecar is the vinyl dashpad. There are a variety of aftermarket replacements available for the more popular models, but what do you do if you have a car that's not heavily supported by these companies? Cheap fixes like vinyl repair paste might work in the most minor cracks but are extremely difficult to get good results with and are not going to last. Fabric dashpads only cover the problem like a Band-Aid. There are plastic dash caps, but many are poorly formed and often require serious modification for the detailed areas to look right. The only real solution to restoring an original vinyl dashpad is to have it done the same way it was originally made: through thermal vacuum-forming.
Just Dashes offers its restoration services for just about every vinyl dashpad ever made, and even the most complicated shapes can be restored using this process. For the most popular models, Just Dashes usually has a few restored pads in stock to keep the turnaround time short. Even if the company does not have your model in stock, it typically only takes a couple of weeks to get the original back. In addition, Just Dashes builds door panels, speaker grilles, and a few custom applications with a gauge pod molded in. To see just how the staff does it, we took a trip to their Van Nuys, California, facility and watched as they restored a dash from a '71 Buick GS.-Jefferson Bryant
