Repaint the black dash on 88 BFN

I'm in the same boat (so to speak), with my 87 BFN. My dash is stripped down to the same point, but it looks like someone somewhere in the past may have sprayed a clear coat on the dash, as it has tons of crackes in the top coat, but it doesn't appear to extend down into the gelcoat itself. I'm thinking of just sanding it smooth, filling all the extra screw holes and shooting a satin black (is that the right amount of gloss?)single stage paint on it out to the original lines of black. I'm also thiking that I'm goint to wrap it (the whole dash area and the pod, or possibly just the pod itself)with a black 3D carbon Fiber wrap after its been painted.

tbeard wrote: Started DA with 180 and was not getting down to the glass fast enough and switched to 120...still slow sanding but I hate to go much more agressive. (suggestions!)

Suggestion: STOP!!!!!

The black is not paint, its gel. Thats why youre having a tough time getting through it. Wetsanding and buffing will restore the color and shine. If the cracks are not huge, they will become nearly invisible once the dash has been buffed out. If they still bother you, a proper gel repair in that area can be done.

A previous owner painted over the black gel dash on our '79, and I really wish he hadnt.

1. Contacted Fiberglas supply and their price is under $80.00 for 1 Qt Black Gel Coat (no wax), 1 Qt duratec Gloss and 2 oz catalist
2. Found a Paint gun on ebay for $35.00 with a 2.5 mm nozzle designed for industrial paint and thick primar.
If this is correct I can Gel Coat the dash for about the same price as paint.

No I only sanded down the flat surface in front of the mirror. My understanding for the cracks is to remove them completly down to the glass to assure they do not telegraph back up.

Started back on the dash and have a question about the repair.

With the existing cracks I plan to heat the surface with a hair dryer. Mix up epoxy with 20% reducer and squegie over the area where the cracks appeared and let it fill all the voids. Then sand the surface to prep for gel.

Will the new gel bond to this area where the epoxy work has taken place OR do I need to spray a primar down?

Thanks Pete, Where can I buy the polyvinyl primer? I have searched jamestown and the web and all I get it tape of sheetrock supplies. Thx

If so, that would be news to me, Gary... Ive been told to use vinylester as a conversion coat between epoxy and poly (gel), and it has worked fine. Polyvinyl may work as well, but USC doesnt sell one.

I agree with Joe if that poly glazing putty is good to work with (like bondo?)... though, will it provide the strength needed to prevent the cracks from coming back? If not, that might justify the use of epoxy and its extra conversion coat.

I wouldnt suggest thickening poly or vinyl yourself though... Ive only tried it once or twice and it didnt work out well. Not sure if theres a learning curve or if I was just unlucky... but Ive thickened epoxy myself a number of times and always found it very easy to work with. Poly in general is a pain... its stinks, is very finicky on catylist, requires wax to set up, blah, blah, blah.

You should not put the gel (or fairing compound or the polyester primers referenced above) over epoxy as a general rule.

Glazing compound is just that smoothing only, to remove waviness in sanding. Repairs have to be done with poly resin and glass, after that upto dime thickness dips you go with featherite or duraglas body filler – if you use the duraglas it is hard to get smooth without glazing compound.. if you do really good work and everything is close to flush featherite alone may get it done. I sand to grind areas of cracking down enough to get overlapping layers of cloth built up using poly resin.. but a lone crack I might be tempted to grind out fill with duraglas and then move on with glazing and primer.

The thing I don’t like about epoxy and a barrier coat here, besides all the extra work and materials to order is that I typically sand through a few levels here and there in the fairing process for something as high visibility as the dash.. and if you sand through the barrier into the epoxy in one spot you would be pissed!

Just FYI for folks that need to do future repairs like this I contacted US Composits and talked to Steve. He told me do NOT use epoxy for that repair. Steve recomended 700 Vinyl Ester Resin.
I will post the results of the dash restoration when complete. Thanks to all for the help.