New Dashboard - Labels or No Labels?

[saildrive2001]

No the original dashes are not that bad. Mine had the outer veneer layer peeling like yours & that's why I decided to strip it & put on a new veneer. The base plywood was in good shape. I wanted the grain to follow across the glove box so it was a bit tricky gluing the veneer on the dash & the door of the glove box at the same time. Practice clamping & lining things up carefully. After the glue has set then use a very sharp knife to cut through the gap around the glove box door so that the veneer doesn't chip on the finish side.

[gus]

The original dashes do hold up, if there has been no wood damage often it is only the finish that is cracked.

I would have bought a new one tho, but Non S Plus two dashes were not around when I looked, so I re-veneered mine.

As far as structure, since the original Elan dash was half a dash, and look at at what the Plus Two dash is bolted to, I think it is at best an anti rattle bracket

[Bud English]

Partial guote

I wanted the grain to follow across the glove box so it was a bit tricky gluing the veneer on the dash & the door of the glove box at the same time. Practice clamping & lining things up carefully.

Timely thread. I'm in the process of doing this now. I lined up the glove box door, with the hinges installed, and clamped it to a piece of sheet metal with everything flush with the front of the dash. It took a thin shim under one of the hinges behind the dash to make this happen. I then, from the back, used several blobs of wood putty at the top and bottom to lock the door in place. After it had dried overnight, I was able to remove the clamps, sheet metal, and hinges without disturbing the alignment. Actually I did this twice. The first time to test separating the two before applying the new veneer. I used a coping saw to do this with no problem. The remaining wood putty was easily sanded off of the edges of the door and dash.

Over the next couple of days, I'll be using West Systems 105 epoxy with their 207, clear, hardener and a vacuum bag for the veneering and the same materials for the finish coating. I've got the lettering from RD Enterprises that I'll use under the final coats. Fingers crossed.

It's the second time I've re-veneered this dash. The first time I used a paper backed veneer and used regular yellow wood glue. The veneer wrinkled over time because of the paper backing and PVA wood glue. Your best bet is a pre-cat glue made for veneering or epoxy, and never contact cement. (Down off my soapbox now. ..)

[saildrive2001]

I removed the hinges before I glued the veneer on as they do stick out slightly on mine & would have pushed the veneer away from the plywood.

[The Veg]

Got up close & personal with mine today. I'd though it was just the finish that is damaged, but it now looks like the veneer is too in places. New veneer in the future, but it's a low priority at this point so I'll live with it for a bit. It still looks better than some things on this car!



That said, I do need to get behind the dash and sort out some electrical things. I've got all six screws out and it still doesn't want to move. What am I missing?

[pharriso]

Not sure if it's the same as the Elan, but is there a Steering column support bracket that attaches to the dash?

[Robbie693]

For the Plus 2 dash there are brackets either side which need to be undone, accessed via the air vent holes. You may need to drop the steering column a bit for clearance but it's not actually bolted to the dash as in the Elan. Obviously the choke and bonnet release cables need to be disconnected as well as the pipe for the oil pressure gauge if you have the mechanical type. Also, if you have an ambient temp gauge be very careful!

[gus]

+2 End brackets can be removed from underneath, column must be dropped, heater controls...as noteve

West system is what I used, you should be aware that it is not intended to be left uncovered, automotive clear is a good over coat. The sun will eat it up. It is possible that the glass is enough of a UV inhibitor, but I would not trust it.

[Bud English]

Thanks for that Gus. That's what the West Systems website said, as well, but I'd rationalized that they were talking about boats being in the full sun all the time. You're right, a good clear coat with UV protection would be good insurance. I'm not out to see how many time I can do this job.

[saildrive2001]

If you use epoxy you will need to have a UV protector of some sort on top of it, it will yellow if you don't.