I finally got the carpet installed this past weekend. Seats are 95 Mustang on Maverick seat tracks. I am hoping to find the correct material to upholster the original rear seat in the same material as the front seats. Anyways,,, my dash pad is in very good shape with no cracks. However, the sun has faded the top of the pad. You can see it in the last pic. Without removing the dash pad, is there any way to add color back to the dash pad? Is there some sort of dye that can be rubbed on? Without a quick easy fix that is not real messy, I will probably leave it the way it is now.
You could mask it off and dye it in place (spray)....but I think it would be easier to remove the pad and dye it. Looks nice.
Thanks Craig. I was just wondering if anyone had ever used a dye that would wipe on instead of spray on. Something that would not be terribly messy. Guess I will probably leave it the way it is until I have to tear into the dash for some reason.
Thanks for the kind comment. The interior lights were from a ford pickup.....I got that idea from this forum of course! This place has been very helpful in many ways while I was putting this Maverick together.
I would remove it to do it correctly, whether using a spray or liquid. Removing it will give you 100% coverage with less mess, getting it away from the rest of the car. But if you wanted to do it in place there are liquid dyes available that are made for car interiors (stands up to UV from the sun). Take a look at this old thread about a console I did with some stuff I used to buy from JC Whitney. Since I did this tech article I have switched to almost always using SEM products now, but the methods are the same. Whatever you use, cleaning the surface before dying is the most important step. Take a look at this old thread: http://mmb.maverick.to/resources/console-restoration-101.107/
You could always buy a dash pad cover and dye it the color you want or leave it black as I believe that is the only color they come in. Since yours is old and faded from the sun it it probably not far from cracking, removing the cover is more of a pain then it is worth and just slipping another cover over it is easy and they look good and fit good.
I'd suggest keeping it cleaned & wiped down in UV protection and just leave it natural .... like Jay Leno once said " some cars are only original once and Restored is NOT original " meaning be proud that it isn't or hasn't cracked. I'd be worried if putting a dash cap on it that it would cause it to crack since it hasn't . Your car and your call but Definitely a Clean interior
If you do decide to leave it natural, wipe it down with Pledge furniture polish (I like the citrus or orange scent). It leaves a nice shine and protects against further drying. Never use Armor All or similar products on a dash top. The main ingredient is silicone which actually sucks the moisture out and causes drying and cracking.
