Re: [T3] Dash Repair

["Jim Adney" <jadney@vwtype3.org>]

On 23 Feb 2001, at 10:18, Steven Ayres wrote:

> Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but it seems like there ought to be a
> way, maybe through a regular maintenance routine, to keep the vinyl 
> soft enough that it can stretch and contract without damage. Has
> anyone tried, say, regular applications of vegetable oil? 

I really don't think there is anything we can do that will help other 
than keeping the temp down. High temps accelerate the rate at 
which the plasticizers are driven off, but they evaporate slowly even 
at room temps. Applying stuff to the surface is probably less likely 
to be of help to our dashes than cosmetics are to our skin. The 
result in either case is strictly superficial and fleeting.

> Just for the list's info, there are people out there who rebuild and
> recover molded vinyl dashes for a living (do you do this too, Bob?).

It's certainly possible that there are better materials available than 
what VW chose 35 years ago, but the work, materials, and time 
will not likely come cheap. It DOES seem likely that someone out 
there can do a better than OE job of this today.

-
Jim Adney
jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI 53711-3054
USA

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