Dash build (Page 25/28)
steve308 MAY 23, 07:42 AM
updates?
TXGOOD MAY 23, 03:45 PM
I haven`t had a chance to do much lately.
I`m having a hard time finding a cement that will hold the vinyl to the fiberglass.
grkboy707 MAY 23, 03:58 PM
You could really just use any old adhesive. If you really want a good turnout, just use contact cement on the backside of the dash. It will do more than enough. Contact Cement comes in a red "paint can", and can be found at any Home Depot in the adhesives department. You have to spread it with a brush, so I wouldn't use it to adhere the front, because you get waves from the brush strokes. Good luck! I'm looking forward to finally seeing some updates!
TXGOOD MAY 23, 05:17 PM
The problem with most of the adhesives I have used is that they soak into the backing of the vinyl.
I have read where you can put a couple of coats on it to help that, but I have yet to try it.
I use a spray adhesive from A-1 fabrics that is pretty cheap and it will stick the foam to the fiberglass
and the vinyl to the foam, and when I called them the other day, they assured me it will stick the vinyl
to the fiberglass if I coat both surfaces but I have yet to try it.
Mike

[This message has been edited by TXGOOD (edited 05-23-2010).]

bowrapennocks MAY 24, 08:31 AM
I did a custom interior (94 Camaro dash, modified Bonnevile door panels, custom console) and had a lot of trouble to keep the vinyl stuck to the various components. I used 3M 8088 (med strength) and 3M 8090 (high strength) spray contact adhesive and they all released from the vinyl (Allsport stretchable vinyl) after a few months. My latest attempt, which seems to have worked the best, is to use superglue. I bought some squeeze bottles of it and applied it to one side. You have to hold or clamp for a few minutes. It is slow going, but seems to have held up best. Caution when using this stuff as it glues fingers very well to everything. I wear nitrile gloves when glueing with it.
Jim
TXGOOD MAY 24, 02:43 PM
I tried hot glue and it seemed to really work well, until it sat in the sun for a couple of days and all of it released.
They make high temp hot glue, but getting the lower temp stuff on my fingers was no picnic and I would hate to get the high temp glue on my fingers. The pros seem to use a cheap spray gun and have good results with that, but I`m not sure what the difference is between the spray adhesive in cans and the stuff that comes in gallons or quarts.

[This message has been edited by TXGOOD (edited 05-24-2010).]

Blueiii MAY 25, 12:31 PM
Here's an odd question. . . why not just use epoxy resin to stick the vinyl to the fiberglass?

Another option I have considered is the spray-on plasti-dip. It gives kind of a rubber-ish coating.
TXGOOD MAY 25, 12:51 PM
The adhesive has to be something that will stick instantly, because when you are gluing corners, you have to stretch the vinyl so that it won`t bunch up.
So, that eliminates any thought of clamping.
Contact cement is the perfect choice but I have yet found one that sticks well enough.
Blueiii MAY 25, 01:50 PM
Did a little searching on the ole' web (Thanks Mr. Gore!) and found the following for a tweeter pod, however seems like the same issue:


i think there has been a breakdown in communication here.
You use ca glue to bond the fleece or whatever other material you are going to wrap around the tweeter pod to the fiberglass shell. Once soaked in resin and strengthened with glass, you will have a solid structure which you will wrap the vinyl over. For bonding the vinyl to the structure, you would use contact cement, not ca glue. I think what you are wanting to do is just wrap vinyl around the pod without first giving the pod any kind of baffle. The problem with that is that it wont be solid, you could push in on the vinyl and my guess is that when it gets warm, that vinyl will start to deform.
You defnitiely need to wrap a polyester based material around the tweeter pod and the glass shell you made first, then apply resin, let it cure, then strengthen it up with fiberglass or duraglas, sand it down to 80 and then apply your cement and wrap the vinyl.
bowrapennocks MAY 26, 09:02 AM
What I did in the end was use contact cement to stretch the vinyl (the 3M 8088 or 8090) and then when I was happy with the final position, I lifted up the edge and used CA (superglue). By the way, I spoke to the tech people at 3M and also the ones who make Allsport and they did not give me any better suggestions. The wierd part about the 3M glue is the Medium strength (8088) seemed to hold the vinyl better than the high strength (8090). I have done several projects with the contact cement and Allsport. The glue seems to hold great for about 2 months before it comes apart. All of the cars have been garaged in Seattle, where it does not get that hot. When the glue came apart, it seemd that it released from the vinyl, not the things that I was gluing it to (aluminum, fiberglass, and the plastic on the dash and door panels).

Jim