marbleapple Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Hi guys, I get a 2nd set of dash panels from Jezz with the intention of stripping them and having them sprayed. 2 questions have come to mind however and I am hoping you guys can answer them: 1. How on earth does one remove the rubber? I imagined that it would be a few cm thick and you could just peel it off but this doesn't appear to be the case. 2. the dash lights are green... if I wanted to make them red could I just change the bulbs (if there are bulbs behind there) and if so what type would I need? I'm refering to the a/c, heating etc dials. Apologies if these questions have been repeated before... I did search (Even learnt Rob has an Audi A6). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guigsy Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 i used a combination of solvents, which didnt work 2 well. Then i tried scraping with the back of a knife blade. this worked quite well but left marks on the plastic. Then i got some spray on grafiti remover i saw in halfords. it melted the rubber slightly and then i could wipe it off after leaving it to soak for a while. Even then i had to sand and scrape. it took ages The dash lights arnt bulbs i dont think. they are leds that would have to be unsoldered and replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Dude, it's been covered a hundred times, just search for dash refurb 1. Tons of ways, but most will take a good few hours work. The most common seems to be using either a hairdryer and scraping it off, or a light thinner and scraping. You need to get every last bit off otherwise it'll look terrible when it comes to painting. On my 3rd time trying it I think I still spent over 8 hours to get them near perfect. In my experience the key is to build up the plastic primer and keep flatting it back with wet & dry until the surface is perfect. Even a tiny mark or scratch will be very visible when it comes to paint. 2. No, there are leds and various coloured plastics that make it green. See the links on Hecklers home page for a conversion kit and explaination. It's about £60 to change the colour and obviously you need a little understanding of electrics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I have two sets of dash panels I have 'worked on' and they are now beyond repair other that covering in something, its a job best left to someone with more skill and patience that me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPRALOOPY Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Want to sell the clock centers? or a complete fooked dash? manual or auto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Want to sell the clock centers? or a complete fooked dash? manual or auto? Are you coming over to AFR tomorrow, I can stick them in the car and you can have a look and see what you think, perhaps you do alcantera dash conversions and we could talk a price on that ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I must have stripped about a dozen dash sets now, the easiest way I've found is to use meths and a plastic scraper. The meths softens the rubber coating so it is fairly easy to peel off without damaging the plastic. It's a time consuming job though still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPRALOOPY Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Are you coming over to AFR tomorrow, I can stick them in the car and you can have a look and see what you think, perhaps you do alcantera dash conversions and we could talk a price on that ?? I'm working tomorrow send me some pics [email protected] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbleapple Posted September 13, 2008 Author Share Posted September 13, 2008 Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments. Looks like lots of hard work ahead. Homer: I will search under refurb... Thanks... The Hard bit about searching is knowing what to search for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bens747 Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 I did mine with thinners or white spirit and one of those wire net scourer things for frying pans. Very easy job. Hope this helps ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbloodyturbo Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 just finished mine, stripped the rubber with a heatgun and a coin, works really well as is you use a 10p or 20p it will remove the rubber and not scrape the plastic underneath. I also used 2/3 layers of high build plastic primer so it would fill in any slight imperfections and rubbed that down with 1200/1500 wet&dry. Then sprayed it, then laquered it and it came out looking pretty good. I also changed the colour of the ac unit and the dash lights. The ac unit is mainly led's with a couple of bulbs but the speedo's are all incandescent bulbs which you replace with led's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbleapple Posted October 27, 2008 Author Share Posted October 27, 2008 wow a back from the dead thread! Thanks for the replies guys. I started stripping the panels using those pan scowering pads. Comes off easily enough.... Anyone know a decent paint sprayer who paints dash panels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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