93.5 - 96 Dash Panel Restoration

[poorman's supra]

^^ just be careful that goof off shit is scary to use. I already mest up my ash tray. spray it on once and ONLY once or your plastic will melt away trust me.

[edenward]

Didnt read the post did you because there was no color used.

Yes, I read the post, like mentioned below, I did it 6 months ago, and I was just mentioning that I didn't use the same product.

[runs11's]

^^ just be careful that goof off shit is scary to use. I already mest up my ash tray. spray it on once and ONLY once or your plastic will melt away trust me.

i messed a few pieces up too...i would recommend to just use the steel wool...takes longer but no worry about mess up

[poorman's supra]

Maybe this is a dumb question but what steel wool should I look for??

[edenward]

I used 0000 steel wool, that is the finest I believe, then used 2000 grit wet dry sand paper.

[poorman's supra]

Thanks, I'll go look for some this weekend.

[95jza80tt]

Yeah I melted the panel with the dimmer switch on it. It was not fun But luckily I had a spare panel which I took my time with. *Note* the goof off is strong enough to melt the plastic and it is faster to use but you cannot rush it though. You must still take your time with it and be very careful. I posted that once earlier too but I guess I need to stress it more that you need to BE VERY CAREFUL WITH GOOF OFF.

[G35Killer808]

I just finished my panels, I will try and post pics soon. I used a paper towel and sprayed the Goof Off on it then wiped down the panel, The top layer came off so easily no problem. Just to ensure a cleaner finish, I used the 0000 steel wool. Didn't use primer, just a plastic paint with no primer needed and came out with a nice glossy coat.

[Shitzu]

great thread, I gotta give this a shot when my panels get jacked up, gotta love the oem look....

[brianwilson2525]

Yeah I melted the panel with the dimmer switch on it. It was not fun But luckily I had a spare panel which I took my time with. *Note* the goof off is strong enough to melt the plastic and it is faster to use but you cannot rush it though. You must still take your time with it and be very careful. I posted that once earlier too but I guess I need to stress it more that you need to BE VERY CAREFUL WITH GOOF OFF.

haha, i guess we shouldnt be goofing off with the "goof off" haha.

[vwluv10338]

Well I am in the middle of spraying my panels with the Valspar primer and I cant for the life of me get an even finish. I have tried light coats, heavy coats and sanded between. It just wont go down with that oem look like others are getting. No big deal I guess. I can always just hit it with some paint if I need to.

E

[KILURV8]

I used the carb/choke cleaner and steel wool. The combination would just melt the coating off but doesn't look like it hurt the plastic at all. The key was to spray it on and make sure you could let it sit on the plastic in one spot for 4 to 5 seconds, then use the steel wool in the area that the spray sat and it came right off. Probably did all of my panels in about 30 minutes. I won't have pictures of mine done for quite a while as my car is in about 10000 pieces right now.

[bpalmer21]

So Im wondering if this is as easy as the original poster decsribed or if those who had problems are just special.

I wanted to do this, but now Im having second thoughts, seems pretty easy.

1. Spray with Goo Off, set sit for 5 mins
2. Brush off rubber paint.
3. Wet Sand, this seems to be optional.
4. Apply 3 lights coats of clear vespar primer, one hour apart.
5. Done.

Am I missing something? How are you guys ruining these panels? Im honestly concerned, cause I need to do the whole thing, minus the 6 speed panel (which I just replaced.) I have bad luck with projects like this sometimes, but it seems really easy.

What defines ruined? Either way you just sand and paint?

BP

[vwluv10338]

Well I tried another panel to see if I am just "special". Well it seems to do it right you need to go lighter than a light coat and do a "dusting", as described in the origional post. If you do anything heavier than a dusting you will not get an even texture. I just dusted my shifter panel and it looks ok, now I will have to resand the other panel I shot first and do them again. No big deal.

E


EDIT: ruining comes form leaving the goo off on too long and melting the plastic beyond a light sanding will repair

EDIT AGAIN: Goo Off will easily remove the primer if you mess up and spray it too heavy.

So Im wondering if this is as easy as the original poster decsribed or if those who had problems are just special.

I wanted to do this, but now Im having second thoughts, seems pretty easy.

1. Spray with Goo Off, set sit for 5 mins
2. Brush off rubber paint.
3. Wet Sand, this seems to be optional.
4. Apply 3 lights coats of clear vespar primer, one hour apart.
5. Done.

Am I missing something? How are you guys ruining these panels? Im honestly concerned, cause I need to do the whole thing, minus the 6 speed panel (which I just replaced.) I have bad luck with projects like this sometimes, but it seems really easy.

What defines ruined? Either way you just sand and paint?

BP

[KILURV8]

Here are mine. It will be a while before they are back in the car.

I didn't use the storm grey everyone else used, I am using gunmetal (sorry don't remember the can code) because I had like 3 cans of it around the house from when I painted my Stock Talon wheels about 7 years ago. Paint was still good, couldn't beleive it.

[bpalmer21]

I didnt mean "special" I should have just said special situations. Sorry.

Thanks for clearing it up, I wont let the goo off set that long.

Those gray panels look badass!!!

[Malachiman]

I redid my dash about 5 months ago and had a friend professionally paint it. The only this that I did differently was that I used paint thinner to get off the rubber. Patience is definitely key when getting that crap off. I just took a little paint brush and kept adding the thinner in portions. Seemed to work fine for me and there was no melting. Took me awhile to figure out the cigarette lighter though.

[poorman's supra]

KILURV8: can you tell me how you got the cig lighter out??

[gixxer_drew]

All I got to say is that goof off shit is like sulfuric fucking acid be careful!!!!

[KILURV8]

Honestly I dont remember. I know in all my other cars there is a lock nut on the back side of the plastic that has to be removed then the lighter should push out the front. I don't remember if that is the way this car was or not. I took them out about a month ago and am working on rewiring all my gauges since I wasn't happy with the wire job.

[Theclassic32]

stuck on how to get the lighter out anyone know how to do this?????

[Will84]

^ I forget exactly... it's been a while, but I had the same problem. Seems like there's a couple tabs back there that you have to get by. The black plastic cup thing stays in place and the rest of the unit can be pushed from the back out the front.

[2JZPWRD]

That looks really good KILURV8. Props..

Be sure to post pictures of them installed.

[Theclassic32]

also for the piece thats all the way to the left with the light bulb thing that you can turn i can't get that out either....

its a little white box that says "toyota ABS"

[KILURV8]

Pull the knob off the light adjuster, there is a small nut under the knob, remove the nut and the adjuster will fall backwards.