cntrylvr79
05-19-2007, 08:11 PM
First thing's first, chop off the bar that separates the top 2 openings in the dash bezel. Next you'll have to shift the a/c controls down to the lowest opening. At this point you can shave off about 1/2" off the "ears" of the a/c controls so they'll meet flush with the dash when they're mounted finally. Once that's done, mount the radio brackets to the double din and set it into the dash. Next up grab the trim ring that comes with the double din and sit it against the dash. Grab a marker or something and trace the outline on the dash bezel. Once that's done you'll need to cut that area out. Now comes the fun part, grab some 100 grit sandpaper and sand both the trim ring and the dash bezel. You want to make sure that you get it sanded enough to roughen it up so that the plastic epoxy and bondo will adhere properly. Once you're done with that wash both pieces off. Next up sit the trimring back in place and superglue it to the dash bezel. At this point your dash is going to look something like this.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/7272/dash1wo1.th.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dash1wo1.jpg)
Next up you're going to cut up some pieces of abs plastic the size of the holes at the top and bottom, and also the left and right sides. Sand the pieces of abs like you did the dash, and epoxy them in place. You'll also want to run a bit of the plastic epoxy over the whole area to help build it up, lessening the amount of bondo you'll have to use. So now you have a dash that looks like this.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/5799/dash2uk3.th.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dash2uk3.jpg)
This step I'd recommend getting some sort of power sander since you have ALOT of sanding to do. Once you knock the epoxy down so it's even with the dash bezel and somewhat smooth. Don't get too worked up if you sand too far. If you go too far and end up with a hole just mix up some more plastic epoxy and lay it in from the back of the dash. Once you're happy with that, you can start mixing up the bondo. Lay that over the area and let it set for about 15 minutes or so. Once it's set a bit you can then sand that down with 150 grit to get a smooth surface. You'll probably end up with some pinholes in the bondo at this point. So another small batch of bondo will fix those. At this point you're bezel will look something like this.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7738/dash4cv4.th.jpg (http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dash4cv4.jpg)
This is where I'm at right now so I'll just leave this here at this point. Not much left though. Some high build primer, base paint, color, clear, and buffing. all said I think I have about 5 hours into this, my third, dash bezel. Hope this helps someone.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/7272/dash1wo1.th.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dash1wo1.jpg)
Next up you're going to cut up some pieces of abs plastic the size of the holes at the top and bottom, and also the left and right sides. Sand the pieces of abs like you did the dash, and epoxy them in place. You'll also want to run a bit of the plastic epoxy over the whole area to help build it up, lessening the amount of bondo you'll have to use. So now you have a dash that looks like this.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/5799/dash2uk3.th.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dash2uk3.jpg)
This step I'd recommend getting some sort of power sander since you have ALOT of sanding to do. Once you knock the epoxy down so it's even with the dash bezel and somewhat smooth. Don't get too worked up if you sand too far. If you go too far and end up with a hole just mix up some more plastic epoxy and lay it in from the back of the dash. Once you're happy with that, you can start mixing up the bondo. Lay that over the area and let it set for about 15 minutes or so. Once it's set a bit you can then sand that down with 150 grit to get a smooth surface. You'll probably end up with some pinholes in the bondo at this point. So another small batch of bondo will fix those. At this point you're bezel will look something like this.
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7738/dash4cv4.th.jpg (http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dash4cv4.jpg)
This is where I'm at right now so I'll just leave this here at this point. Not much left though. Some high build primer, base paint, color, clear, and buffing. all said I think I have about 5 hours into this, my third, dash bezel. Hope this helps someone.