Going to flock the dash.

[SkorcherX]

So my dash is really bad. Tons of cracks and it looks terrible. So I have decided that I will flock it as I really like the look of it and its cheaper than replacing the dash.

I have been researching the process. An electrostatic gun is preferred to get all the flock to stand in uniform. This is a spendy piece of equipment and I am not up to the task of building one. I am really interested in the air-gun + can applicators.

http://www.donjer.com sells a can and an air-gun for this purpose. However I was looking at the can, and I don't understand why I couldn't just buy the can and fit it to my existing air gun? Here are pics of each.

Donjer Flock Can:


typical air-gun:


It seems like I could just buy the applicator can, the flock and the adhesive (everyone on the woodworking sites recommends rustoleum oil based adhesives), and then cobble together a blast cabinet like this guy did.



Thoughts?

[Landrunner]

Are the cracks really big enough to flock?

[gp.plus]

I would definitely fill all the cracks and sand everything smooth before flocking. To do it properly you should be pulling the dash out of the car, and at that point you might as well replace it with one of the uncracked variety. If you do it make sure the glue your using is UV stable. I've seen dashes wrapped in suede an it looks awesome however, it requires some stitching and patterning, I'd imagine this would look similar. As for the air gun, seems easy enough to make it work, I assume they recommend a pressure to operate at, but I would just be sure they are not somehow regulating through their gun. Good luck, I'm interested in your progress.

[OnMy2ndE30]

Here is what another guy did here on R3v...

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=234996&highlight=flocked+dash

Search is your friend

[george graves]

Wonder how bedliner would look after filling the cracks with epoxy?

[SkorcherX]

Thanks for all the tips. As I explained I will be filling cracks in the dash with bondo, and removing the dash in order to flock it. Hence the picture of the old man and his flocking set up.

The cost of a crack free dash is more than I'm willing to spend because shipping always comes into play. This appears to be a great alternative, that is very cost effective. My question was if anyone else has flocked their dash, and if so have they made their own air gun, or did they just buy the one pictured above? I know they make hand powered flock guns, but that sounds like an awful idea to use on such a large piece.

My air compressor has regulators for both the hoses, so I can dial it down to the recommended 10-15 PSI.

Next pay check I think I will order the needed products and get this going. I think I will flock the console as well, so everything matches.

@OnMy2ndE30: Yeah I saw this thread, it is what gave me the idea to do this. I didn't even know flocking was a thing until I came across that thread a couple of weeks ago.

[OnMy2ndE30]

Thanks for all the tips. As I explained I will be filling cracks in the dash with bondo, and removing the dash in order to flock it. Hence the picture of the old man and his flocking set up.

The cost of a crack free dash is more than I'm willing to spend because shipping always comes into play. This appears to be a great alternative, that is very cost effective. My question was if anyone else has flocked their dash, and if so have they made their own air gun, or did they just buy the one pictured above? I know they make hand powered flock guns, but that sounds like an awful idea to use on such a large piece.

My air compressor has regulators for both the hoses, so I can dial it down to the recommended 10-15 PSI.

Next pay check I think I will order the needed products and get this going. I think I will flock the console as well, so everything matches.

@OnMy2ndE30: Yeah I saw this thread, it is what gave me the idea to do this. I didn't even know flocking was a thing until I came across that thread a couple of weeks ago.

If you are curious, Eastwood makes a dash repair kit. They have an expanding foam I believe for the larger cracks and a "putty" for the top coat and graining. I honestly feel than an expanding foam type material will be better than Bondo. Bondo won't flex or expand and contract like the expanding foam will. I fear you may have cracks show up again if you go the Bondo route....

[noE30]

I flocked my dash after reading the thread posted above^. I just purchased the mini flocker kit and used the hand operated flocking tube.
Few suggestions:
-Lay the adhesive on thick, but smooth, you don't want any runs at all but you need enough material that the flock can still well too.
-Go crazy with the flocking material, if you think you have the dash completely covered then you probably don't so add more. The adhesive they send you is semi-gloss when it dries and it will be painfully obvious where you haven't applied enough flock, trust me on this as I re-did my entire dash to repair those issues I had the first time.
-Work quickly, the adhesive only has like a 10-15 min. application window, after that the flocking wont stick as well. If you can make this a two person job I would definitely recommend that, one person apply adhesive and the other have the flocking material ready to go.
-Make sure to get everything covered the first time as you can't really "re-do" a single area as you will be able to see where you applied the adhesive the second time.

If you have any questions let me know.
Good luck

[SkorcherX]

@ NoE30

So did you cover the entire dash in the adhesive and then get it flocked within the 10-15 minute window?

Also would you advise using a colored adhesive? Like black?

Also what color of flock did you do?

[SkorcherX]

Taking the plunge!

[gp.plus]

Nice man, take lots of pics. Interested to see how well the sprayer works

[JRKOUPE]

gl...lets see finished pics...

Id love a flocked dash for my track car...

[SkorcherX]

So I was able to build my own flocking gun. Donjer sells one for $70 bucks! I already had a $12 craftsman air-gun. So I spent $7.50 on a Donjer replacement can and $1.65 on some fittings and made my own.



I had to drill a hole in the cap.


Here are pics of the part numbers if anyone wants to replicate this:


I will have progress pics soon, when I have time to work on it.

[gp.plus]

Well played sir!

[noE30]

best of luck man.