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My dog ate my dash
#1

Gurus,

A while ago, I left my dogs in the coach for a little too long without something for them to do.  The result is that my passenger armrest along with part of the dash got chewed on.   Since my dash was already looking a little worn, it was time to do something about that.  I decided to attempt DIY recovering of my dash.  There are a couple of "before pictures" along with some "after" pictures.

My first task was to recover the door trim to learn the technique and decide on the materials to use.      

The material is ultra leather and came from sailrite.com.  I ordered several samples and chose the one that most closely matched my coach.  While I was on the website, I ordered some 1/4" scrim foam.  (The foam is glued to base structure and the "leather" is attached with staples).  The ultra leather turned out to be a fairly close match to the original leather.  

Recovering the door went well and I decided to go ahead and do the dash.  See pictures.

Generally .... here are the steps that I followed.

1)  Pull the J panel from the top of the dash.  (Attached with "Christmas Tree" pins).
2)  Pull the top of the passenger arm rest.  (Attached with "Christmas Tree" pins).
3)  Pull the main section of the dash. (Attached with 7/16 nuts....accessible from the top if your arms are long enough).
4)  Pull the drivers arm rest.  (Attached with 7/16 nuts from underside).
5)  Pull the steering column cover.
6.  Pull the window shade and then the leather pieces above the windshield.  (Drivers side was dry rotted from water damage).
7.  Pull the A-Pillar covers (Attached with screws)
8.  Pull the glove-box cover (Attached with "Christmas Tree" pins)

I used a staple remover tool (from sailrite.com) to pull the staples that held the leather on to the plastic pieces.   For some pieces the existing scrim foam was in good shape.  For others the scrim foam was degraded.  Removing the scrim foam is tedious.  I found that Goo-gone was helpful in removing the adhesive.

I used spray adhesive to attach new scrim foam.  (trim to the edge).

For each piece, start in the middle and staple the material on both sides while stretching the material tight.  Work your way out from the middle stapling as you go.  (stretch the fabric gently).

Replace the pieces in the reverse order.

I was able to do the whole thing with scissors, staple puller tool, stapler and glue.  Total cost was around $500 plus labor.  (With tons of material left over)

Tips:

1.  Observe how the old material was attached.  In the corners will be relief cuts.  Try to duplicate those.
2.  The material stretches more in one direction than the perpendicular direction.  Use this to your advantage.
3.  A really good pair of sheers makes neat cuts which makes everything look better.
4.  I used a 3/8" air upholstery stapler, but sailrite.com recommends a 1/2" stapler.  
5.  Sailrite.com has a bunch of videos which will teach the basics.
6.  Contact cement is great for attaching the material to the A-Pillar covers.

Cheers,
bill


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Bill Johnson
Birmingham, Alabama
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#2

Wow, nice. Will you come do mine?!

2008 Newell #1234
Boulder, CO

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#3

Looks like a real nice job by both you & the dogs. Big Grin

PS I wonder why everyone is having trouble with their pictures posting sideways???

Steve Bare
1999 Newell 2 slide #531
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#4

First, it's a really nice job. Probably a few thou less than the Newell price, and add in the fuel savings.

Second, I think the sideways picture is a iPhone thing. If I take a landscape picture on the iPhone and post it, it always comes out sideways.

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
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#5

Very nice job, Bill

Gordon Jones
2000-45'-2slide-#567
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#6

Nice work Bill!

Oscar & Janet Valent
Full timing
2004 Foretravel U320 3820 PBBS
2007 Newell Coach #815 - Great Coach Sold
2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit
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#7

Hey Bill: thanks for sharing the process, and nice job.

Jon Kabbe
1993 coach 337 with Civic towed
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