Black dash pad - used

[1986F150Six]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304714741429?hash=item46f269f6b5:g:aHwAAOSwe0hjf4k6&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAsOTvKKYMPKm7%2FqeNkbXSw%2BRPAX8oB4gejhVO%2FLcuiE1dPY%2BoDXT23sEsLNjA9BFC3lgxeGEvA4xWERcSGJnUJ%2For%2B6s20Fu8fSMYwYJllU0jkbMrgmb%2FdWxw9zICStppbt3GImsR86%2FFYSJvkMrxhpalMCucpWzN%2F%2F5NRMkKWGnquT5CIc1458WrBRWS49d6%2B2CQk0%2BDaIpwbcr9hwbitsIz3cSmXjisUnBJQKG%2F%2BhGF%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6y4pL6YYQ

[salans7]

I can see it cracking already.  (Gary knows).

[mat in tn]

soaked in armor alll

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, Gary knows.  Even blocking them up level doesn't mean it won't crack.  

[salans7]

mat in tn wrote

soaked in armor alll

Definitely doesn't restore the thirty years of plasticizers that have lifted off of it and onto the windshield of the truck it came from.

[81-F150-Explorer]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but;

Soaking them in Armor All used to make them worse for cracking if you did not maintain a regiment of reapplication.  

My shop teacher from high school recommended Petroleum Jelly for maintaining plastic and dash pads. Put it on and polish it in.  Worked good for me for a long time.

Silicone Lubricant is also good for protecting rubber and plastics.  Don't get it on clear coated painted surfaces though. It will strip the clear coat.  It will keep rubber like new though.  I had to change my door seals a couple years ago not because they were cracking and hard, but because they flattened out. They were still as soft and pliant as new when they needed replacing; 35 years old etc ...

Another protectant that was good for sealing the plastic and rubber according to my shop teacher was cigarette smoke. He could tell if a car was smoked in by the nice appearance of the plastic and the slight discolor. If it could protect plastic by second hand smoke, what was it doing to people? Why he and I do not recommend that option. Trying to get that smoke layer off a windshield is a nightmare too. :D

[mat in tn]

i have a friend that had a maverick years ago and he polished his dash with petroleum jelly now and then. it seemed strange to me at the time. but it was near perfect well into the 80s . which was when we both got into fox body mustangs