Green Dash Pad - Criagslist

[broboyle]

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/pts/d/puyallup-1982-150-dash-pad-green/7427025065.html

[Gary Lewis]

Is that yours?  I saw it advertised and thought of posting it here, but decided not to do so as that price is about what you can buy a new one for, and an old one like this one is going to crack.  In fact, Shaun bought one similar to that one and it cracked sitting on a shelf.  But a new one shouldn't crack.  So I'm really leery of these old ones that aren't yet cracked.

[broboyle]

Nope not mine, just saw it listed and thought the rarity of the green might attract some interest. Good point about the cracking.

[1986F150Six]

If someone was gathering green interipr parts:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154197328179?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item23e6e08133:g:mhkAAOSww6lfsnYw&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%252B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsStEKTPzZMfQmny3knR97t0LiFq9OFGyLcx7igfo%252BYIxD%252FrF9JP%252BOYcwL5PbNdz1r0vR%252Fgr3VoZ5rz1qiHYhIbKla3ZW3wVnYAgHgOGCt2t81r1mMPnkKKHQ6%252BZiKlNmeN%252FMDLaYLS58PiXlq5Pb%252Fujw6j0Z21WGjyPm33ok9q54hYlexlksABmTqBjupeWW9UFdNkX%252BRweyu0JNil3ZayxlyPaAtwxrDYAil8BaSKI4uTXHPNKQotF05GiV5BVSoWTxvAWMrqAhNAfCvfyjBz7m2%252B%252FR05GMwzIPkT1udgTBHxk%252BnZbmvTgszInpBswkvuvEbVhV0iHzc2VrVT8LMJiRUmGnRwaCLspE2KLNvr6ney50CuC%252BwEmP%252BtxqMs5zX1shAxWBmG%252B398OXpjTqbsey0gGkxKNJshzu17ALJjnqOuUYBfyFivq%252BuDslY8I5e1YWehWdEsvmd66ene1DU%252Ffm6bbuq6qVl82qdFTPBRj4gaj12SfExj7pKlL%252FVqxhW7TmU4%252Fy5%252BMy3m5OfOQkt4Kg6ftF2yg%252BkGyfM31zMNf59IcF1X1d4U1Dl6gpIMpZKuiRkF7r5ZCyK1c2wp%252FNhgCqK4eQI54QPTrXyMH0BbFJczuinVHVriQI3%252F15Gcuo2tsc8OjFLKBRmHlgmQVC9SZUxUhEwuMsZgFD1MvXndjwJuxktNLqJJpmOwdQ7U1%252BoR2itF60BHGb9kBF8mIT6yBl1L8gllGLRlTeYE9pScH3X6U0gEF24aIdbtdOaAk%252B%252B%252BuWOCDtFrVwdgRylJ%252FSdOcuSLnzfGA181Gunmw47N8t0A325KDJlzB0tRMg6j3pQI8xhWVyVRKXdRqt3cKGIhZg%253D%253D%7Cclp%3A2334524%7Ctkp%3ABFBMrNCT8MJf

[salans7]

Gary Lewis wrote

An old one like this one is going to crack.  In fact, Shaun bought one similar to that one and it cracked sitting on a shelf.  But a new one shouldn't crack.  So I'm really leery of these old ones that aren't yet cracked.

Still remember that. I did everything I could to support it and it still cracked. If I remember correctly, it cracked in another spot a few years later while it was installed in the truck. It was covered with a sun shade at that point and I had even cleaned it up and had some quality (not Armor-All) protectant on it. Didn't matter, still cracked.

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, the damage had already been done.  The plastic was no longer flexible and any little movement could cause a crack.

I may have told this story before, but years ago the company I worked for ran a PVC plant and my team was responsible for the instrumentation on it.  One day I was talking to the chemist and asked him if GM bought our plastic.  He said "GM wouldn't touch us with a 10' pole. But Ford buys some of our plastic and Chrysler buys a lot of it."  I asked why and he said that the plasticizer in ours didn't stay in the plastic long enough to meet GM's specs, and when the plasticizer leaves the compound becomes brittle.

At that point I had a 7 year old 1969 Super Bee and the back seat upholstery was broken where our dog had walked across it.  He said the stuff I'd been seeing on the inside of the windows was the plasticizer and it was baking out of the compound, leaving the upholstery brittle.

And Armor All doesn't really restore the plasticizer.  It can't get down into the compound, so while it might help the plastic on the surface, it doesn't help the rest of it.  So there isn't much you can do to save an old dash pad.  It is going to crack, it is just a matter of when.

[salans7]

Yep, it's sad how it just bakes out. My 2002 Ranger sat out in the direct sun from 2007 to 2020. There is a HUGE difference between how the top of the dash feels in that truck versus my 2003 Ranger, which I've cleaned and protected that dash ever since I bought the truck. It also doesn't get parked in direct sunlight if I can help it. I have done my best to try and save the 2002 Ranger's dash, but the damage is already done. Luckily, Ranger dashes aren't prone to cracking so it won't show that way.