Dash board upgrade
 

I would like to upgrade by Dash with new gauges and change the backing from black to white
I was woundering what material should I use for the backing and where to get it?
any suggesting?

Do you have a pic of your dash? Could help seeing what you have to make suggessions on a material type.

i used a sheet of white fiberglass cut to size and had vinyl design put over it came out great

new dash
 

well , i have a little experience with that.

over the winter, i re did the dash on my 24 baja which has a slight bend. I used 1/4" yellow lexan which looked great. unfortunately, the first day out in slight chop it cracked at the screw holes under pressure. too brittle i guess. I just finished the dash on a 28 pantera and used 1/4" aluminum and painted it with catalyzed polyurethane and it looks great and is holding up so far. the 1/4" was a bit over kill. i think you could get away with 1/8" and do just fine. As far a gauges, go with Gaffrig. you have a million color combos.

good luck

RD-

Aluminum is the material of choice. Doesn't crack, can be anodized or painted, can be cut and bent with "normal" tools.

I did mine a couple years ago. Fortunately the original was aluminum, so I just cut a couple more holes for gauges and had it powder coated white. Took the panel to a local graphics shop where they made a custom switch panel decal. They were able to find my boat's company logo on some software they had, and printed up a really nice decal for the top of the dash. I was worried about them coming off or curling at the edges, but so far they still look great (but then again, I keep the boat covered:) ).

I used white faced Gaffrig's with blue bezels. Did all the wiring myself, and I'm no mechanic! Makes it look like a new boat, at least from the inside :p .

dash panel
 

if you dont plan on relocating your gauges and your happy with the setup, just have your existing panel painted. there are several paints you can use that will be very durable. then, just replace the gauges. just another thought.:rolleyes:

do it in aluminum. make a plan of tha guages you want.draw it out on paper and bring it to a laser cutter. They will do the cad for you geteth metal and cut it out and everythign will ook perfect. I just finishe dup my dasha nd it turned otu great wasn;t that expensive either.

HEY PUDER

I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO ASK YOU IF YOU'VE HAD ANYTHING TO DRINK THIS EVENING. TYPING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE IS A FELONY. A COMPUTER IS CONSIDERED HEAVY EQUIPMENT.:D

not any worse than usual.

Don't worry about puder, Bruce- he always types like that. After awhile, you'll understand everything he writes. It's kinda like his dialect:p

I had mine made out Stainless and I think they turned out well.

What type of paint should be used on a dash?

dashboard upgrade
 

imron , awlgrip, catalyzed two part epoxy or polyurethane

ive also heard of people doing the vinyl and are just as happy

it just may not last as long

its up to you

Milord,

Looks great. Is that a 241 or a 261 lib? We had a 261 for 10 years and my dash never looked 1/2 that good!

Too Old,

Very very well done!!!!!