RHD dashes

[Squiggle Dog]

I noticed that the door panels in my car are a bit squishy, unlike others I have seen. We rarely see the sun where I live!

[WGB]

I noticed that the door panels in my car are a bit squishy, unlike others I have seen. We rarely see the sun where I live!

They are called the door "cards" and it is not too difficult to repair.

Remove the panel and the card is held in place in the middle of the frame of padding by a collection of small metal trim clips.

The card can be removed and the sagging padding replaced - e.g thin layer of polyester or foam and the lining re-tensioned and re-fitted.

It certainly lifts the look of an interior.

Bill

[Squiggle Dog]

I noticed that the door panels in my car are a bit squishy, unlike others I have seen. We rarely see the sun where I live!

They are called the door "cards" and it is not too difficult to repair.

Remove the panel and the card is held in place in the middle of the frame of padding by a collection of small metal trim clips.

The card can be removed and the sagging padding replaced - e.g thin layer of polyester or foam and the lining re-tensioned and re-fitted.

It certainly lifts the look of an interior.

Bill

I'm referring to the molded sections not having lost their sponginess since new. It seems most have by now become hardened like the dashboards.

[WGB]

I guess you are lucky as most will be hardened here - but they don't seem to crack like the dashboard does.

Bill

[Big_Richard]

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[TJ 450]

Yes, the door trim surrounds share the same manufacturing process/material as the dash, except that the substrate is plastic rather than steel.

Most modern cars don't have a skin, it is just moulded high density foam.

Tim

[nathan]

I'm with bill,
The door cards crack less frequently than the dashes, but probably due to the amount of area exposed. Saying that, we have certainly come across some grand canyon sized cracks in those door cards on various cars we have wrecked. Im still not sure why the black dashes don't crack like the colored ones though?
The other sun damage comes on the a pillars which cop the sun. U try and take them off and inevitably the lower end can snap off!

[TJ 450]

Nathan,

I agree with the limited exposure idea on the door trims. It all depends on how the car was used/stored in the long term though. A lot of the bangers are left to cook out in the sun which results in cracked everything.

I'm also interested in knowing how you draw the conclusion that the blue ones are more prone to cracking.

I will say that the blue consoles have a terrible aging condition.

Tim

[Casey]

My parchment door panels (as they are called in the US) in the SEL have rather a lot of cracks!  Hopefully I'll get my green door cards from the UK shipped over soon...

My black dash in the same car is also very cracked.

[nathan]

no doubt the black dashes are more resilient. im not saying they dont crack, just that if you had a side by side comparison, you would see the coloured ones die first. even that green 6.9 i wrecked, the black door cars are tops, even though it had been in the sun a while (although the dash had a few cracks)
sounds like a study needs to be done!!

[1980sdga]

One would think that the black ones would get hotter and break down more.  Maybe the pigments are more UV resistant?

[koan]

I must be lucky, my black dash is crack free.

koan

[jbrasile]

It seems that blue dashes are the most prone to cracks, not only in 116's but also 107's, 126's and 124's. It must have something to do with the pigment or dye used in the vinyl, black appears to be the most resilient followed by brown.

Both my 116's with blue interiors, the current 1980 450SEL and my old 79 300SD cracked while under my ownership. The 450 is really odd because the dash was perfect when I bought the car in 1999 and it has had a dash mat cover since day one. A couple of years ago while cleaning the interior I lifted the dash mat to apply some protectant to the dash and there they were.... a big nasty crack right at the acc temp sensor and another on the cluster inner corner, typical locations... I actually heard the crack happen in the SD.... My 74 280S with black interior was perfect and so is the current 78 450SEL with its tobacco upholstery. My client's green 6.9 has a bamboo interior with a black dash and that is perfect as well.

Tks,

Joe

[nathan]

Joe,
i think heat plays an important part too. we have dash mats on our cars, but even so, on a hot day you feel under the mat and those damn things are hot! maybe the dimensional changes from heat causes the problems?!  this calls for an inquest. i nominate TJ to leave his new dash in the west australian sun until it cracks for the benefits of science!!

[TJ 450]

Well,

The skin of the dash is made brittle by exposure to UV, and it is thermal expansion/contraction and flexing that causes the cracks. A dash mat does little to prevent an already brittle dash from cracking as infrared will still get through (the dash mat will absorb the lot and radiate heat through)... Exactly what you're saying Nathan. Even the car's heater is enough to crack a dash if it is borderline.

I think I'll pass on the experiment though, haha.

Tim