dash board problems..opinions please.

[2000]

I have a 2003 gmc truck with a dark gray dash. only 6000 miles as it is a pull toy/garage queen. on the way back from vacation I noticed a area where the paint was coming off the dash, so I stoped at the dealer on the the way home. his reply was that I caused it by using armor all. WHAT!!! I use meguiars...same stuff he said. well to cut to the chase I said with this short of years/ miles it should fall under warrenty. he said he'll look into it and get back with me. I thought about it and called him when I got home to tell him if "armor all" is so bad what did they use when I picked up the truck....We ordered you a new dash, should be in in a week. thats the good news, now if it has paint on it is it ok to use #40/ nxt tect protectant and so on or not? he said to use nothing but pledge, but they also say you don't need to wax clear coat so I'm not getting in a mental debate with this guy. anyone ever have this problem?

[Duckman]

#1... why the hell is your dash painted?

#2... most dealers are morons. I had one dealer tell a friend of mine that clearcoat was mixed into the colour coat... idiot. pledge doesn't make any sense.

[jfelbab]

Originally posted by Duckman
#1... why the hell is your dash painted?

#2... most dealers are morons. I had one dealer tell a friend of mine that clearcoat was mixed into the colour coat... idiot. pledge doesn't make any sense.

I'd also question the painted dash. Most likely it does have a polyurethane coating.

But, some clearcoats have color tints in them now so it's hard to know if the dealer was right or not.

[Rick]

Originally posted by Duckman
[#2... most dealers are morons. I had one dealer tell a friend of mine that clearcoat was mixed into the colour coat... idiot. pledge doesn't make any sense. [/B]

Thats not 100% entirely false. They do sometimes mix some color in with the clear. You can see this while using your buffer whether or not you pick up any color on the pad. My Honda has it, I pick up a little red while polishing on it. My Chevy that was repainted by a friend about a year and a half ago using PPG base coat clear coat doesn't have any color pickup while polishing. If you look back in the extreme make over section the black Lexus I did had it too, actually it had quite a bit of tinting in the clear. I think this is to reduce the appearance of swirls.


As far as the painted dash thats wired. Naturally your supposed to follow the manufacturers recommendations, but I don't see how any Meguiar's product would hurt it. I had a 95 Tahoe that I used only Meguiar's products on and at 90K miles it was fine. Then again I don't recall the dash being painted. Heck, I've even put W dressing on flat black paint under the hoods of some cars before and it's never caused any problems.

[2000]

I was shocked to see that the dash was painted as well. I thought it was dyed into the plastic, but he said thats only for some parts and some parts are painted. the part I'm talking about is the main dash across the truck where the defroster vents are and such. I did know if you order a dash from the dealer it only comes in black so they're not spending extra money on the other colors, you paint to match. but I did think they came from the manufactor with the color dyed in, so I'm confused on that. I don't blame megs at all, just wanted some insight and alittle more information in case I need it down the road. does any one know how long I should wait to use #40 if its fresh paint on the dash?

jfelbab

could you explain this alittle more?

I'd also question the painted dash. Most likely it does have a polyurethane coating.

the dash was dark gray, and where it's coming off is black, should that don't be?

[JG_Detailing]

Your best bet is to buy a dash board cover for it. I never heard about a dash being painted before. I use a dash board cover in my car. Here is a pic of the dash cover. I got the dash cover because it help's protect it from getting cracked. I also use Meguiar's NXT protection on part's of the dash still.

[jfelbab]

Originally posted by 2000
I was shocked to see that the dash was painted as well. I thought it was dyed into the plastic, but he said thats only for some parts and some parts are painted. the part I'm talking about is the main dash across the truck where the defroster vents are and such. I did know if you order a dash from the dealer it only comes in black so they're not spending extra money on the other colors, you paint to match. but I did think they came from the manufactor with the color dyed in, so I'm confused on that. I don't blame megs at all, just wanted some insight and alittle more information in case I need it down the road. does any one know how long I should wait to use #40 if its fresh paint on the dash?

jfelbab

could you explain this alittle more?


the dash was dark gray, and where it's coming off is black, should that don't be?

A few years back my black dash had to be replaced by the dealer due to damage their mechanic caused while doing an airbag recall.

According to the dealer (acknowledge that dealers are not always a reliable source of information), my dash is vinyl covered PVC with a polyurethane coating. They told me it's coated to provide for a uniform, non-glare surface, to add UV protection and inhibit out-gassing.

I never asked if all dashboards were shipped black then painted to match since mine was black. It came out of the box and went on the car without any additional paint or coatings and matched perfectly. This was a Toyota, btw.

[2000]

jfelbab

thanks for the help. anyone else know anything on this? fwit, I've got to say you would never guess it was painted untill it started to flake so I'd have to believe he's right that it is a common practice. the coating you spoke of makes me wonder because I had a couple of spots that did not look uniform when you would whip the dash down really good, but when you applied the protecant it was covered up fine. did they evr say what you should or should not do to it because of the coating?

chevyman2001,
I'm fimilar with the cover, I had one on my other vehicle, problem is it wouldn't cover the spot that's acting up. I couldn't be that lucky, but at least I'm not paying for it, it just doesn't sound right to me, the paint and all.

[jfelbab]

Originally posted by 2000
jfelbab

thanks for the help. anyone else know anything on this? fwit, I've got to say you would never guess it was painted untill it started to flake so I'd have to believe he's right that it is a common practice. the coating you spoke of makes me wonder because I had a couple of spots that did not look uniform when you would whip the dash down really good, but when you applied the protecant it was covered up fine. did they evr say what you should or should not do to it because of the coating?...

No, and I never asked. I typically just wipe with a damp cloth to remove dust and once or twice a year I use Meguiar's #40.

[Mark McGuire]

Hey 2000,
I too am surprised at the paint thing. I thought they were dyed plastic. Anyway I'd say if it is paint you should use NXT wax instead #40, or any other protectant that says to keep off of paint. So I guess the thing we all need to find out is: is it paint or not. I use #40 on my dash, it doesn't look painted to me, it is also a chevy, and I sure don't want to go through the same thing you are. Plus mine is not under warrenty. Good LucK
Mark

[2000]

Originally posted by Mark McGuire
Hey 2000,
I too am surprised at the paint thing. I thought they were dyed plastic. Anyway I'd say if it is paint you should use NXT wax instead #40, or any other protectant that says to keep off of paint. So I guess the thing we all need to find out is: is it paint or not. I use #40 on my dash, it doesn't look painted to me, it is also a chevy, and I sure don't want to go through the same thing you are. Plus mine is not under warrenty. Good LucK
Mark

had a chevy same year as yours before this one and I can't tell a difference in the dash boards material. seems like the same to me. never had this problem before and I even used armor all for awhile so that kind of blew up his theorey. I'm beginning to wonder if this dash wasn't replaced before I got the vehicle, like it was stolen and recovered, repaired and sold. I was told it was a reps truck and when I got the title it was titled as belonging to gm still. couldn't use wax as it is way to pourious, besides it real doesn't feel like paint.

[Mark McGuire]

Hey,
I don't think its paint either.

[Rick]

Have you done any searching on the Internet? Perhaps you just got a bad dash and cross your fingers it's just an isolated incident. Often times when there's something happening with a particular vehicle I have a quick search can reveal it's a known "issue" with that particular vehicle. A good example of this is my mom's VW Beetle (2001) which smells like crayons inside.

[Aurora40]

I think most interior plastics are painted. It's more like spray-dyed than "painted". It isn't like the exterior paint. But I believe this is quite common, it's just rare that it fails and you can see it.

I worked at a used car dealership for a little while I was "unemployed" (I obviously wasn't actually unemployed, I worked at a used car dealer, but I wasn't employed in my profession), and can recall how just about every X5 that came in had the color chipped off of the inside door pulls. It seemed that area was very prone to chipping. They would get refinished/painted at the store before they went out on the lot (was a CarMax, so they do a lot in-house).

[gb387]

Originally posted by Rick
Have you done any searching on the Internet? Perhaps you just got a bad dash and cross your fingers it's just an isolated incident. Often times when there's something happening with a particular vehicle I have a quick search can reveal it's a known "issue" with that particular vehicle. A good example of this is my mom's VW Beetle (2001) which smells like crayons inside.

Just jumping in here.... smells like crayons? That sounds odd!?!? Hope she likes the smell of crayons.