I'm working on a way to add material to the dash piece in preparation for an attempt at a double din install in my 01 GTP. My goal is to retain the stock look as much as possible, much like the double d mods version that is available but way overpriced.
I started off by determining what type of plastic the dash is made of. It is an ABS/PC blend (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene / Polycarbonate). Now obviously I don’t know the ratio of the two, but knowing the two types is helpful in determining the material to be added. After many hours of research looking up what others have done with their dashes, not limited to the GPs, some have gone with using an ‘ABS sludge’. This is a homemade concoction of Acetone mixed with ABS shavings/bits. ABS is highly affected by Acetone, so much so that the ABS effectively melts over time when it comes in contact with it. The idea behind the sludge is that it is a pourable/brushable/squeezable material that will fill in small gaps or cracks, depending on thickness of the sludge, while at the same time creating a chemical bond to the existing ABS (it’s getting broken down on the surface by the Acetone in the sludge) without the need for an additional adhesive. This ends up making more of a weld rather than a bond.
So that’s the boring background info part. On to the results!
I whipped up a test batch before work so I didn’t measure anything, I just winged it to see what would happen. I made a batch that was slightly thicker than Elmer’s school glue and poured it on a test piece of dash I picked up at the junkyard. I didn’t do any surface prep other than wiping off the dust/dirt.
When I got home tonight it had nearly fully dried so my first test was to see how well it adhered to the dash. I was unable to pick it off by hand. I ended up having to use a flat head screwdriver and pry parts of it off. Only the small parts where I was prying came off, the rest stayed intact and unaffected. I rate this as a success and enough proof for the concept to work in this application. I expect better results if the surface is prepped by sanding with some 80 grit and a light brushing of acetone over the surface prior to pouring the sludge.
My next step will be to determine the optimal ratio of Acetone : ABS to get a desired consistency as well as being able to reproduce matching batches in the future.
Time to go to Amazon and pick up a mg capable scale and a graduated cylinder measuring in ml. Science *****es!
Originally Posted by TheInterloper
