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Dash pad, Paint or fabric

bret

Well Known Member
Any thoughts on the slider anti glare area? I like the carpet-fabric idea, but have seen folks paint flat black also, what has been your experience? also looking for ideas for defrost fans, or just ventilate and let the Dynon fans pass the heat through holes?
 
I covered my tip up area (same thing) with vinyl before I put canopy on. There are also 3 1/2" holes drilled the align with the braces. Not my idea, builder I got my partial kit from. I ended up finding some nice screened round humidor vents I was able to glue in that are black to go with vinyl. Looks good, and might let a little heat from avionics and heat by feet up to windscreen.
 
I used flat black rattle can paint on mine. It has held up nicely for 15 years. Light, cheap, durable (and not flammable like some other options). What's not to like?
 
one thing I liked about the dash pad is the ability to throw a set of glasses or what ever up there for a moment or two and not worry about it sliding off? ya?
 
I used vinyl with a thin layer of about 3/16" headliner foam between the vinyl and dash. Also wrapped it under the dash back to the instrument panel.

Sorry about the large size picture....

20150409_182551%201.jpg
 
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Bret, I fretted over this dilemma for way too long as I have a couple of smiling rivets up there I wanted to hide! First, I painted flat black. Then I bought a nice piece of vinyl and cut off a small piece and lit it with a match, It burned like crazy emitting a putrid heavy black smoke! Then I bought a nice piece of the soft side of a Velcro material and was going to install it later (it probably burns the same way) but to be honest, the flat black paint looks so good, I just cant see adding more flammable weight. I have the Classic Aero Glare Shield Trim and it looks really good with the flat black paint. I've been having so much fun flying, I haven't even noticed those couple of smileys up there since that first flight! :D
 
Give Yourself Options

You can always paint flat black first. If you don't like it, cover later with your choice of material.
 
I had some left over black leather from another project. It's less slippery than vinyl and doesn't off gas.The off gassing isn't a big deal you just have to clean the inside of your windscreen every once In a while just like in a car.
Paint is a good option too. You want to use a flattening agent which inherently makes the paint less slippery, but it is harder to clean for the same reason.
As far as defrosting, holes accomplish two things; vents the panel electronics and provides some defrost.
With a slider, cracking open the canopy will take care of it in seconds.
 
Paint

I'm in the process of doing a major panel upgrade and plan to install the Classic Aero padded edge. I considered installing the fabric they offer also, but decided against it.

Why? I've drilled quite a few holes in the glare shield for wires or to mount stuff. During the panel upgrade I added the GI 260 AOA indicator and just drilled holes to mount a second GPS antenna for the G3X. If I had fabric installed, drilling the holes would have been much more difficult.

Based on past history, if I installed fabric now, I would probably want to drill another hole through it within a week. :eek:
 
Bedliner

Yes, truck bedliner - matte finish, tough, and non-skid.
Purchased a several years old RV with a matte black painted glareshield. It was pretty scratched up. Touching it up would have been quite noticeable as we couldn't get all the way to the edges with the slider windscreen in place. Ended up with a fabric covering from one of the usual RV suppliers. The supplier advised against vinyl because of outgassing which would coat the inside of the windscreen. It looks nice and my sunglasses, etc. don't slide around. If I were starting from scratch, I'd coat the glareshield with bedliner before the windscreen went on.
Cheers, David
 
My canopy is not on yet and I sprayed with SEM (39853) black texture spray with a rough surface, it spatters on. Flat black has some glare.

The downside is that it is rough and when people see it they want to touch it, it sands skin off the hands and leave streaks. Air blows it off, but the future use is in question. Upholstery covering is the back up.

I would take a picture but it does not reflect any light.
 
Glare shield

I used black Velcro fuzzy fabric. Mounted my small gps antenna pucks at the forward edge by gluing sections of the Velcro hook side. I keep a small led light and ink pen on the shield the same way- stays put- always in reach. McMaster Carr has it. I do understand its flameable.
 
I'm not sure if it is available in rattle can or not, but soft-touch flat black paint looks nice. It is the same texture that is on the back of modern cell phones. It's currently used on some certified planes.

As for me, in the next few month's I'll probably just be painting mine flat black and be done with it.
 
I got piece of the velcro fabric from Bill Repucci and used double-side tape to hold it in place (should be easy to remove should I decide to do that). Then used a piece of rubber edging (similar to the wing root rubber) from McMaster-Carr for the edging. Put a bit of RTV in the groove and pushed it in place and it seems to be holding fine after ~5 years.

Greg
 
fuzz for me!

similar to Dan & Greg, I bought a $5 BBQ mat from W-Aero-mart, as it had vinyl on one side, fuzz on the other. sprayed it with Flame-Out retardant, like all the fabric inside the plane.
made a paper template of 1/2 the glareshield, then transferred to the mat, cutting a slit for the canopy brace ( slider)
when I added my fuel hose edge on the glareshield lip, this, and the wedge of the windshield meeting the deck has kept it nicely in place.
I've added Velcro hooks to the back of my XRX, SPOT, and GPS antenna, and they stay put. Wiring tucks under the hose.
A little chunk of the BBQ mat taped to the top of the dewices cuts out their reflection in the windshield.
just my silly opinion!
 
Yes, truck bedliner - matte finish, tough, and non-skid.
Purchased a several years old RV with a matte black painted glareshield. It was pretty scratched up. Touching it up would have been quite noticeable as we couldn't get all the way to the edges with the slider windscreen in place. Ended up with a fabric covering from one of the usual RV suppliers. The supplier advised against vinyl because of outgassing which would coat the inside of the windscreen. It looks nice and my sunglasses, etc. don't slide around. If I were starting from scratch, I'd coat the glareshield with bedliner before the windscreen went on.
Cheers, David

Interesting, do you have pics?
 
Hey Bret,

I painted the area flat black first with a rattle can, then covered it with Pep Boys' finest generic carpet applied with 3M spray adhesive. The paint was only a precaution, so I wouldn't have any shiny aluminum showing through any gaps or around the edges. Finishing touch was the Classic Aero pad, which really gives a cool "business jet" feel to the interior, and my provide a bit of crash protection too. As others have done, I secured a couple GPS pucks and a spare mechanical pencil up there with Velcro....it holds amazingly well on this carpet!

I made a template from butcher paper first. It's done in two pieces with the split straight up the middle, and you can flip the template to do the other side.

Much easier to do this before the windscreen is bonded in place!

 
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I bought a bolt of black loop Velcro and covered the glair shield with thst. It looks like a nice black cloth.

My pen and antennas all have hook sections on them and are stuck to the it. After 700 hours, it has held up well.

I used 3M 77 adhesive to hold it down.

I just saw this:
I got piece of the velcro fabric from Bill Repucci and used double-side tape to hold it in place (should be easy to remove should I decide to do that). Then used a piece of rubber edging (similar to the wing root rubber) from McMaster-Carr for the edging. Put a bit of RTV in the groove and pushed it in place and it seems to be holding fine after ~5 years.

Greg
What he said
 
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Bret, I just painted flat black and also used the Classic Aero pad. And to answer your other question about ventilation, I bought a couple of computer fans at RadioShack and put them on each side. They are cheap, replaceable, and work nicely. They are on anytime my avionics switch is on and draw very little power. I did it to get extra cooling and for defrosting. Here is a picture of them prior to putting the windscreen on.
DSC02453_zps7g3wqdbf.jpg
 
Just like Lycoming engines . . .

and fingerprints, no two are alike. But they all seem to work just fine.
 
Bret, I fretted over this dilemma for way too long as I have a couple of smiling rivets up there I wanted to hide! First, I painted flat black. Then I bought a nice piece of vinyl and cut off a small piece and lit it with a match, It burned like crazy emitting a putrid heavy black smoke! Then I bought a nice piece of the soft side of a Velcro material and was going to install it later (it probably burns the same way) but to be honest, the flat black paint looks so good, I just cant see adding more flammable weight. I have the Classic Aero Glare Shield Trim and it looks really good with the flat black paint. I've been having so much fun flying, I haven't even noticed those couple of smileys up there since that first flight! :D

Same here - flat black paint only, with the glare shield trim on the edge, don't see a need for anything else.
 
Dash Cover

I had to have a hole drill into my dash (glare shield) to do a tig weld on the canopy tub brace. The gentleman who did the weld suggested I cut a cover piece out of thin aluminum the size of the glare shield (use cut strips of file folders place along the curved top of the shield to make a template) and Velcro it several places to the original dash. I first covered the "new" glare shied with a gray leatherette top adhering it with 3M spray adhesive and used an auto door trim piece to cover the front edge.

Bottom line: it really looks good, can't tell the "new" dash isn't the original dash (except from the hole on the bottom of the original dash) and if I want to change colors or material I just lift off the new dash (remember it Velcro'd).❤️
 
one more data point

hmmmmm, hey guys, for those of you building, and I hear the words...."spray glue" just wanted to say that in 5-10 years, you may want/need to change that dashpad, and it seems like it would be no fun at all. ( with the windshield IN!)
just my experience, but it takes very little, maybe a couple of squares of thin doublefaced tape or velcro... here and there, to hold it in position, especially if you have some kind of edge pad.
Just trying to save you some grief down the road!
mine accumulates an amazing amount stuff, and it's nice at annual time, to just lift it out, shake it off, and put it back in.
 
Bret,

Cleveland Tools sells a very nice flat black vinyl material just for this purpose. I bought a piece and used it to cover my dash before putting the canopy on. I used 3M spray contact adhesive to tack it on. I also bought a padded Classic Aero trim piece. The whole thing looks really classy and I'm thrilled! I have pictures and my method documented on this page of my log:

Glare Shield Vinyl Application

And on this page:

Glare Shield Vinyl - Page 2

Here are some pictures:

P1030591%20(Small).JPG


P1030592%20(Small).JPG


Later on, I decided to add a pair of defrost fans. I bought computer fans and installed them under the glare shield. Cutting through the dash and the vinyl was easier than I thought it would be. Here's a picture and a link to the story behind this mod:

P1030889%20(Small).JPG


Scroll down about halfway down the page to see my defrost fan story:

Defrost Fans - my Installation Story

On top, I covered the fans with these nice oval-shaped grates.

P1030565%20(Small).JPG


They only cost me a few dollars at Good Will. You can read my page for the rest of the story, what they are and how I found them. It's kind of funny!
 
hmmmmm, hey guys, for those of you building, and I hear the words...."spray glue" just wanted to say that in 5-10 years, you may want/need to change that dashpad, and it seems like it would be no fun at all. ( with the windshield IN!)
just my experience, but it takes very little, maybe a couple of squares of thin doublefaced tape or velcro... here and there, to hold it in position, especially if you have some kind of edge pad.
Just trying to save you some grief down the road!
mine accumulates an amazing amount stuff, and it's nice at annual time, to just lift it out, shake it off, and put it back in.

That sounds like a good way to go, but us "glued-down" guys can use a blast of compressed air to dislodge and blow away any glare shield detritus.
 
I don't know if this will work for all models. But worked great on my -10

1. I taped up the area of the dash where the vinyl will go plus a little extra with clear package tape

2. Put 2 (maybe 3?) layers of glass on top. Again, bigger than I needed

3. After cure, popped off fiberglass, trimmed to size.

4. Glued some vinyl I ordered through Spruce on the Fiberglass "Panel"

5. Cut some holes for cooling/defrost fans. I can easily pull the panel off and on. Replace vinyl later if it discolors, etc. The fan grills I repurposed from Lowes plumbing. They are shower drain covers. Stainless steel no less, so won't mess with my compass.

The panel just rests on the dash, no attachment other than the edge trim I will put on the aft portion of the glare shield.

Cory Bull

Dash_01.JPG


Dash_02.JPG


Dash_03.JPG
 
I use flat black paint to build solar hot watr collectors. I would guess that black paint will lift the temps quite a lot and if your avionics are beneath the panel you could have a problem. A dark grey material of some kind would be a lot cooler.
Of course you may be a lot cooler than where I fly in Queensland Australia. Temp today in mid winter is 24 deg C.
 
Yes, truck bedliner - matte finish, tough, and non-skid.
Purchased a several years old RV with a matte black painted glareshield. It was pretty scratched up. Touching it up would have been quite noticeable as we couldn't get all the way to the edges with the slider windscreen in place. Ended up with a fabric covering from one of the usual RV suppliers. The supplier advised against vinyl because of outgassing which would coat the inside of the windscreen. It looks nice and my sunglasses, etc. don't slide around. If I were starting from scratch, I'd coat the glareshield with bedliner before the windscreen went on.
Cheers, David

+1 on the bedliner...rolls on easy, tough as nails, no glare. I'm really pleased with the way it looks and has held up on my RV8.
 
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