Dash Bezel Repair November 09, 2005, 08:29:55 PM I tried repairing my radio surround bezel recently and had good results so I thought I would share what I did.The screw holes at the top of the bezel were broken to a point where the screws went straight through the bezel and no longer held it in place at the top. Rather than trying to find a bezel online or in a junkyard I repaired it with two-part epoxy putty. I bought six pounds of it (two three-pound tubs) online for $40. The stuff I bought is called fix-all. You knead two equal parts together to mix it really well and then you can form it into any shape you like and it bonds to most anything. It has about 1.5 to 2 hours working time before it starts to set. You can wet your fingers to smooth it over and it will not effect the curing time. You form it into whatever shape you want directly onto the surface of the repair piece. Here is what I did:It cures rock-hard in 12 hours. After it cured I drilled the holes for the screws to go through and mounted it in the dash. So far, so good! This putty can be used for a lot of other things too. I used some of it to patch a hole in my '85 CJ7 tub. It does not sag or shrink after it's applied and you can sand, paint, or drill it. You can even mix it with latex paint after you combine the two parts to color it if you want. It also cures underwater and is not sensitive to UV light. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #1 – November 10, 2005, 08:18:16 AM 2-part epoxy putty is a good thing, in a previous hobby I used to use that stuff to do custom details on models, although that was a different kind of 2-part epoxy. Looking at that, it should hold really nicely, and you should be able to tear it out if for some reason you need to get behind it again, without much problem. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #3 – November 10, 2005, 09:47:00 AM Nicely done, Jim. Expensive...but nice. I don't know if it's the same stuff but my dad pointed me over to an article in one of his Corvette magazines. Some new compound that is real plastic and actually helps remake your original plastic. Like, the radio panel in the C3 Corvettes has the same problem as ours (and what Jim just fixed). Well, with this stuff you make a mold of sorts, from the original broken piece. Then you pour in the liquid, it sets up, and you have a perfect replica. Then you bond it to the panel. It is absolutely amazing and of course, not cheap. I'll have to dig that out and post some info. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #4 – November 10, 2005, 11:35:56 AM This stuff can't be poured into a mold. It's more the consistency of modeling clay. It could certainly be pressed into a mold and you can add it onto itself if you need to build something up or make a contour. The six pounds I bought is a LOT of putty. You can get smaller quantities much cheaper and still have plenty to do a lot of repairs. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #5 – November 11, 2005, 12:12:06 AM Quote from: EricCoolCatsthe radio panel in the C3 Corvettes has the same problem as ours (and what Jim just fixed). hmm, well if they have cavilier steering wheels,...... Maybe the cavi one will work for a corvette? ;) Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #6 – November 13, 2005, 06:21:47 PM Cool Idea.I was going to try some JB WELD on mine. Cheaper and it says it will bond to plastic. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #7 – November 13, 2005, 06:28:39 PM i did a cheap fix on mine just used 2 washers. works fine and isn't too visibule. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #8 – November 14, 2005, 11:06:28 AM I've tried JB Weld before and it does not seem to want to bond to that kind of plastic very well. Plus it has a tendency to sag after it has been applied and the working time is not nearly as long. I'll be using epoxy putty for all kinds of repairs in the future. It just works better. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #9 – November 14, 2005, 01:37:32 PM Hmm I have the opsite problem. The top screw holes are fine it's the two on the bottom that have cracked on mine. i don't think there's an easy way to fix those. Good idea by the way. Quote Selected
Dash Bezel Repair Reply #10 – November 14, 2005, 01:47:55 PM Actually I didn't post pics of it, but I fixed a cracked bottom screw hole on that same panel as well. I just molded the clay around what was left of the original tab down there and it worked just as well as it did on the top holes. Quote Selected
Topic: Dash Bezel Repair (Read 2115 times)
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