1976 Eldorado dash crack

[LenInLA]

So, my Eldorado has just developed a small quarter-inch crack in the dash. Out of nowhere! Just one day after I observed to myself how pristine the dash looks!

Any suggestions on whether it’s fixable and if not - how to prevent it from expanding? I assume - perhaps incorrectly- that it may expand if left alone.

Thanks!

Leonard

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I know it is too late now, but have you been using a popular treatment, which I only recommend for cleaning tyres.

Bruce.

[STS05lg]

Unfortunately once they crack the cracks only grow larger. Direct sun light (heat) and then running the AC (cold) only facilitates the speed in which the crack expands. Len there are several kits out there you can buy and try to fill the crack with a small amount of the material that comes with the kit. It will slow the progression of the crack in some cases. Best to always put a sun shade in the car when parked outside to keep as much sun light and heat away from the surface. Everyone I know really likes the 1974-1976 dash and consider them a tremendous improvement over the 1971-1973 but the one weakness is that they commonly get cracks (I lived in Texas for 20 years and it was not uncommon when these cars were only 10 years old for the dash pads to have multiple cracks especially if they were parked out side in the sun day in and day out. As Burce said don't use any product with "all" in the name it will only make things worse. The best product you can use to keep the plastic flexible is products by 303 UV Protection. 303 is a marine product and is water based and will not cause the plastic to crack.

Lynn

[Dan LeBlanc]

ALWAYS check an MSDS sheet for a protectant you are going to use.  Make sure it contains no silicone.  Silicone will draw the oils out of the plastics and cause them to become brittle, dry out, and crack over time. 

Aerospace 303 as Lynn suggested is great.  Water based.

A couple of my favorites are Meguiars protectant (it's water based and I use it on the daily drivers) and Pinnacle Natural Brilliance Vinyl and Rubber protectant which is also water based that I use only on the 70 Cadillac and 77 Town Car.