Vinyl Dash Restoration

[cc2driver]

My '58 Cadillac's dash is shot from 20 years of sitting in the New Mexican sun. I'd like to restore it myself (as opposed to having it restored). Surfing the web, I see that places like JustDashes use specialized vacuum forming tools. Is there a method to do this restoration w/o such equipment?

[wdungan]

Don't waste your time and money on any of those vinyl-repair kits that uses liquid vinyl and heating irons. To restore your dash, just budget the money and buy a replacement dash pad. JustDashes is one source. I'm in the same situation with my '76 Chevy PU. A quality replacement for my truck is about $249 ( ouch! )

[Conner]

If you find a method to do this at home, please share it. I looked up and down for a way to do this myself, but ended up paying $600 to Dashboard Restorations in Washington state to have my Roadster dash re-done. It looks brand new now and should never crack again given the materials they used.
Maybe you could build a negative mold of your dash, repair any imperfections in the mold, and use some expanding foam along with your dash's frame/skeleton, and then cover the foam with vinyl. To me, this sounds like a very difficult proposition.