Is there any hope for these soft vinyl parts?

[bull]

Looks to me like one of the previous owners took a paint brush to my dash pads, kick panels and upper door pads. I've already painted my kick panels with SEM Color Coat and although they came out decent there's several flat spots. However, much of the grain pattern is buried under paint in the soft parts and I'm not sure how to strip the old paint off without screwing something up. Not sure if you can tell in the pic below but if you look close you'll see brush strokes rather than a grain pattern.

[tylerk]

Bull back when I first got my pads off of the dash I went with SEM Saddle because at the time I heard it was the closest thing to factory tan. I ended up liking SEM Bluebird Brown better, anyhow long story short, I very carefully used paint thinner on my pads and lightly scrubbed with a toothbrush and the paint came right off. Now that being said, it worked for me, and I didn't let the thinner stay on too long. I'd wipe and scrub and then rinse with water. Did this several times until I got enough of the grain back. If you've got an extra pad laying around that you could try it on, just to test this out, I wouldn't blame you. Like I said, it worked great for me, but the results might be different depending on how you use it. 

[68blue]

It's tricky to remove paint on rotocast vinyl parts without disturbing the grain pattern as most of the solvents that dissolve the paint will dissolve the vinyl. I cleaned my parts with soft scrubbing and an ethyl alcohol, tolulol mix, repaired the cracks with PVC pipe cement and then repainted them.

[Dino]

You have several options here.  First of all try a bit of easy off oven cleaner on a small spot not easily visible.  It should be mild enough to release the paint but not harm the vinyl.  Cover the area with a plastic bag or saran wrap so air won't get to it or it won't work.  Rinse with warm water and use a toothbrush or similar to loosen the paint.

If that fails get a paint remover that is safe for plastics and try again.

If that also fails then it means someone actually found a paint that likes vinyl!  At one time I had an soft leather armrest off a car that was covered in dried paint.  It was a gift from the man's 4 year old daughter.   

I tried several chemicals but no luck so I decided to throw it in the freezer for a while, then took it out and put it in the paint booth with the oven on, then later threw it in the freezer again.  The paint couldn't handle the stretching and shrinking so once it stared fcracking I was able to peel the paint off.  I used a soft bristle brush with some leather conditioner to make it like new again.

There is hope but now is a good time to look for spare pads just in case.

[Ghoste]

I've used Easy Off on plastic model kits years ago with good results so it may well be the one to use on vinyl stuff too.

[JB400]

Is anybody repop the lower dash pads yet? Or the glove box door? Mine are distorted from weather and storage.

[Dino]

Is anybody repop the lower dash pads yet? Or the glove box door? Mine are distorted from weather and storage.

Glove box door I'm not sure, dash pads yes.  For the life of me I can't remember who though so I'll edit this post once my brain wakes up.

[resq302]

Thought B,E&A parts had made them or at least used to.

[bull]

I checked around and didn't see anyone selling the dash pads, except used. You can get upper door pads new.

[Dino]

You know I do think it was BE/A but they are no longer on their site so I guess that didn't work out.  There should be a thread here about it.  Someone had announced they were making them.

[resq302]

Maybe it was something to do with them not turning out as nice as he wanted.  I do remember them advertising them but maybe they just weren't up to his standards.  Don't know.    Sucks as thats a much needed piece!

[bill440rt]

I light cleaning with lacquer thinner has always worked for me. Just don't get too crazy aggressive with it, and watch the grain. Perhaps a simple prep-solvent might also do the trick. Try a small corner first.
If you are using SEM dye, just be sure to use their Vinyl Prep spray beforehand.

[bull]

I'll try a litte SEM Solve and a toothbrush first.

[Chatt69chgr]

BEA got some of the lower dash pads in from Peter (PG Classics).  Mike told me they didn't fit correctly.  Peter was going to get this fixed and then offer these.  It is one of the parts that is badly needed an nobody repops.  That was two years ago.  I asked PG about this a couple of months ago and they were going to check.  No response.  Seems like they make about everything needed for restoring the inside of classic Mopars-----EXCEPT THESE PARTS.  Needed are the ones for ac cars and for non ac cars.  I need the Lower Dash Pads for a 69 Charger with AC. 

[bull]

SEM Solve didn't do much but SEM Vinyl Prep actually worked pretty good. I started with a 3x4 inch spot, sprayed the Vinyl Prep, let it sit for about 30 seconds and then scrubbed it with a small, stiff brush. After doing this 5-6 times I got all the way below the paint. Some of the thicker spots required more scrubbing but after about 20-30 mintues I had a clean spot roughly 3x10 inches big, and no damage to the original vinyl. And the factory vinyl looks great on this part at least so I'm not sure why someone fealt the need to paint it in the first place. Especially with a brush.

[440]

BE&A sells dash pads, still on their site. Part # 1888-68B for black 68 dash pad $225.

[lasvegas69charg]

bull, I took mine to a auto upholstery shop and had them rewrap all three pieces. It turned out really good and they were able to matchup the stitching and the grain.  They charged me $250.

[bull]

BE&A sells dash pads, still on their site. Part # 1888-68B for black 68 dash pad $225.

The pics aren't showing up on the site but I believe what you're talking about is the upper dash pad. We're talking about the lower pads that go below the gauge cluster and include the glove box door.

[bill440rt]

SEM Solve didn't do much but SEM Vinyl Prep actually worked pretty good. I started with a 3x4 inch spot, sprayed the Vinyl Prep, let it sit for about 30 seconds and then scrubbed it with a small, stiff brush. After doing this 5-6 times I got all the way below the paint. Some of the thicker spots required more scrubbing but after about 20-30 mintues I had a clean spot roughly 3x10 inches big, and no damage to the original vinyl. And the factory vinyl looks great on this part at least so I'm not sure why someone fealt the need to paint it in the first place. Especially with a brush.

 

[nh_mopar_fan]

I used something called "SEM Rubber Bumper stripper".

Spray it on, let it sit, wipe it off. It did a decent job. Might be worth a shot.

[Brock Lee]

I used lacquer thinner. Rub it a little and keep feeling the vinyl with your nail. Stop when it starts to feel soft. Let it harden up and rub some more. Repeat. You get a little time where the vinyl holds up. If you let it firm back up, it wont get smoothed away.

[Patronus]

I've been waiting years.. Sux driving around with no lower pads..