Cold cracked my carbon fiber dash.

 

Not much you can do about that since its in the manufacturing process.

 

Well the laminate or whatever it is, is what is cracked. I didnt know if that can be sanded down and redone or not.

 

You could wrap it in carbon fiber look vinyl.... Looks OK...

 

But the JCW logo will disappear :(

 

The issue with sanding is in order to get raid of the crack it will have to be down to the fibers and by then it will be very difficult to get the gel coat back to it original thickness and that deep look since you will only be able to use clear coat which is not the same unfortunately.

Personally I would try and see if it will take clear coat only on the crack and hope it will hide it, kinda like a bulls eye on a windshield if you get my meaning.

 

if you can get the effected piece off, there is a 2 part resin clear liquid that you could paint over that . You can buy it at an arts and crafts store . I have purchased it and use it on many things. It is called "Envirotex light" - Pour on.
comes with two bottles roughly 8 to 12 ounces each labele'd A & B You mix equal parts together really well and it starts to set up then you brush it on and keep checking because it tends to slide off what you put it on . Another words much like water but thicker it will run but if your patient and apply while still liquid and keep applying then it will work .It sets up within 24 hours. and leaves a very thick clear coat of resin. Try a few other things before actually using on the Carbon but I guarantee it will work and you will never know it was cracked.

 

Forgot to add you use a hairdryer on warm to get the air bubbles to pop ...there will be little air bubbles created when you mix the two and before you apply , you wave the hairdryer over the mixture and the air bubbles pop. u can even just breath on it and the warmth of your breath will make them pop. Try it and after you do this you'll look for a million other things you can use it for ...I know because I did!

 

Cool, thanks for all the helpful advice! I'll look more into it.

 

Update on this, last night I got into my car and the whole CF area on the Airbag panel completely popped off. I need to re glue it now, but what kind of glue should I use? the panel needs to be bent to fit right so there will be some resistance of it trying to bend out while the glue tries to cure.

I'm going to try that Envirotex light stuff before I try to get it back on.

 

Can anyone give me a kick in the right direction here?

 

+1

 

it's serendipitous that it popped off ..cuz now you can give it a coat of resin laying down and you won't have to worry about it dripping....Yeah man all good! Next buy yourself 2 part epoxy glue I'm not sure what it's called but you can pick it up at any loews or Home depot...you can buy 5 minute or longer .....but you push the syringe which has both chemicals , one per side and once you push it squirts both out and then you squeeze the amount you need stir them together with a tiny pin or toothpick and apply to area and it will hold it tight. please keep us updated as to how it comes out. Wish I was there ..I would do it for u.

 

Ok, thanks for the advice! I'll have to get some pictures of it when I get the stuff on there!

 

just mix a small amount of the envirotex (because what you don't use will harden and be useless) and use a small brush to paint it on and make sure it can sit overnight without being touched(the brush will be toast if you don't clean it out with a solvent like acetone or fingernail polish remover). in the morning it will be hard to the touch and you can give it another coat and let it sit again....you won't be able to tell it's been cracked I guarantee it.

 

Will there be a problem if the carbon fiber is slightly out of shape? When I glue it back on i need to bend it to fit around the bottom part. I just dont want to go through all that work for it to crack when I have to bend it some.

 

..Did you know your car is a 2004 MC40? that is a 40 year commemorative Edition of MINI winning the Monte Carlo Rallye.

Here on the Forums, search for the MC40 owner's group.

As for your dash... Yea, unfortunately age and weather takes it's toll on the carbon fiber, the real kick in the head is trying to find a true replacement for it, the 5 piece carbon fiber dash has been discontinued and so we are relegated to only being able to find them in salvage yards. And there is the option of replacing it with the three piece dash... or even a non carbon fiber three piece dash.

And with a little looking you can find the JCW decal out there from a couple of suppliers.

I am hoping to find someone (maybe in England) that is doing a custom replacement carbon fiber dash in this style, but so far no luck.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do, and get over to the MC40 group and check in...

Motor on!

 

On the five piece carbon fiber dash , full kit is NLA, but only piece you can get is #2 at this point.

JCW Carbon Fiber Dash Cover - Left 51450305526

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/51450305526/



Good luck on trying to re glaze the clear coat.

 

And the newer 3 Part version WILL NOT FIT OLDER CARS...not without a full dash change from a wreck...the dask is physically different, not just covers....
So if you have a 5 piece dash...you are stuck with 5 piece dash parts.
And to remind you...
You can always cover the dash parts with fiber look vinyl.... Looks OK...and add a sticker from eBay...do it once..be done.will hide FUTURE issues...once the cracking stats...its not going to stop,the UV light, heat, etc has started to make the gel coat fail...it only gonna get worse.

 

I suspected it was one, but I found no other indications other than the color of the car, dash, extra driving lights and red/black leather seats. I thought there were suppose to be other indications of it being one?