PeteL
Active Member
- Aug 2, 2010
- 245
- Boat Info
- 2003 280 DA
Twin 5.0
Bravo III
"Viva la Vida"
- Engines
- Twin 5.0, bravo 3 drives
Looks great! Amazing work.
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Boy you did some Job you should be proud of what you did. I thought i did a good job on mine, But that just blows mine out of the water! Looks like a Video game LOL
Looks great! Amazing work.
I recently found out as a first time boat owner OEM stuff is impossible to find! So as my old gauges started failing, I searched ebay.... The price for a few used Sea Ray OEM gauges quickly justified my converting my Dash pod to digital. View attachment 87927 View attachment 87928
Ok first thank you for your praise it feels good after all the hard work! I will do my best to help in any way I can!
1. I went to a local fabric store to find any spandex or lycra type material you know the stuff you don't want to see big girls in! Lol the stretchy stuff! I used hot glue to attach it to the back of the MDF vs staples as they slip or can pop out as the fiberglass resin cures and contracts.
I used just regular old bondo brand from americas home improvement store in a gallon size. Please follow the mixing directions and wear appropriate masks and ventilation, etc please. Nasty stuff fo sho not worth risking your health over!
3. Tape was very necessary as the resin will drip through the fabric even if heavy girls wearing it dont or do too graphic to think about it lol! Also allow 24 hrs for the first coat to fully harden or you risk the shape warping due to the thermal reaction of the second coat. The masking tape is super important for the mold or you will spend alot of time digging it out and probably ruining the fiberglass work.
3.1/2 after pulling the skeleton I used chop mat fiberglass to reinforce the mold from inside for strength.
4. I stood the mold up and used tape and aluminum foil to kinda make a U shape around the holes to countersink the screws because obviously its not a flat dash panel after fabing it.
5 please use automotive grade body fillers and paint as this is going to be exposed to the elements after all that work getting cheap paint and clear from a hardware store will ruin all the work and effort. Its not hard to do but takes patience. I will help any way I can. Please feel free to contact me if I missed anything or you have questions GO FOR IT! Buddy!!!
Thank youVery nice job!
Thanks so much!Well done! Looks great!!
HA! You are a character. I love it. I'm going to give it a shot. I can't imagine I'll have as much success as you did, but if I can get it in near to the same as yours I'll be happy! Thanks so much for the tips. -DaveOk first thank you for your praise it feels good after all the hard work! I will do my best to help in any way I can!
1. I went to a local fabric store to find any spandex or lycra type material you know the stuff you don't want to see big girls in! Lol the stretchy stuff! I used hot glue to attach it to the back of the MDF vs staples as they slip or can pop out as the fiberglass resin cures and contracts.
I used just regular old bondo brand from americas home improvement store in a gallon size. Please follow the mixing directions and wear appropriate masks and ventilation, etc please. Nasty stuff fo sho not worth risking your health over!
3. Tape was very necessary as the resin will drip through the fabric even if heavy girls wearing it dont or do too graphic to think about it lol! Also allow 24 hrs for the first coat to fully harden or you risk the shape warping due to the thermal reaction of the second coat. The masking tape is super important for the mold or you will spend alot of time digging it out and probably ruining the fiberglass work.
3.1/2 after pulling the skeleton I used chop mat fiberglass to reinforce the mold from inside for strength.
4. I stood the mold up and used tape and aluminum foil to kinda make a U shape around the holes to countersink the screws because obviously its not a flat dash panel after fabing it.
5 please use automotive grade body fillers and paint as this is going to be exposed to the elements after all that work getting cheap paint and clear from a hardware store will ruin all the work and effort. Its not hard to do but takes patience. I will help any way I can. Please feel free to contact me if I missed anything or you have questions GO FOR IT! Buddy!!!
HA! You are a character. I love it. I'm going to give it a shot. I can't imagine I'll have as much success as you did, but if I can get it in near to the same as yours I'll be happy! Thanks so much for the tips. -Dave
That's one heck of an offer. Thank you! Hopefully I won't have to take you up on it. The process "appears" pretty straight forward so I'll be giving it a shot soon I hope.heck if you run into trouble you can always send me the piece and I can try and help. I wont charge ya but youll have to pay for shipping etc ( this is not an open invitation to everyone wanting a new dash fabrication btw but I respect anyone willing to try their own DIY!)
Will do. Unfortunately with this delay, it'll be a bit before I get back to the dashboard... Hopefully not too long.Thanks im trying to visualize what your doing not sure your boats model year but take pics of your progress for us and always put your idea on paper first I did and had to revisit alot of my progress.
View attachment 90806 View attachment 90807
Thanks im trying to visualize what your doing not sure your boats model year but take pics of your progress for us and always put your idea on paper first I did and had to revisit alot of my progress.
View attachment 90806 View attachment 90807