Fiberglass Dash Radio Hole Repair

@Alan Merklin is the nearly septuagenarian, expert on call on this site  I think he uses Fibral Light fiberglass and mat on the under side to patch most things fibreglass.

Thanks IaM-Ray! I will check into this...I was not familiar with it until you replied and I did a quick google...it looks good. The fellow that is fiberglassing the patch is a high-end boat repair guy, friend of a friend...I'll call him in the morning about this. Thanks for your help!...Mike

To be more specific about the article I referred to previously, it is entitled "Interior Trim Refresh"  (Panorama article - November 2018) in which it describes Airbrushing 101. Since posting I have located the name of the company 'Chipex' that I previously saw advertised which includes 356 Porsche colours. There may be others and I would require a sufficient quantity. I'm happy to pay for whatever quantity to get the job done.

The hole repair is pretty straight-forward and any decent boat repair shop can handle it.  Typically, they apply a piece of fiberglass mat to the back side of the hole, let it set up and then apply a fiber-reinforced body filler to the hole to fill it, then sand it all off flush, ready for paint.

Matching the paint is another thing.  I would be inclined to mask off the upper half of the dash, where the vinyl upholstery is, and paint the entire bottom half of the dash, including where the gauge cluster is.  That means removing and replacing the gauges and switches, priming it, painting the bottom half and then polishing the paint to a luster.   

That way you'll have a consistent look across the entire dash which will blend in with the rest of the car more readily.

@Alan Merklin may have other ideas (he usually does).

I have been investigating road rash material for a long time and have yet to find anything that is really good.  Just saying. You need an artist to do it and even then a full repaint seems to be the only way .

The dash hole repair is easier that it appears and you can do the entire job yourself. opening. First rough up the back side of the dash with 60 grit paper 2" to 3" wider than the hole . The best method is to make a fiberglass repair plate an inch wider than the opening (if you don't have access to a piece I can send one today )  Then sand that area and the piece to be bonded and with the Fibral Light, fiberglass and mat it or ( but not cheap) is 3M Panel Bond) aka as " Corvette glue" you use this as an adhesive. Once the repair on the back side is cured, fill in the front area of the opening with the Fibral or " Tiger Hair " fiberglass " Bondo" sand that sorta even  then skin coat - blending 2" wider than the opening to blend the repair evenly with the dash face. Sand with 220, 320, then 400 . Use a " filler primer " then sand and refinish as needed,

IaM-Ray and Alan! Thank you both for your replies. My preference, when I get to the painting is to do it properly and last night, with seats out I was able to get under the dash on my back and unfasten dash padding and disconnect gauges etc.

Alan, with your detailed instructions, you have walked me through all the steps and broken this anticipated huge challenge into bite-sized manageable pieces. I have a piece of fiberglass to begin the process and won't need to ask you to send me one however, thank you for your kind offer and thank you overall for all the help!.....Mike

Hello Gordon!...Thanks also for your helpful reply...I just saw your message and this contains the steps and advice to get the job done properly as well. With the helpful advice of IaM-Ray, Alan and yourself, I am now going to go all the way and do a proper job of this, even if I have to put a couple of other Speedster projects on the back burner until later. Thank you all!!

I just finished the repair and re-paint of the Dash last night and installed gauges and other hardware this morning. I want to say thanks to all who contributed and would never have been able to take this on without your help. Following is a photo of before and after.

Hopefully the Speedster seats (upholstery job) will be completed this week or next, new carpet, enrage boot and handle grip and soon I will be out driving...Mike

here is is with adjusted colours but we can see the body work.. Nice