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Lulu DIY build thread ........ The unconventional way !

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  • #16
    Brilliant as ever Turk

    sent from over there

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    • #17
      Hi all,

      As I'm on my coffee beak from my headlight project ........ good to get out the workshop and all that dust for while ! So here's another update from my Lulu DIY build thread.


      In my mind one of the best 'updates' and most visually appealing mods you could ever do to your van, is to repaint the cab area of your van. Reading many threads on the forum, I can see that a lot of people want to do it, but are afraid to because of what might be involved. Let me tell you, it is much easier than you think.

      Firstly, disconnect your battery ( batteries, if you have a leisure battery ) with no power, there's absolutely no chance of damaging anything or harming yourself. I would recommend having a decent compact camera, take photos as you go along, the pictures will come in handy when you start reassembling things. You don't need a gang of guys to help out, just yourself, set an entire day aside for the project and take your time. There's nothing worse than racing through a job as you need to reassemble everything by 5 PM !

      There are a couple of very good ' dashboard removal how to's ' on the forum that show you where all the screws are, I can't show you the pics I took as most of my photos got corrupted when I had a PC harddrive crash last year.

      By nature I have an inquisitive mind, so I try to find out what I'm up against, so seeing these pictures is your first step in your discovery. There's nothing unusual behind that dashboard, just wires and plugs. The plugs ( or sockets ) are modular, very much like the connectors you get in a PC. So it's impossible to fit a square plug in a round hole I:

      On the plus side, there are no special tools required. Socket set ( to remove the nut on the steering wheel ) an allun key to remove the 'Jesus nut' ( the one under the bonnet ) and a long shaft philips screw driver. I also use wooden shims, like lollipop sticks, as I prefer to prise things out with wood rather than flat blade screw drivers that damage the plastics.

      This is what I managed to document, hopefully it's enough to get you started ....... Please note: This 'how-to' is based on my 2003 2.5 TDi very early models will have different electrics. But the dashboard should be the same.



      Begin by removing dash plastics, fuse box cover and steering wheel >>






      The cowling around the steering column is in two parts, top and bottom, top half, nothing in it, bottom half is clipped on and had the OBD connection plug in it. If you have no ECU you won't have this diagnostic socket. >>






      OBD plug just unclips, there's quite a few plastic clips, be gentle with them, or they'll break ! >>






      A friendly word of warning here, when you remove your steering wheel don't remove the retaining nut completely.
      I've heard of some guys smacking themselves in the mouth when it suddenly becomes free. Undo it a fair distance and wobble the steering wheel from side to side in a push pull fashion. >>






      Removing the dash speaker covers turned out to be a mare, as I had no idea of the arrangement of the clips underneath. In fact, I managed to break the clip on the right. You have to put your your finger nails under the left side of the cover and pull hard, it's almost as thought it's hindged on the right side. If I were to do this job again, I would leave them in place as there are no screws holding the dash in place beneath them. >>






      The nearside air vent, these you do have to remove as there are screws behind the vents. Spin it all the way round, you'll then be able to see the clip arrangement. >>






      A close up of the other side shows this side is different, it's like a circlip, and you have to pull forward to undo it. >>






      When I managed to unclip the left side, I had to rotate the whole assembly back round in order to pull it forward to undo the right hand side. >>







      Then it simply comes away. There's no reason why you couldn't do jobs like this days before. Removing dash parts like speaker grills would give you more time on project day. >>







      Here's a much better shot of the dashboard retaining screw behind the offside air vent. >>






      Before attempting to remove your light control switch, I would say remove the dashboard clocks binnacle first.
      You'll then be able to prise the switch out. >>






      Now they're undone they're ready to be removed. >>






      What it looks like behind. The brown multi-way connector sitting in the whole is the light switch control plug. There's nothing else behind there, apart from the cold air feeder pipe that goes to the vent. I also learned a valuable lesson here ...... If you do this procedure before the speaker grill removal procedure farther up the page, you can disconnect your speakers, and unclip the speaker covers without breaking the clips off them, as you can get your hand inside and do it from the interior. >>






      This is another one of those little jobs you could do a few days before the event. Nothing crucial behind there that'll effect the day to day running of your van. Unless the previous owner moved the hazard warning switch such as in mine. >>






      There are four self tappers in the top section that screw into metal clips, and only two that hold the footing in place. >>






      These pictures aren't in the order that I disassembled my dash, but here's another job that could be done before the event. Nothing crucial behind the glove box. The only electrical bit in here is the tiny glove box lamp. Just pull the fuse out before disconnecting it. Or if you're doing this on project day, then your battery is already disconnected anyway, so just unplug the light fitting. >>







      The heater control switches are purely mechanical. No need to disassemble it any further. Just secure it somewhere with tie tags. >>






      This is the allun bolt fitting under the bonnet. I've heard it referred to as the 'Jesus nut' I can see why ........ Jesus ! that's where it is. This is the last bolt that holds your dashboard in place. Once you've removed it, you should be able to move your dashboard. >>






      If you've found and removed all the screws on the inside of the cab. Your dashboard will begin to lift out out. The only thing left to do is to disconnect the clips that hold the heater pipes in place. Then your are free to lift the entire dash out. >>






      All those big red connectors that connect to your steering column and indicator stalks are different sizes. So when it comes to reconnecting, it's impossible to get them wrong. >>






      Now that your dash is out, spend a little bit of time sussing out what's what. Just familiarise yourself where things are and what they do. >>






      You'll soon discover that there's not a great deal to it as I did. >>








      Right from the beginning you should of treated your project as 'phases', now that 'phase 1' is complete ..... ie, you got your dashboard out. I've got my dashboard in a secure place, now I'll begin to reassemble my 'dash' for driveability. While things are still fresh in your mind start by reconnecting the essentials that are required for your van to function. >>








      As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I lost a lot of pictures. So unfortunately I can't show you the makeshift dash I made out of cardboard. But with everything reconnected, and various things secured back in place using tie tags, it was driveable.


      In the next chapter we'll be prepping the dash for painting. And I'll show you a couple of pics that I managed to recover from my harddrive that show the minimum equipment requirements for driving.


      See you then.





      TURK
      Yeah, baby ! ........ new Multivan 151bhp AHY 'BigBlue' ; ) >> http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1023689
      And ......... Lulu, T4 2.5 TDi short nose 126bhp > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=276554
      The T4 Quad Headlight Project > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=249064

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      • #18
        Headlining looks great wish mine looked like this [emoji24] where did you get the suede stuff or did I miss it in the description if so sorry [emoji52]


        Sent from my iPhone using Just T4s

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        • #19
          And also how much did you use? Sorry about all the questions I'm intrigued


          Sent from my iPhone using Just T4s

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          • #20
            I'd have to dig out my invoice guys ....... can't remember how much I bought, but it was an ebay shop ( best prices ) I seem to remember about 5 or 6 meters, enough to line the front and the rear of the van. And as fabrics tend to come in 60 Inch width, that's should be more than enough. Still got loads more left over as I haven't completed the rear of the van yet. Just search for 'Faux Suede' on ebay ........ it really is excellent stuff, can't tell the difference from the real stuff !

            Use a contact adhesive to glue it onto a surface, if you use a 'wet' adhesive you'll get 'soak through' !



            TURK
            Yeah, baby ! ........ new Multivan 151bhp AHY 'BigBlue' ; ) >> http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1023689
            And ......... Lulu, T4 2.5 TDi short nose 126bhp > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=276554
            The T4 Quad Headlight Project > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=249064

            Comment


            • #21
              Please continue with as many questions as you like folks, that's what the thread is for ......... to help people to achieve a quality conversion, it's always difficult to convert your fist bus and not everything is common knowledge. Reading other members build threads and asking questions is the only way you'll learn how to do specific tasks.

              I don't pretend to know it all ....... but I'll try to explain things as best I can.




              TURK
              Yeah, baby ! ........ new Multivan 151bhp AHY 'BigBlue' ; ) >> http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1023689
              And ......... Lulu, T4 2.5 TDi short nose 126bhp > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=276554
              The T4 Quad Headlight Project > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=249064

              Comment


              • #22
                Hi all,




                In the previous post I spent best part of a day removing all my plastics, and removing my dashboard that actually turned out much easier than I had thought. My van drives just the way it did before I removed my dash. Just don't get pulled over by the law, as I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be too impressed !

                I can't stress enough also, just don't get involved in an accident, as your dashboard is there for your protection.

                OK, so to the next 'phase'.


                Now that I have my dashboard out, there are a few things to remove from it before the cleaning process. Namely the plastic assembly in the center that holds all your switches, radio mounting aperture, ashtray and cigarette lighter fitting. >>







                A couple of months ago some rogue broke into my van and nicked my headunit, in doing so he damaged the mounting points that hold the headunit mounting plate in place. So I got the insurance company to buy me a new one. The new one is on the left. >>






                This shot shows from the inside of the dash and what can only be described as the choke cable on petrol models, on some models it's blanked out. It's located to the right of the steering wheel, directly above the fuse box cover. You will need to unclip this and spray it with the other small bits, like the fuse box cover, handle glove box and glove box cover. >>







                This is what it looks like with everything taken off. Don't forget the vents on top of the dash. >>






                On the interior of the dash you'll find fire resistant dampening material, as it's clipped in with metal fasteners onto plastic posts, best leave that alone, you'll only end up breaking them off to remove it. So I'll just mask that area off, as I don't want to get it wet or covered in spray paint. >>







                As I'll be washing and spray painting the dash, I need to protect this material. So I just masked it off with a sheet of plastic and masking tape. >>







                Masking tape wasn't up to the job as there seems to be some sort of layer of silicon or polish on the plastic. I had better success with packing tape. Now I can get cleaning. >>







                A good quality finish on any job is the correct preparation, so I trimmed any defects I found. >>







                With a variety of different brushes I began the washing process. The best degreaser I found was sugar soap, painters and decorators use it. >>







                After the first thorough wash and scrub with various brushes and scotch cleaning pads, the dash turned a sickly pale grey ! A sure sign of what ever covering VW had put on it was gone for ever. >>







                Viewed from the front ...... not a pretty sight. It even feels different. As sugar soap is crystaline based, this could well be the result of crystals drying. So I washed and re-washed with clean water, only to get the same result. Conclusion, I had degreased my dashboard thoroughly. In my opinion if you don't get this step right, or don't do it thoroughly enough, it won't matter how well you apply the paint ..... it's just won't stick ! resulting in paint peeling or easy scratching of the dash at a later date. >>







                After a very careful inspection, viewed from all angles, I identified scratches and gouges and simply sanded them out. I would apply the paint thickly in those areas as a filler. >>






                I then rubbed it down with methylated spirits. >>







                As I wasn't sure if Methylated Spirits contained a creasy agent in it, I washed and scrubbed down my dash again. Make sure you get into the corners, as this is where the paint will have the tendency to flake or peel further down the line. >>







                I envy people who have garages, but sometimes you have to make do with what you have. So a nice warm sunny day is definitely required. A cordoned off garden spray booth is also a must, as you don't want wind when you're spraying. One of the things I learned early on was, in order for good results when you're spraying, everything must be warm. I even warmed the spray cans in front of a radiator before using them. I left the dashboard in the sun for a while also, as the plastic will warm up. When it was thoroughly dry and warm, it went back to that sickly grey colour. >>







                When I applied my first coat of plasti-kote primer, I sprayed it on thickly 8 - 10 inches away. I knew I would be rubbing it down when it dried, so paint runs aren't a problem it this stage. >>







                Viewed from the front ...... it doesn't look so sickly anymore. >>







                I positioned the dash on a cardboard box so I could spray from all angles, including beneath. Making sure I really got into those corners also. >>







                Close up of offside dash corner. >>







                I wanted to keep the 'skin' porous finish to the dash. Too many thick coats would make the dash a smooth finish. Not the effect I was after. >>







                After three coats of primer and leaving each coat dry before applying the next one, I rubbed the whole thing down thoroughly.
                I didn't want to use sand paper or glass paper as it would of been too harsh. I'd probably end up removing the coats off primer I had just spent the last hour or so spraying on. So a scotch pad was ideal. >>







                Without going totally nuts over it, I rubbed all over right into to crevices using the edge of the scotch pad. >>







                Once all the rubbing down was done, I hoovered the entire dash as it was now covered in a very fine dust. >>







                With my Matt Black Plasti-Kote spray paint can nice and warm. I proceeded to spray fine 'mists' of black paint. Rather than two or three thick coats of paint, I decided I would do six to eight very light coats. This is what it looked like after a few thin coats. >>







                Close inspection of how the paint application is going. >>







                Not leaving any corner untouched. >>







                It's the small details that count. >>







                Spraying in a continuous motion isn't easy if you're not use to it. I've not sprayed anything as large as this before, so I'm learning as I go along. It's obvious if you stay in one area for too long ..... the surface goes shiny ! >>







                I have to admit, I'm liking this Plasti-Kote. And the matt black is making the dash look very nice indeed ........ so far, very pleased with the results. >>







                A few more light coats of spray paint, it's beginning to look patchy ! that's my spraying techniques I'm afraid. As I'm not a professional, I would have to work on that. Just so long as the finished article doesn't look like this, I'll be happy. >>







                Another quality control test, in case I missed anything. Another thing you'll discover when spraying, I don't know whether this is true when using other colours, but it's difficult to see where you've already sprayed ! >>






                Standing further away certainly helps to identify those 'iffy' areas. I'll have to do something about that. I'm currently up to six coats now, so I only have a couple left to remedy that overall finish. >>







                Even after it dried it still didn't look right. >>







                The patches were because I was spraying too close ! ..... standing further back with a faster back and forth motion seemed to be working. >>







                Look how black it is now ! ....... some areas appear to be shiny, that's because they were still wet when I took the picture. >>







                We didn't have a particularly fantastic summer in 2011, but that particular weekend it soared to 30 degrees. So the back of my van was the ideal place for the dash to 'cure'. I'm by no means an expert but it's obvious to me that the paint has to harden. This is the reason that 'weekend modders' get it wrong, and within a few months their dashboards start looking terrible. >>







                I decided I would leave it in the back of the van to 'cure' till the following weekend, when I would reassemble everything. I still had the use of my van on a daily basis as I had reassembled my 'makeshift' dash. >>






                In order to hide my 'makeshift' dash from prying eyes ( namely, the boys in blue ) I covered everything with black fabric on the top of the dash. >>






                Everything was secured using cable ties. >>








                I hope you find this guide informative, as a 'Plasti-Kote' your interior how-to, I can only say It worked for me. As 2 years down the line, it's still as it was back then. There's been a lot of speculation on the longevity of plasti-kote sprayed interiors, I can certainly vouch for it's durability. As for the cost of the whole operation, about a dozen cans @ £7.00 each, so £ 84.00

                Should the dash become too shabby in the next few years, I'll get it flocked in black, and I'll have a nice base colour to work from.



                I hope I've talked you into doing your dashboard, with summer just round the corner ...... now's your chance






                TURK
                Yeah, baby ! ........ new Multivan 151bhp AHY 'BigBlue' ; ) >> http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1023689
                And ......... Lulu, T4 2.5 TDi short nose 126bhp > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=276554
                The T4 Quad Headlight Project > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=249064

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                • #23
                  Yes, all joking aside, be careful with the solvents.
                  top tip on steering wheel removal.
                  Me cago en la madre que te parió!

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                  • #24
                    Making me want to paint my dash now, curse you Turk. More jobs
                    Me cago en la madre que te parió!

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by arfur fox-acre View Post
                      Making me want to paint my dash now, curse you Turk. More jobs

                      .......... sorry about that mate, should keep you out of mischief for a while if anything else ! It's well worth doing by the way, it'll transform the entire van just by spray painting your interior plastics. What I particularly like about using the matt black Plastikote is, I longer see the reflection of the top of my dashboard in my windscreen anymore. And it doesn't cost a fortune to do, for litterly less than a hundred quad you can transform the look of your van.



                      TURK
                      Yeah, baby ! ........ new Multivan 151bhp AHY 'BigBlue' ; ) >> http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1023689
                      And ......... Lulu, T4 2.5 TDi short nose 126bhp > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=276554
                      The T4 Quad Headlight Project > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=249064

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Lulu DIY build thread ........ The unconventional way !

                        Again awesome thread!

                        I have a question Turk, not really relating to your build as such but this photo get me thinking [emoji848]

                        Click image for larger version

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                        I can't see any blower ducts in your stripped out dash that go directly to the rectangular windscreen blower vents, I'd never noticed the smaller holes before, Are those smaller holes also vent holes to clear the windscreen? is air just blown out below the dash in an upward direction?

                        Many thanks


                        Sent from my iPad using Just T4s
                        Last edited by ricrhys; 20 March 2017, 10:52 PM.

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                        • #27
                          Excellent question mate ........ I'll have to double check a few things before answering that with any degree of accuracy

                          As far as I know, the two rectangle holes where I removed the louvres are the only one's connected to the heating ducts. The 'breather holes' closer to the windscreen ....... I'll have to check that.
                          Can't remember disconnecting anything there, but I have literally hundreds of pictures I took on the day !



                          TURK
                          Yeah, baby ! ........ new Multivan 151bhp AHY 'BigBlue' ; ) >> http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1023689
                          And ......... Lulu, T4 2.5 TDi short nose 126bhp > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=276554
                          The T4 Quad Headlight Project > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=249064

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Cheers be interesting to see, my brother (posh crafter driver) was commenting on Friday how crap my windows were at demisting, asked me if me leis were blocking the vents, obviously I confidently replied no it's just the two rectangular ones, then I saw the holes and though hmm.Click image for larger version

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                            Sent from my iPad using Just T4s

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                            • #29
                              Those holes along the front edge of the dash are vents Rich ( sorry if I've got that wrong ).

                              I looked through all my photos and unfortunately those were part of the harddrive crash I had a few years back, I lost some 1500 photos ! I did manage to recover a few though. I couldn't find that actual one I wanted but did find the one below. I was in the process of working out the positioning of my gauge pod. If you look closely where the louvres vent holes usually are ( obviously I removed them to paint the dash ), you can see that the dash in that area is double skinned >>




                              In fact, looking at the fifth picture down at the beginning of this page, the one where I haven't yet covered the fire retardant foam with plastic sheeting. You can see the rectangular hot air vent. As the louvres are directly above that, they're more effective at demisting your windscreen, and very little warm air will vent out those little holes at the very front of the dashboard. So your brother would be right ........ you may need to remove some 'shrubbery' I'm afraid !




                              TURK
                              Yeah, baby ! ........ new Multivan 151bhp AHY 'BigBlue' ; ) >> http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1023689
                              And ......... Lulu, T4 2.5 TDi short nose 126bhp > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=276554
                              The T4 Quad Headlight Project > http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=249064

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Hi Turk,

                                Cheers for taking the time to look into that, looks like I'll be moving that lei then, I might hold off on telling my brother he was right though.

                                (Ric, Rick, Rich, Ricky and Richie all fine by me, and if your cross with me for some reason Richard tends to get my attention)

                                Many thanks


                                Sent from my iPad using Just T4s

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