DIY dashmat

[kamkar]

Finally got around to do the DIY dashmat in the new car.
And fortunately VIA a curveball, my mother died this morning so had a couple of hours before doctor and mortician arrived.

The material i use this time is 3 mm thick rubber, this unlike the old cloth mat in the red car should not flutter around when the windows are down.

I have not yet compared footage, but got some plain footage in this morning when i was on my way to take over from my sister in looking after mom in her final hours, but i only got 1/3 the way before she called and told me the old girl finally found peace.

First i made a template using paper for gift wrapping, then traced that onto the rubber and cut it out.

If you have a rubber fetish, well this might be just what you need, the smell of the fresh rubber is there 😀 But i suppose it will wear off as it get baked over summer.

 

[Michael23]

Hello KamKar,
So sorry to read about your sudden loss of your mother.
The loss of a loved one always leaves a great big hole in your life. Condolences to all your family & friends.

Your dash mat looks O.K. as well.....although it appears to be a tad shiny.
I was lucky, in that, a (matte grey) dash mat was available for my 1998 Hyundai Sportswagon when I purchased it around 12 years ago.
Works fine in cutting down any reflections from the screen, no matter what direction the light comes from.
Stay safe...

 

[kamkar]

THX.

I think the gloss will fade fairly fast, but if it is not working well i have some black UV resistent cloth i can glue to it.
My old DIY mat was made from some cloth used by photographers and also stage people as background, it was not UV resistant so faded to a shade of grey, which mind you was still a lot better than the plastics of the dashboard.

TBH i have not checked if this French made car have a option to buy something, these materials i also got for the old car but it needed a way large repairs to pass inspection so better to get a new car.

I will compare footage tomorrow, but right now having only slept a hour or two, which is half of the norm as i also suffer from a decade long sleep issue, well not high energy that is a word describing me.

 

[lufa6977]

I was sort of nonchalant about dashboard covers, but the glare on the video was starting to annoy me, so I ordered one. For U.S. residents, I got mine from Dash Designs; excellent service, a custom-made cover, and it fits perfectly. Shipping was free.

Dash Designs

 

[Hack_man]

Why would you use a dash mat instead of a CPL filter unless one is not available for the camera?

 

[kamkar]

Well the CPL filters do block a little light, in general not the bigest of issues but now that plate capture in low light are becoming possible i have decided to go with the dash mat alone.
Also even to this day and it spite of it should not be so, the CPL filters are often a additional buy where i think systems should come with one CUZ by far most people will need one.

I just compared footage, parking facing the sun and pulling my DIY mat back and forth on the dash, lets just say i will bring my black cloth to the range tomorrow and buy some spray glue.
CUZ while the rubber on its own are better, it is not as good as it could be, and as i already have the cloth, it is a 5 minute job applying and later cutting off the surplus.
And i will be hunched over my rifle most of the day anyway, or doing other stuff my M8 need help with, so no problem waiting for glue to dry, also i will spend the night and go home some time Monday.

 

[lufa6977]

Well the CPL filters do block a little light, in general not the bigest of issues but now that plate capture in low light are becoming possible i have decided to go with the dash mat alone.
Also even to this day and it spite of it should not be so, the CPL filters are often a additional buy where i think systems should come with one CUZ by far most people will need one.

I just compared footage, parking facing the sun and pulling my DIY mat back and forth on the dash, lets just say i will bring my black cloth to the range tomorrow and buy some spray glue.
CUZ while the rubber on its own are better, it is not as good as it could be, and as i already have the cloth, it is a 5 minute job applying and later cutting off the surplus.
And i will be hunched over my rifle most of the day anyway, or doing other stuff my M8 need help with, so no problem waiting for glue to dry, also i will spend the night and go home some time Monday.

Would Velcro strips work better than a spray glue?

 

[lufa6977]

Why would you use a dash mat instead of a CPL filter unless one is not available for the camera?

CPL does not work as well in my car. It also changes the color spectrum, which is not always wanted. It is great for shots where the camera is pointed directly at the sun, but it is poor at reducing windshield reflections from the dashboard glare. When I put on the above dashboard mat, I stopped about 95 percent of the dashboard's reflections. My next step is to cover the A-pillars as they reflect onto the windshield and the camera lens picks that up. My interior is a lightish-tan leather interior, and the A-pillars reflect a good amount. The dash is shiny black.

 

[Hack_man]

My dash has large mesh covers over the front speakers which reflects terribly onto the windshield.
The CPL filter did an amazing job reducing reflections. In this case the mat would cover my speaker grill.

The camera angle is not adjusted properly but I wanted to show the grill and extreme reflections.

 

[lufa6977]

For sure, with that speaker location and size, a dash mat is out of the question for your car. It would be a waste of money, I would think.

The speakers in my car are at the extreme front left and front right of the dash, just at the base of the A-pillars. Then there are two vents for the side window defrost. All of those were easy to work around, and the mat fits very well, without obstructing anything.

 

[kamkar]

Would Velcro strips work better than a spray glue?

It could work but i want the cloth to be attached to the rubber all over, so there is no fluttering.
Even if with old setup the cloth was held im place as it was pinched down by the A pillar plastic trim, parts of it would still flutter in the wind and be annoying.
The rubber was initially thought was a weight for holding down cloth, but since it is black i figured why not try it out alone.

I have found factory dashmats for Citroen C3 models, but it would seem other versions / year build CUZ they do not look like mine, so will carry on with this DIY project
Mine is actually the rock bottom version, the radio for instance is a monochrome screen, no fanch smancy colors here, or reversing camera ASO, it do have AC and even a cruise control, which i have naver had before and i already grown quite fond of.

The cutouts for speakers ASO in dashmats, i assume you could glue some black cloth on the back side, airy stuff like seen on speakers, this way sound will still pass thru just fine.
I am contemplating this for my vent cut outs i have to admit, but have not yet executed on the idea.

Also with new car + a funeral ASO to pay for now, well my finances are / will be quite impacted on.

My old red car had a small compartment on the top of the dash, i just covered it CUZ dident really go in there very often, and when i did just lift the cloth to get in there.

 

[kamkar]

Also my car, bottom model, so there are no speakers in the two dash grills, or in the back doors for that matter, so i could just have let those dash speaker grills be covered.
But off to the side i dont mind them very much.
I will have to admit personally i would not mind covering a ????? Center speaker, so is this sound system 5.1 or what ?

 

[lufa6977]

.
.
I have found factory dashmats for Citroen C3 models, but it would seem other versions / year build CUZ they do not look like mine, so will carry on with this DIY project
Mine is actually the rock bottom version, the radio for instance is a monochrome screen, no fanch smancy colors here, or reversing camera ASO, it do have AC and even a cruise control, which i have naver had before and i already grown quite fond of.
.
.

My Outback is 13 years old, I have been looking at new cars. Too damn many electronics on them; it's hard to get just a car. 🙂

I was looking at the 2026 Subaru Outback. One of the Outback modes has a cloth-covered dashboard. I am not sure how durable the cloth is, but it has a mesh look to it, is black...so I wondered if it would be less reflective than a standard plastic, black dashboard.

 

[jsmith]

I was sort of nonchalant about dashboard covers, but the glare on the video was starting to annoy me, so I ordered one. For U.S. residents, I got mine from Dash Designs; excellent service, a custom-made cover, and it fits perfectly. Shipping was free.

Dash Designs

The CPL Filter helps cut down on glare, but I agree, they don't eliminate the problem fully. Never used a dashboard cover. How are you liking it, and with a CPL, does it cut down on glare completely when used with CPL?

 

[Michael23]

@kamkar, In reference to using Velcro....as "lufa6977" mentioned...
You said > "It could work but i want the cloth to be attached to the rubber all over, so there is no fluttering."

I say this, I added a few, (about 4 from memory), small, 2" square (hook) sections of Velcro to the dash & the corresponding (fluffy) Velcro pieces to the dash mat.
I do not see any kind of "fluttering" using the Velcro to secure the dash mat, even when using the demister fan on full blast.
I used this Velcro, from "hobby king", hobbyking dot com
Link > https://hobbyking.com/en_us/polyester-hook-and-loop-peel-n-stick-black-1-meter.html
NOTE: Both the black & blue are out of stock ATM. &...The adhesive is really good.
ps. I do not have any reflections at any time, save for the occasional, very bright & mis-directed street lights.

 

[lufa6977]

The CPL Filter helps cut down on glare, but I agree, they don't eliminate the problem fully. Never used a dashboard cover. How are you liking it, and with a CPL, does it cut down on glare completely when used with CPL?

A CPL is beneficial, does remove some glare, and works great during the day... but as far as I understand, none of these dashcams are tuned for nighttime driving with a CPL. Nighttime is where the CPL loses its charm.
The CPL on a wide-angle lens, which many dashcams have, can also cause some distortion in image coloring and saturation. The dashcam CPL, in my view, is problematic inside a vehicle. In the car, the CPL/Lens combination gathers light through a multi-layer windshield, which causes some distortion and color shift in the image. Of course, the dashboard's color and shininess affect the glare on the windscreen and, thus, how hard the CPL will need to work to reduce it. The CPL seems to work better at reducing glare from solid or very opaque objects, such as cars, bodies of water, and glass windows, which have a darker background. In the automobile, the attempt is to reduce glare on the clear surface. It does work, but not always very well. I don't think that windshields and CPLs are an optimal combination.

A CPL with a dashmat works excellently at reducing glare, but nothing is perfect. However, testing has shown that not all CPLs are equal, nor are they always oriented correctly in the housing during manufacturing. I no longer use a CPL, except for testing purposes. The dashmat works well enough, and I get a more consistent image for day and night driving.

 

[Hack_man]

My Outback is 13 years old, I have been looking at new cars. Too damn many electronics on them; it's hard to get just a car. 🙂

I totally agree. Electronics are out of control everywhere. Try buying a major appliance without electronic control boards that consistently lead to premature failure compared to old reliable mechanical designs. It's a double edge sword, we want our gadgets like dashcams and cell phones but when it costs hundreds of dollars to fix a headlight because it's an LED soldered to a circuit board, it's gone too far.

 

[jsmith]

I totally agree. Electronics are out of control everywhere. Try buying a major appliance without electronic control boards that consistently lead to premature failure compared to old reliable mechanical designs. It's a double edge sword, we want our gadgets like dashcams and cell phones but when it costs hundreds of dollars to fix a headlight because it's an LED soldered to a circuit board, it's gone too far.

People want "Smart" appliances versus mechanical designs. We're a throw away society now. Items of the past lasted decades, and products now barely last their warranty. We're more interested in getting the latest and greatest than keeping what we've got.

 

[Hack_man]

People want "Smart" appliances versus mechanical designs. We're a throw away society now. Items of the past lasted decades, and products now barely last their warranty. We're more interested in getting the latest and greatest than keeping what we've got.

True, I'm and oddball.
I've repaired the circuit board on my 23 year old dishwasher several times and parts of the unit are held together with JB Weld. Appliances die a slow death with me.

 

[lufa6977]

True, I'm and oddball.
I've repaired the circuit board on my 23 year old dishwasher several times and parts of the unit are held together with JB Weld. Appliances die a slow death with me.

Some years ago, I had a Bosch dishwasher with a known issue: the board would heat up in one place, melt the solder on a resistor leg, and the water would never heat. All I had to do was clean the board and dab a bit of silver solder on that one resistor leg, and the water would heat up again. I kept that dishwaser for about 14 years I believe until it got replaced by another Bosch in a kitchen remodel.

As for my car, with the cost of a new car, I am seriously considering spending the money to replace the cat converter, reupholster the driver's seat, and a few other items. That is much less expensive than a new car and associated sales and property taxes, along with an increase in my monthly insurance bill.