How to get rid of dashboard reflection

Dashmellow said:
Those reflections can indeed be unpleasant and annoying and some people go to great lengths in an effort to eliminate them. Just bear in mind that no matter how annoying such reflections may seem, even if you don't eliminate them, they are unlikely to ever prevent you from capturing the traffic situation you may find yourself in, which was the primary reason you bought a dash cam for in the first place. While a pleasing looking, reflection free image is nice to have it isn't the ultimate goal. Only if reflections regularly obstruct a clear view of the road to an extreme degree should it be absolutely necessary to do something about them.

I've experimented with polarizers quite a bit but finally gave up on them because there were too many circumstances where they would cause poor performance at night and I could never seem to remember to remove the damn things in the evening. I think if I were to do anything about reducing reflections it would be to purchase a dash mat.
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Covercraft send only to US and Canada, and they make only dashmats for the vehicles with steering wheel on the "wrong side" ;)

For those who need dashmat for car with steering wheel on the "correct side" , there is Australian eBay seller accessoriesonline
 
I got my dash mat for an RHD from http://www.sunprotec.com.au - delivery to the UK was around 1-2 weeks and it was a Shevron dash mate.

I do wish there were more options for RHD cards though so I could try a different material as this one does cause a sparkly noise type effect when the sun hits it - it's better than without but still not perfect.

It's overkill but a dashcam with an auto mechanical IR-cut filter and polariser could be awesome if they were put into the image path during the day but it would be big and a lot to go wrong! I don't even know if the IR-cut would be overkill for a dashcam but it seems to help my cheapo Wifi cams at night :)
 
@reverend and all: Carpet-type dashmats can be misted with flat black spray paint (or any color you can find so long as it's a flat or matte sheen) which should eliminate all reflections. Mist-spray it outdoors from 4 directions, let it dry maybe ten minutes, then respray, repeating until you're happy with the results. Let it air out in the sun for a full day to bake the odors away. Keep the spray can back and mist, not try to cover like you do when painting or it may become 'tacky' and stay that way! Should easily last a year or more.

I've recolored a few of these in my time and this method works.

Phil
 
Dashboard carpet ( dash-mat ) help significantly to reduce reflection. Not 100%, but still way much better than without mat.
This is my today's test.
 
niko said:
Dashboard carpet ( dash-mat ) help significantly to reduce reflection. Not 100%, but still way much better than without mat.
This is my today's test.
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I'm not quite sold on the performance of this particular dash mat just yet but I just love the wonderful Irish brogue of that guy doing the installation! :):D
 
Polarized filter worked better in my case.
 
Dashmellow said:
I'm not quite sold on the performance of this particular dash mat just yet but I just love the wonderful Irish brogue of that guy doing the installation! :):D
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I am also not 100% happy as mentioned, and will be painting dash mat into full black colour, because now it has tiny "glitters" reflecting.
 
IIRC There was a earlier post to mist spray the dashmat with a matt flat spray paint to remove the mat's glitter.
 
Bungus said:
IIRC There was a earlier post to mist spray the dashmat with a matt flat spray paint to remove the mat's glitter.
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Yeah. As I remember @reverend has same "glittering"-effect with his dashmat.
The only thing now to start experimenting with spray-paints.

I am not the fan of visible accessories, but in this case with dashboard reflection I can sacrifice with my principles.

Will see how it goes after cpl filter will be released.
 
Flat black camouflage paint might actually work but it seems frustrating to have to paint an expensive product that was supposed to fix the problem itself.
 
Dashmellow said:
Flat black camouflage paint might actually work but it seems frustrating to have to paint an expensive product that was supposed to fix the problem itself.
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to be fair though dashmats aren't marketed as something to eliminate reflection in dashcams, material choice has a lot to do with how well they do or don't work for this, some are made of a nylon type material that has a bit of a shine to the material, some are more of a dark grey rather than black, hard to know that if buying online though, here they sell them in auto parts stores so easier to get a look at what you're buying
 
Dashmellow said:
Flat black camouflage paint might actually work but it seems frustrating to have to paint an expensive product that was supposed to fix the problem itself.
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Before testing spray-paints on this expensive dashmat, I am going to try on small piece of similar carpet. Don't want to ruin this one. Overall I am happy with it so far. It is way much better than before.
 
+1.
Dashmat was supposedly to protect dash from sun damage.
 
jokiin said:
to be fair though dashmats aren't marketed as something to eliminate reflection in dashcams, material choice has a lot to do with how well they do or don't work for this, some are made of a nylon type material that has a bit of a shine to the material, some are more of a dark grey rather than black, hard to know that if buying online though, here they sell them in auto parts stores so easier to get a look at what you're buying
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I have seen on US market many varieties of dashboard covers materials for my car make / model ( left side steering wheel ), but haven't found many choices from Australian market ( right side steering wheel ) for my car unfortunately online. Maybe in retails shops ( non online ) it is different situation.
I had idea to DIY ( self moulding ) a similar dashmat from proper materials, but this is PITA job, so I decided to see how ready made thing works for me.
 
jokiin said:
to be fair though dashmats aren't marketed as something to eliminate reflection in dashcams, material choice has a lot to do with how well they do or don't work for this, some are made of a nylon type material that has a bit of a shine to the material, some are more of a dark grey rather than black, hard to know that if buying online though, here they sell them in auto parts stores so easier to get a look at what you're buying
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Actually, "Original Dash Mat" claims that it "Cuts hazardous windshield glare" in their promotional spiel. It really is very hard to tell which one to order from their website and the one that does appears to be the smoothest and darkest isn't available for my vehicle.

I'm considering experimenting with a DIY lens hood similar to this one offered for the GoPro by PeauProductions.

hood.png
 
Another anti-dash reflection scheme I've thought of is to come up with a miniature version of standard barn doors like I use for lighting control in my studio. If it could be done stealthily and discreetly it could be a good adjustable solution that wouldn't be in the path of the lenses FOV.

barndoor.jpg
 
Would a matte clear coat work as well as matte paint? Granted, on leased or under warranty vehicles this wouldn't be the best solution, and you'd have to mask off a huge section of the vehicle's front end, but it might work as well as matte paint, without having to color match your dashboard. Just a thought.

-Laters...!
kgs-wy
 
Ah so you did get the mat eventually Niko :)

I did take the dash mat out to paint it recently but work went nuts so it just got put on my to do pile and is a job for another day. I've just done 29 hours overtime in the last two days alone so looking forwards to the middle of September when I can catch up with things.

The video without the mat is cleaner when there are no reflections as there is less bitrate chewed up by the sparklies, but as soon as the reflections kick in my car is definitely better with it as I can actually see. Without the mat I can't even see the numberplate of the car in front!

I meant to try laying some other material on top of the mat first but it's all postponed for another day.

I still reckon someone cleaned my dashboard with a silicon type spray at some point - the parents have the Passat Estate / Wagon with a matte brown coloured dash and that is much better for reflections than my black one is.
 
reverend said:
Ah so you did get the mat eventually Niko :)

I did take the dash mat out to paint it recently but work went nuts so it just got put on my to do pile and is a job for another day. I've just done 29 hours overtime in the last two days alone so looking forwards to the middle of September when I can catch up with things.

The video without the mat is cleaner when there are no reflections as there is less bitrate chewed up by the sparklies, but as soon as the reflections kick in my car is definitely better with it as I can actually see. Without the mat I can't even see the numberplate of the car in front!

I meant to try laying some other material on top of the mat first but it's all postponed for another day.

I still reckon someone cleaned my dashboard with a silicon type spray at some point - the parents have the Passat Estate / Wagon with a matte brown coloured dash and that is much better for reflections than my black one is.
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Yes, finally got it and I have no regrets. It's made in Australia ( quite good quality ). I dont have many made in Australia goods at home, so I keep it as is for some time and later will try painting.
 
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