Making your own dashmat

Cool :cool:

Until some one drape his dashbord in it and the thing catch fire :eek: isent it something like 130 Watts the sun put on every Sq M on a sunny day.
 
Street Guardian USA said:
I sent an email to the ViperBlack kick starter company in Germany.

Response:

"Hi Jon,

we are just starting to produce the fabric and simply don't have it yet.

There is really no reason why we shouldn't send you a piece then. Can you please remind me in a month?

Best
Gabriel"
Click to expand...

I wonder what it will cost per yard?

Also wonder how light-fast it will be. That is a consideration for a dash mat compared with an article of clothing.

As cool as ViperBlack seems I wonder how it may compare with professional theatrical/photographic blackout fabrics which come to think of it would probably also be cool for making clothing but I'm not aware of anyone doing so.
 
Dashmellow said:
I wonder what it will cost per yard?

Also wonder how light-fast it will be. That is a consideration for a dash mat compared with an article of clothing.

As cool as ViperBlack seems I wonder how it may compare with professional theatrical/photographic blackout fabrics which come to think of it would probably also be cool for making clothing but I'm not aware of anyone doing so.
Click to expand...


I just responded to the ViperBlack email:

"Thanks! do you think your material would make for a good dashmat? I'm assuming I'd have to add a bottom thicker support layer of padding since t-shirts are a bit thin.

Would it be blacker than this other "25 oz. Wizard Velour, FR" recommended material in the thread I linked to below? (Recent response)

http://www.rosebrand.com/product262....aspx?cid=150&idx=1&tid=1&info=Velour+Fabrics
"
 
kamkar1 said:
Cool :cool:

Until some one drape his dashbord in it and the thing catch fire :eek: isent it something like 130 Watts the sun put on every Sq M on a sunny day.
Click to expand...

That's one of the things about the theatrical/photographic fabrics. They are usually fireproof or fire retardant.
 
I would love to walk around like a elongated black hole with a head on top of it :D

My wardrobe is not made of many colors unlike some country singers dress was. ;)
 
Yeah and that van convert from work van to vato mobile in no time :D
 
I've mentioned a few months back that regular spray paint works well on stationary (non-moving) carpeting and fabrics- flat black would be a good color. But it stinks like spray paint for awhile so plan to let it air out in the sun a few days or more ;) Another DIY trick is to use butcher paper or poster-board to make patterns with. If you cut too much away, tape on a patch piece and keep going. Start with the largest flat area, cut away humps and dips, then fill those in after the main section is right. To make a nice finished edge, allow 1/2" (13mm) past the pattern fold it under, then stitch. This will also conceal any backing you use. For the humps and dips, cut, fold, and stitch the main parts first, then use the extra 1/2" of the pieces to attach them to the main section, I'm sure there are instructional YouTube vids on making sewing patterns for clothing and this is about the same except your dashboard won't complain about a poor fit or crooked stitching :p

Phil
 
Module 79L said:
Actually I did it last year but it seems I have to update the thread because the pictures are all gone.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I do remember that. As I recall it was more of a "casual" design approach, more like draping the fabric over the dashboard than a fitted dash mat but my memory of it is a bit fuzzy. Hope you can re-post the photos. Either way, since installing my dash mat I've become a big fan of black fabric on the dash to eliminate reflections however one goes about it.
 
Dashmellow said:
Yeah, I do remember that. As I recall it was more of a "casual" design approach, more like draping the fabric over the dashboard than a fitted dash mat but my memory of it is a bit fuzzy. Hope you can re-post the photos. Either way, since installing my dash mat I've become a big fan of black fabric on the dash to eliminate reflections however one goes about it.
Click to expand...
Yes, the pictures you saw at the time were just of some black fabric thrown on the dash to see if it worked. I never got to post any pictures of the finished job. Maybe I'll do a video this time. :)
 
Well i made a living painting with both powder and old school wet paint, and so fumes is no problem.
I also sailed on chemical tankers transporting chemicals for paint and other stuff, most of them was stuff that give you cancer just uttering their name.

Thats also partly why i was just given early retirement, this guy inhaled a lot of stuff over time, both on my own in my spare time, and work related.
 
Sunny said:
Hmm... I need to do this.
As long as it does look ugly and cheap, I don't mind.
Good ideas!
Click to expand...
Here's how I did it: it was cheap but doesn't look that ugly. :p What matters is that it works and I never had to worry about reflections anymore. Like people use to say about dashcams: set and forget.
 
What about the guy there got everything and got lot of $$$.
Get a dashboard cover in custom black bear skin.
index.php
 
Viking said:
What about the guy there got everything and got lot of $$$.
Get a dashboard cover in custom black bear skin.
index.php
Click to expand...
Naaah! Too shiny, it would make the reflections even worse! :p:D
 
Dashmellow said:
@kamkar1, that looks great! I'm glad to see someone actually do this.

I have a couple of suggestions.

The "brushed suede" black dash mat I bought worked really well but there was still a bit of reflection from the nap in the fabric and being the hardcore dash cam fanatic that I am I did something that I knew was a bit extreme but that worked out far better than I ever expected. I sprayed the dash mat with two coats of Rust -Oleum Camouflage paint!

I thought it would make the dash mat look hideous but instead it came out beautiful! The mat still looks like nice (faux) brushed suede but it now is MUCH better at eliminating reflections. I was kind of amazed that what I thought was a questionable thing to do would work out this well. Basically, the paint absorbed into the fabric instead of creating a crusty layer on top and this is why it came out looking so nice. It's been a year now and it still works and looks fine. It might be worth a try. You don't really need extra flat camouflage paint, any flat black spray paint will do.

My dash mat came with long strips of Velcro that I really didn't think I wanted to stick to my dash board but I happened to have a roll of gray 3M VHB tape that I found in the clearance isle of a local Walmart. This stuff holds extremely well on the plastic surfaces in my vehicle and it is what I use for the dash cams that I have mounted on plastic like with my side cams. I discovered though that this stuff (unlike the black 3M VHB tape) pops right off easily from interior car plastic without any sticky residue or difficult peeling. So this is what I used to secure my dash mat (just a few small pieces) and after a year I recently pulled up a piece just to test and it came right off so that you would never know it was there in the first place. Maybe you can find something similar. (I wish I knew the 3M product number but it is not printed on the tape core.)

Finally, I used a plastic kitchen spatula to push the edge of the dash mat down between the narrow gap between the dashboard and the windscreen glass and that worked really well to get the thing properly seated on the dash board and serves to hold it in place as well. There was an issue with the dash mat blocking the flow of air from the vent against the windshield but the spatula fixed it.

View attachment 26547
Click to expand...

Where did you get the black dash mat, was it made to fit your truck ? Anyone ever tried one of these?
http://www.covercraft.com/us/en/product/original-dashmat-custom-dash-cover.DMC
 
Last edited:
Lola said:
Where did you get the black dash mat, was it made to fit your truck ?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is specific to the make, model and year of my truck.

You can buy dash mats from various specialty automotive shops online. Dash mats come in various textures and materials. Some are really tacky looking and are basically floor carpeting. Some have shiny polyester fibers that reflect in the sunlight and kind of defeat the whole purpose. So far, I think the brushed suede or velour mats (in black, of course) are probably the best for our purposes as dash cam users. They seem to reflect the least and they are thinner and more form fitting to the dashboard than the thicker carpeted ones.

Some of the places I found online seem to be pretty overpriced. I used them to find exactly what I was looking for and then after a fair amount of searching found exactly the same one on Amazon for a lot less money plus free (Prime) shipping. So, the one I bought was 60 bucks at the specialty web site but was 40 bucks on Amazon.

Here are three places you can find custom dash mats made to fit your vehicle exactly.

(Don't get sucked in by the "today only sales" or any of that. They had the same offers a year ago when I bought mine.)

http://www.autoanything.com/dash-mats/10a52989.aspx

https://www.carid.com/dash-covers.html

http://www.autoaccessoriesgarage.com/Dashboard-Covers/DashMat-Dashboard-Cover?set-vehicle=1
 
Last edited:
One way of dealing with vents is to just cut a slit in the fabric that covers them. That way the fabric will mostly hide them when fans are off, but when fans are on it will blow enough fabric out of the way to do the job.
It might be necessary to have multiple short slits rather than one long slit to help the fabric keep shape.

Or...
attachment.php


Remember to remove it at night, or the cat's eyes will be confusing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top