How to Flock a Dashboard

Renovate a worn dashboard by flocking it.

Flocking is a technique for applying nylon fibers over a surface to give it a durable, velvety finish. The technique was developed to coat the dashboards of rally cars to reduce glare. It quickly became popular as a cheap and effective way to restore the interior of a vehicle. You can pay to have this process done, or you can do it yourself at a much lower cost.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic sheeting
• Paper
• Masking tape
• Cleaning alcohol
• Foam sanding block
• 100-grit sandpaper
• Flocking gun
• Breathing mask
• Polyester flock
• Flock glue
• Paintbrush
• Cloth
• Vacuum cleaner

Instructions

1. Cover all the parts of the car interior to which you do not want to apply flock. Put plastic sheeting over the seats and tape paper over the windows, steering wheel, control panels and fans.

2. Wipe the dashboard with cleaning alcohol and a cloth. After this, wipe it with a damp cloth and allow it to dry.

3. Wrap the sandpaper around the sanding block and run it over the dash. Be sure to get all the spots on the dashboard roughened up; this will help the flock to adhere.

4. Paint the dashboard with flock adhesive. Paint only a thin layer and try to keep the strokes even. Work quickly so the adhesive does not dry.

5. Fill the flocking gun with flock and spray the dash. Use slow, even strokes, holding the nozzle of the gun at 90 degrees from the surface and 10 inches above it. Spray on a layer twice as thick as you intend for the finished result.

6. Allow a week for the flock to dry completely. Run a vacuum cleaner over it to remove any excess flock.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear breathing protection throughout the flocking process.

References

• Swicofil: Flock
• Hobby and Craft: Flocking