Interior info needed

I have an '88 T/C with red interior and I have a few questions for the well informed. First, my car has the power sun/moon roof and the draw shade is beat to crap. I have checked several cars in the junkyard and every one is in the same poor condition or worse than mine. What causes the "velvet" type finish to get so beat up and is there a way to fix/repair/replace this. Second, my dash was really badly cracked so I found a decent one in the junkyard for a reasonable price with one small crack at one of the defroster vent outlets. Is there a way to repair small cracks in the dash? Also why is the upper part of the dash a differant shade of red than the lower half? My brother has an '86 T/C with the same color interior but his dash is one shade of red- the bright color that the rest of the interior is. I was thinking of getting my replacement dash re-painted one shade (the bright red) before installing it. Has anyone had good luck painting vinyl and if so what product did you use?
Thanks,
GTBIRD

I think small dash cracks can be repaired. Just make sure the rest of the vinyl is good. If it's really brittle, you'll have more cracks soon.. About the 2-tone red, it's like that because it looks cool. [Image: smile.gif] I'm not sure, but I think Cougars and T-Bird LXes have 2-tone interiors. That's what I've deduced from junkyard cars, anyway.

About the sunroof, is the material a thin velvety stuff that is coming off in chunks? If so, my 90 Sable had the same material on the sunshade. The problem is that Ford used a water-soluble glue to atatch it to the sunshade. It's probably the most likely part of the interior to get wet! Brilliant, huh? Many upholstery shops can apply that stuff, it sprays on. Well-stocked craft stores might have it too, it's called flocking.

Exactly. A couple weeks ago the weather was sunny and in the 50's. So I took my T-bird out for a winter shakedown and noticed that dust had coated it (black shows any dirt). While washing it, the sunroof developed a leak and the shade got pretty wet. The velvet-type stuff swelled into little lint balls. Looks REALLY bad now.

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"I thought about being a veterinarian, an evil veterinarian."

1988 TC Black/Red Leather
2001 Audi S4 Silver (the fastest color)

This is what I am going to do to my sunroof shade(or moonroof as I call it) I am going to sand it down , get all the fabric off of it and simply paint it with some good "Duplicolor" paint to match the rest of the interior. Now if I can only find replacement weatherstripping for the sunroof itself.

Jonesy

ITs a funny thing but if you take some silicone squeak remover....the wd-40 type stuff...but i found silicone works better...spray a little around the edge of the weather stripping and rub in with your finger it re-seals it...atleast it worked for me on my 87-88 and my girls cavalier..try it

Jonsey> try www.sunroofdoctor.com
Excellent service, excellent prices. He will have the weatherstripping you need for your moonroof. Give him a call.

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87 TC 5-speed Black, loaded. 17psi, G3 alternator, KB subs, Grant steering wheel, custom greasable swaybar bushings, K&N. Soon to have KB Trackit Axle brackets, Maximum Motorsports lower control arms, T-3, Saab intercooler, ranger roller cam Gen1 DSM BOV and rebuilt front suspension.

Yes, your Camaro just got spanked by a 4cyl!

Unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes.