Dash pad, Paint or fabric

[bret]

Any thoughts on the slider anti glare area? I like the carpet-fabric idea, but have seen folks paint flat black also, what has been your experience? also looking for ideas for defrost fans, or just ventilate and let the Dynon fans pass the heat through holes?

[ty1295]

I covered my tip up area (same thing) with vinyl before I put canopy on. There are also 3 1/2" holes drilled the align with the braces. Not my idea, builder I got my partial kit from. I ended up finding some nice screened round humidor vents I was able to glue in that are black to go with vinyl. Looks good, and might let a little heat from avionics and heat by feet up to windscreen.

[Kyle Boatright]

I used flat black rattle can paint on mine. It has held up nicely for 15 years. Light, cheap, durable (and not flammable like some other options). What's not to like?

[bret]

one thing I liked about the dash pad is the ability to throw a set of glasses or what ever up there for a moment or two and not worry about it sliding off? ya?

[Weasel]

I used vinyl with a thin layer of about 3/16" headliner foam between the vinyl and dash. Also wrapped it under the dash back to the instrument panel.

Sorry about the large size picture....

[MikeyDale]

Bret, I fretted over this dilemma for way too long as I have a couple of smiling rivets up there I wanted to hide! First, I painted flat black. Then I bought a nice piece of vinyl and cut off a small piece and lit it with a match, It burned like crazy emitting a putrid heavy black smoke! Then I bought a nice piece of the soft side of a Velcro material and was going to install it later (it probably burns the same way) but to be honest, the flat black paint looks so good, I just cant see adding more flammable weight. I have the Classic Aero Glare Shield Trim and it looks really good with the flat black paint. I've been having so much fun flying, I haven't even noticed those couple of smileys up there since that first flight!

[cjhammes]

You can always paint flat black first. If you don't like it, cover later with your choice of material.

[JonJay]

I had some left over black leather from another project. It's less slippery than vinyl and doesn't off gas.The off gassing isn't a big deal you just have to clean the inside of your windscreen every once In a while just like in a car.
Paint is a good option too. You want to use a flattening agent which inherently makes the paint less slippery, but it is harder to clean for the same reason.
As far as defrosting, holes accomplish two things; vents the panel electronics and provides some defrost.
With a slider, cracking open the canopy will take care of it in seconds.

[Rick_A]

I'm in the process of doing a major panel upgrade and plan to install the Classic Aero padded edge. I considered installing the fabric they offer also, but decided against it.

Why? I've drilled quite a few holes in the glare shield for wires or to mount stuff. During the panel upgrade I added the GI 260 AOA indicator and just drilled holes to mount a second GPS antenna for the G3X. If I had fabric installed, drilling the holes would have been much more difficult.

Based on past history, if I installed fabric now, I would probably want to drill another hole through it within a week.

[koupster]

Yes, truck bedliner - matte finish, tough, and non-skid.
Purchased a several years old RV with a matte black painted glareshield. It was pretty scratched up. Touching it up would have been quite noticeable as we couldn't get all the way to the edges with the slider windscreen in place. Ended up with a fabric covering from one of the usual RV suppliers. The supplier advised against vinyl because of outgassing which would coat the inside of the windscreen. It looks nice and my sunglasses, etc. don't slide around. If I were starting from scratch, I'd coat the glareshield with bedliner before the windscreen went on.
Cheers, David