Another Sticky Dash Issue

SouthArk370Z · 02-23-2020, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by old guy

So has anyone definitively figured out if it was a uv problem or an age problem? ...

I don't think UV is the cause. Probably doesn't help matters but I don't believe it is the root problem. It happens to too many garaged cars to be a UV problem, unless the Alcantera is terribly sensitive (since other Nissan models don't seem to suffer as bad, I don't think that's the case).

I didn't use any chemicals when cleaning the dash, so I think I can rule that out. Used mild window cleaners and sprayed on cloth, not directly on window.

My guess is that heat is the culprit - I usually drive with A/C off and windows down so my dash can get pretty hot on sunny days.

old guy · 02-23-2020, 07:03 PM

Yeah, sorta have come to that conclusion. I’ve never used anything on my dash but a damp cloth so we’ll see. I don’t have any problems now but, if it starts to deteriorate that will really bum me out

nis350 · 02-24-2020, 01:46 AM

I honestly think the dash issue is related to the material having some kind of chemical reaction/deterioration due to aging. My car was under a car cover in the garage in very mild temperature in SOCAL for 2 months. I cleaned it with the 303 aerospace protectant before covering the car. It was nice, but it turned grayish now. The car cover didn't come off during this time period.

The sun/heat obviously would cause the dash to become sticky, but the root cause is likely the material used for the dash is deteriorating due to aging.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

I don't think UV is the cause. Probably doesn't help matters but I don't believe it is the root problem. It happens to too many garaged cars to be a UV problem, unless the Alcantera is terribly sensitive (since other Nissan models don't seem to suffer as bad, I don't think that's the case).

I didn't use any chemicals when cleaning the dash, so I think I can rule that out. Used mild window cleaners and sprayed on cloth, not directly on window.

My guess is that heat is the culprit - I usually drive with A/C off and windows down so my dash can get pretty hot on sunny days.

cv129 · 02-24-2020, 03:37 AM

I have a decent sample size. 4 Nissan/Infiniti dash around the same model year (all 09-11). 1 dash I purchased from a member that had the car stripped, and dash had been in his attic. The other 2 were garage kept and low miles. 4th one gets parked outside, Texas car all it’s life (heat and sun!!!!), has most miles, got the most abuse.

Guess which one was fine, and which 3 got sticky?

It’s as if the dash likes the sun and the heat, and will have temper tantrum if it doesn’t get abuse from sun and heat. I just shake my head sometimes...

nis350 · 02-24-2020, 06:32 PM

Perhaps the dash issues are limited to certain batch of the dashes.... something was different in the process or materials?

Again, our g37s that was driven more and exposed to the sun/heat many times more than the Z. It's dash is in great condition, not even a hint of stickiness or discolor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cv129

I have a decent sample size. 4 Nissan/Infiniti dash around the same model year (all 09-11). 1 dash I purchased from a member that had the car stripped, and dash had been in his attic. The other 2 were garage kept and low miles. 4th one gets parked outside, Texas car all it’s life (heat and sun!!!!), has most miles, got the most abuse.

Guess which one was fine, and which 3 got sticky?

It’s as if the dash likes the sun and the heat, and will have temper tantrum if it doesn’t get abuse from sun and heat. I just shake my head sometimes...

JARblue · 02-24-2020, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cv129

I have a decent sample size. 4 Nissan/Infiniti dash around the same model year (all 09-11). 1 dash I purchased from a member that had the car stripped, and dash had been in his attic. The other 2 were garage kept and low miles. 4th one gets parked outside, Texas car all it’s life (heat and sun!!!!), has most miles, got the most abuse.

Guess which one was fine, and which 3 got sticky?

It’s as if the dash likes the sun and the heat, and will have temper tantrum if it doesn’t get abuse from sun and heat. I just shake my head sometimes...

Wouldn't surprise me one bit. Interesting to say the least.

cv129 · 02-24-2020, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nis350

Perhaps the dash issues are limited to certain batch of the dashes.... something was different in the process or materials?

Again, our g37s that was driven more and exposed to the sun/heat many times more than the Z. It's dash is in great condition, not even a hint of stickiness or discolor.

Not for my G lol. It’s one of the 3 melting dash I have, it wasn’t driven too frequently after my first born came and I started working from home 4 days a week. Parked in garage, next to the Z. Same condition, same fate, happened at the same time frame. For context, as of this moment, the G has 60k and my Z has 37k miles.

The FX50 (no longer own) was our work horse, and dash was perfect.

geeteezee · 02-25-2020, 12:16 AM

The website with the fix product seems to have determined that it's the adhesive seeping through the upper dash layer.

KaienZ34 · 03-26-2020, 05:50 PM

Anyone had a chance to try this product? https://stickydashfix.com/

JARblue · 03-26-2020, 08:58 PM

Couple guys talked about purchasing it. No updates though. I am interested as well.

viragoboy · 04-05-2020, 01:00 PM

I finally found time to complete this project, I had originally applied the cleaner product about 3 weeks ago and the gray dust started coming back so I had to do that again.

Some observations:
- my dash was not super sticky but some places closer to the glass were definitely worse
- as you can see from the pics it was turning gray everywhere, even places that were covered by plastic and never got sunlight
- the cleaning product alone cleared out the dust almost completely
- it is really difficult to not get splotchy results. In very visible areas (passenger side dash) I applied multiple coats. Use long back/forth strokes front->back. Don't skimp, you're unlikely to run out of product.
- disassemble everything you can. The triple gauge cluster was the most difficult since I cannot see in the back and cannot be removed easily. Still splotchy there, but can't really see so much.

My verdict: It's worth the effort and money, I look back at the pictures I took before I started and it's obvious I had to do something. It will take 4+ hours to complete, but I did it over a week since it's not my daily driver.

cv129 · 04-05-2020, 01:10 PM

Thx for the write up. Please continue to update us on whether the product holds up in the long run. Very interested to know if this is a permanent solution.

JARblue · 04-05-2020, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by viragoboy

I finally found time to complete this project, I had originally applied the cleaner product about 3 weeks ago and the gray dust started coming back so I had to do that again.

Some observations:
- the cleaning product alone cleared out the dust almost completely
- it is really difficult to not get splotchy results. In very visible areas (passenger side dash) I applied multiple coats. Use long back/forth strokes front->back. Don't skimp, you're unlikely to run out of product.

So you applied the cleaning product the second time and then finally applied the coating? And you're saying the coating application was difficult to apply without splotches?

I am very interested to know if the splotchiness goes away or remains there more than a few days. And of course, in for the longer term results as well

Spartan 1771 · 04-06-2020, 09:20 AM

Thanks for purchasing, testing and posting the results here. Like others, I'm really interested in seeing how it stands the test of time.

viragoboy · 04-06-2020, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue

So you applied the cleaning product the second time and then finally applied the coating? And you're saying the coating application was difficult to apply without splotches?

I am very interested to know if the splotchiness goes away or remains there more than a few days. And of course, in for the longer term results as well

Yes, applied cleaner twice. The instructions are pretty clear and point out that the coating should be applied shortly after the cleaner or have to start over. Thinking about it now it probably would have turned out better (less splotchy) if I hadn't applied it sparingly. I was afraid if I ran out then I'd be SOL.

Anyways, definitely not a UV issue in my case since the car has been garaged for 10 years with only 50k miles. I bought a few of these to soak up the humidity in the car, unfortunately too late:

https://www.amazon.com/Eva-dry-333-R.../dp/B00LVN7BM0

02-23-2020, 07:03 PM	#122 (permalink)
old guy A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: S.E. Michigan Age: 68 Posts: 2,710 Drives: 13 magma touring Rep Power: 2684369	Yeah, sorta have come to that conclusion. I’ve never used anything on my dash but a damp cloth so we’ll see. I don’t have any problems now but, if it starts to deteriorate that will really bum me out __________________ I better walk before they make me run....

02-24-2020, 03:37 AM	#124 (permalink)
cv129 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,237 Drives: 09 Nismo, 16 Nismo Rep Power: 163995	I have a decent sample size. 4 Nissan/Infiniti dash around the same model year (all 09-11). 1 dash I purchased from a member that had the car stripped, and dash had been in his attic. The other 2 were garage kept and low miles. 4th one gets parked outside, Texas car all it’s life (heat and sun!!!!), has most miles, got the most abuse. Guess which one was fine, and which 3 got sticky? It’s as if the dash likes the sun and the heat, and will have temper tantrum if it doesn’t get abuse from sun and heat. I just shake my head sometimes... JARblue, sx moneypit, old guy and 1 others like this. __________________ Setrab \| RE-71 \| SPL \| JRZ \| Nismo \| ARK \| Whiteline \| RacingBrake \| CJM Oil Pan \| Ti shield

02-25-2020, 12:16 AM	#128 (permalink)
geeteezee Base Member Join Date: Jun 2019 Location: Ontario Posts: 191 Drives: 19 370z Heritage EAC Rep Power: 3361	The website with the fix product seems to have determined that it's the adhesive seeping through the upper dash layer. KaienZ34, Spartan 1771, JARblue and 2 others like this.

03-26-2020, 05:50 PM	#129 (permalink)
KaienZ34 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: LA. not L.a. Posts: 21,652 Drives: Z34 Tour/Sport Rep Power: 178	Anyone had a chance to try this product? https://stickydashfix.com/ __________________ *"These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends"* http://www.the370z.com/members/kaienz34-albums-z34.html

03-26-2020, 08:58 PM	#130 (permalink)
JARblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Age: 43 Posts: 36,450 Drives: 11 Z34, 98 E36 M3 Rep Power: 2684440	Couple guys talked about purchasing it. No updates though. I am interested as well. __________________ 2011 370Z 6MT Sport Gun Metallic \| ARC \| CJM \| Ecutek \| FI \| Fujimura \| R2C \| SPL \| Stillen \| TWM \| Z1 \| ZSpeed \|

04-05-2020, 01:10 PM	#132 (permalink)
cv129 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,237 Drives: 09 Nismo, 16 Nismo Rep Power: 163995	Thx for the write up. Please continue to update us on whether the product holds up in the long run. Very interested to know if this is a permanent solution. KaienZ34, Spartan 1771 and JARblue like this. __________________ Setrab \| RE-71 \| SPL \| JRZ \| Nismo \| ARK \| Whiteline \| RacingBrake \| CJM Oil Pan \| Ti shield

04-06-2020, 09:20 AM	#134 (permalink)
Spartan 1771 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Western Maryland Posts: 1,280 Drives: Wife crazy & 09 370Z Rep Power: 105454	Thanks for purchasing, testing and posting the results here. Like others, I'm really interested in seeing how it stands the test of time. JARblue, Memphis370Z, sx moneypit and 1 others like this. __________________ ~Rob -DD Air Guide, Stillen G3 CAIs, 63mm Throttle Bodies, Motordyne M370, Berk HFCs, FI TDX CBE (non-res, CF), Sprint booster v3, Ecutek Dyno Tuned, and the list goes on...

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