Leather dash in any Tahoe/Yukon?

[Fless]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but does anyone know how much help a leather wrap would provide in terms of increasing longevity of these dashboards? Petethepug, I believe you have one of the escalades with the leather dash? Any issues at all with yours or any knowledge as to how those dashes hold up compared to the plastic standard dashes? I picked up a pristine used dash with a working bose center spieker , all wood trim pieces, vents, and even the unused airbag for $50 recently and was prepared to pay the dealer to try and order a new one for an 09 Yukon Denali. So I have some funds to spend to try and make this one last as long as possible and just trying to see if it's worth getting leather put on this used one I purchased.

tagging @petethepug since he may not have seen this.

To tag a member, either "reply" to his/her post, or type the "@" sign and start typing the member's name. Pick the correct member from the dropdown and that'll do it. Like I did in the first line of my post here.

 

[petethepug]

Tag, back at ya. Yes, if you found a pristine, used, uncracked dash, wrap it in leather to protect it. The only suggestion I have is to reach out to Dräxlmaier’s offices here in the States to see what kind of leather they sourced. The important fact here is the leather they used and it’s UV protection that seems to make it invincible to cracking.

Google Dräxlmaier to get their locations and ph #’s in the US. BTW Dräxlmaier literally glued the hand stitched leather directly on an OEM stock dash with no other mods for the 09-14 Escalade Platinum. Do it right, with the right leather and do it once. The leather is paper thin.

 

[petethepug]

Did you ever reach out to the peeps at Castle Dräxlmaier?

 

[sdsuburb06]

As a professional detailer I would highly recommend you NOT use armor all at all. It’s one of the worst products out there for automotive uses. It will leave the dash a greasy mess with an almost reflective sheen that will make it hard to see past when in direct sunlight. Also, I have seen armor actually cause some dashes to crack over the years of repeated use by other detailers.

@adventurenali92 in your experience and opinion as a detailer, is there an off the shelf product you really like or would recommend for use on these plastic dashboards and interior pieces to help with protection?

 

[sdsuburb06]

Did you ever reach out to the peeps at Castle Dräxlmaier?

I found a location for them down in the SE part of the states but have talked with two old school interior upholstery restoration guys - both spent most their careers in the hot rod and muscle car industry, neither of them are willing to touch this dash and apply a leather wrap and they no longer do any dash wrapping unless it's on a trailer queen vehicle. Both indicated they did get involved in some of the newer sports cars doing custom work and with products of today, a wrap will not hold up for more than a few years before the glue will get impacted from temperatures and will loose adhesive properties and the wrap will come loose in places. I have no reason to doubt them, they said if you check around enough I will be able to find someone to do the work but t they are skeptical of being able to make something like this last on a daily driver.

 

[adventurenali92]

@adventurenali92 in your experience and opinion as a detailer, is there an off the shelf product you really like or would recommend for use on these plastic dashboards and interior pieces to help with protection?

Honestly with plastic dashes I’ve found it’s better to just clean them and leave them be. If it’s an actual leather dash a little bit of leather conditioner would work to keep it from drying out, but finding one that doesn’t leave it a highly greasy sheen will be the key.

 

[petethepug]

It’s all about the adhesive. Move on and away from Pro’s who poo pooh wrapped dashes. All manufacturers do it and still do it on highline vehicles.

Has anyone reached out to Dräxlmaier here in the states? They wrap them daily. Yes, if a single piece of leather is stretched over a dash, it will pull back. That’s not how it’s done. Hand stitched or machine stitched is the way.

a wrap will not hold up for more than a few years before the glue will get impacted from temperatures and will loose adhesive properties and the wrap will come loose in places.