that's all well and good, BUT....
GM stopped making dashes for these trucks long ago...soooo....the NEW dash that you bought is at least 10 years old...it's been sitting on a shelf drying out just like the dash in your truck...it won't be long until the UV rays react with the vinyl on your dash that's dried out now...it may not seem like it's dried, but I guarantee you it is...that's why I suggest covering the dashes in vinyl...the only thing different is the fact that the vinyl will have to be cut and sewn to fit the dash and therefore it will have seams in it...BUT the vinyl will long outlive the NOS dash that you or anyone else buys from GM...
also, on a side note, we use SEM Color Coat at my shop everyday and it's amazing stuff, but it has it's place just like anything else...armrests and the top of door panels is not that place...it WILL flake and/or wear off...it's just a matter of time...if they were covered in vinyl, they would not flake and the color would not wear off of them...
STITCH.
No offense. But you apparently do NOT KNOW what you are talking about.
The dash pad I bought LAST YEAR was literally BRAND NEW. It had a manufacture date of less than three weeks from when I bought it. And it said original GM PART. I got it from the GM CHEVROLET DEALER.
The color vinyl paint that I purchased is the professional paint used by THE GM DEALER. They are the ones who sent me to the PROFESSIONAL PAINT SUPPLIER for Denver.
And I asked about how much I should worry about care after painting the vinyl.
They told me that it needed ZERO care except soap and water. The reason I asked is BECAUSE we live at altitude. Only here in Denver and in Albuquerque is the altitude at 1 mile and dry enough to cause issues with interior upholstery.
I've kept a close eye on it. I park them outside in the sun. ALL THE TIME.
I've taken the dash off this year to check certain things under it. The dash is in perfect shape. The paint looks as good as it did when I laid it down. Granted it's only been ONE year, but if there were any issues with the paint, it should have shown up.
Nothing so far. And I will keep an eye on it. If this changes, I will not only bring it up on the forum, I'll post pix and what I did to either fix it or repaint it. AND I WILL SHOW IT ALL HERE.
Everyone needs to know this stuff.
But please don't say things like GM does not HAVE any new dash pads. The one I bought was brand new. Not NOS. And it had not been 'sitting around on a shelf' either.
Sorry, but that is the facts of the pad I purchased. I'm 57 and this ain't my first rodeo.