I'm making my dashboard from fairly thin mdf and according to the IVA manual the lower edge must have "... a radius of curvature of not less than 19mm or 5mm and covered with a non-rigid material."

I can make a 19mm+ curved edge from a couple of bits of wooden quadrant (its all going to be covered, so the joins will not be seen). However, I would prefer to go for the 5mm radius. What have people used to comply with the non-rigid material requirement? presumably it has to be non-rigid enough but not too soft and also there presumably has to be a minimum thickness of it. What do Mr and Mrs IVA inspector consider to be acceptable?

Is there an off-the shelf edging material that is IVA proof?

A 19mm radius is 1/2 of a 38mm tube
The smaller but padded radius needs a material similar to your tin top dash material.
Edge trim does not have enough give, perhaps a layer or two of yoga mat would do it.
The material give was described to me as similar to pushing your thumb nail in a sort erasure

My dash was padded with a single thickness of yoga mat, but this wasn't enough. The tester said he could still feel the dash edge when he pushed it in. Had to add a bit of tubular / 'D' rubber trim for the retest. So double yoga mat may be a good guide. Maybe even camping mat, rather than yoga mat! Or something denser, as Snapper suggests.

[Edited on 27/4/12 by PeteS2k]

I used the two 20mm quadrat edging strips . looked good covered.

Paul

I sliced washing machine outlet pipe. Bends very nice. Stuck it with silicon but stays in place anyway over mdf edge.

Yep I used 40mm waste pipe
19mm radius means you can get away with little or no padding
The smaller radius needs dense padding, camping mat would do it but does not bend easily

i used pipe insulation covered in an old pair of jeans. if it looks perminant then you will have no problems, if it looks temporary they wont accept it.


regards

Ditch

Thanks for the advice, I will experiment with what I have in the garage and report back to add my solution to the list.

Steve (gough)- looking at the pic of yours, was the IVA inspector OK with the edge where the dash and scuttle connect to the side of the car, as it looks as though you have not applied the 19mm radius to that bit. Is it not touched by the sphere?

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Originally posted by SteveWallace
Thanks for the advice, I will experiment with what I have in the garage and report back to add my solution to the list.

Steve (gough)- looking at the pic of yours, was the IVA inspector OK with the edge where the dash and scuttle connect to the side of the car, as it looks as though you have not applied the 19mm radius to that bit. Is it not touched by the sphere?

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