Heat gun or hair dryer for fixing old plastic trim?

My 2004 Civic's dashboard has this crack near the passenger vent that's been bugging me for a year. I watched a video where a guy used a heat gun to soften the plastic and push it back together, but I'm worried about melting it since it's old and brittle. A friend said just use a hair dryer on high, slower but safer, and a heat gun costs like $25 at Harbor Freight. Has anyone tried both methods on old car plastic and which one worked better for you?

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2 Comments

harperp313mo ago

Go slow with the heat gun on low, same rule applies to most projects where patience beats power.

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jakeperry3mo ago

Agree with you @harperp31 all the way. Rushed through a dashboard project once and melted the vinyl in two spots, had to start over from scratch. Taking it slow on low heat saves materials and your sanity every time.

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