I'm wanting to drill a few medium size holes in the dash material. The exact spot is under the steering wheel and to the left. I'm wondering what would be the best way to go about this. What type of bit should I use or should I try to cut instead of drill..

 

Make sure you use something on the backside to prevent drilling through your wires.

Any drill bit will work. It's soft.

 

You could jam a soldering iron through it, it's very soft.

Are you mounting something to the dash using the holes, or are you mounting buttons/switches/something in the holes you make?

 

I will be mounting buttons and switches in the holes. I realize that the material is soft but im just wanting to make sure that a drill bit will make a clean hole . I know some materials don't go well with certain types of bits and leave jagged ugly holes.

 

I wonder if a Forstner (sp?) woodworking bit would help? They are known for clean-edged holes. Find a neighbor into woodworking and borrow one, they're somewhat expensive.

 

The vinyl on the dash is about 1.5mm thick. It's pretty resilient so going at it with a conventional drill shouldn't pose that large of an issue since it's going to be hard to twist up. If you're worried, mark the hole and cut it out with a razor first. Then go through the foam and plastic with a drill. Definitely put a metal plate behind though so you don't drill through anything important if the dash is still in the car.

 

Use a good sharp bit, Mask blue painters tape where hole is being drilled. Then have at it. Remove tape afterwards. Like said above dont drill into anything behind the panel.

 

BTW, sounds like a decent -- if not great -- place to mount a fuel-pump security cut off switch... but you didn't hear it from me.

 

That's precisely what I used to mount a switch into a plastic panel in that area. Worked extremely well for me. Very clean hole.