In a message dated 11/17/2014 4:08:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
teer.vanagon@GMAIL.COM writes:

I really  like 3M brand Marine products and use two of them on my all of my
inside  plastic and outside rubber around the windows and pop top seals.
The vinyl,  plastic, and rubber on my 91 Westy which has never been stored
in a garage  still looks great

the original poster of this thread has a '85 with the BROWN  dash.     as
many of you know, any BROWN plastic or  vinyl interior components volkswagen
used in the vanagons were pure garbage  and have long since turned into
cracked up crumbly bits.   i believe  the chemical composition in the BROWN
plastic coloring was intended by  volkswagen to self destruct unless you kept
your vanagon in a climate controlled  cave.

anyway, the BLACK never goes bad.    i suggest the OP  replace his cracked
up BROWN dashpad with a BLACK one from a late model vanagon  and call it a
day.