Alternative Dash Trim

[alphapig]

Hah this thread has strayed far from topic!

Mcheddadi,

I actually had the brushed aluminum kit on my dash for a few months... But my dash is black. It looked OK for a while, and there was a lot of black showing between the pieces. Then it started to crack in places, so I tore it off with lots of WD40 and Googone... I wouldn't recommend it at all.

What you can do, if you really dig the aluminum look, is take off all of the dash trim and paint it. Maybe sand down the texture to get it all smooth, and then paint it a metallic aluminum color.

A while ago I think Kyle from Stillen mentioned how to achieve a brushed aluminum look, with lightly sanding the area with a low grit and then adding a layer of some kind of chrome paint... I will try and dig up that thread.

[altimacoupelvr]

wow this thread ended way different that i was expecting!!!! lol!!!!

[spockrock]

sorry gents and altimacoupelvr.

[rjdmmfl1]

Hah this thread has strayed far from topic!

Mcheddadi,

I actually had the brushed aluminum kit on my dash for a few months... But my dash is black. It looked OK for a while, and there was a lot of black showing between the pieces. Then it started to crack in places, so I tore it off with lots of WD40 and Googone... I wouldn't recommend it at all.

What you can do, if you really dig the aluminum look, is take off all of the dash trim and paint it. Maybe sand down the texture to get it all smooth, and then paint it a metallic aluminum color.

A while ago I think Kyle from Stillen mentioned how to achieve a brushed aluminum look, with lightly sanding the area with a low grit and then adding a layer of some kind of chrome paint... I will try and dig up that thread.

the only problem with that method is that its permanent, at least with dash kits, you can remove them if you want to!

I'm not sure what kit you got, but I'v enever heard of a dash kit cracking after a few months. What you usually hear is that the kit begins to peel off, and that's almost ALWAYS due to a poor install. When 3M backed dash kits are installed properly, they could outlast the car!

[alphapig]

^ Same guys that had the pic of your trim on their E-Bay store.

Not sure, maybe I had my car out in the sun too much, but the clear plastic covering that rests on top of the brushed aluminum looking stuff began to crack in the corners.

[rjdmmfl1]

^ Same guys that had the pic of your trim on their E-Bay store.

Not sure, maybe I had my car out in the sun too much, but the clear plastic covering that rests on top of the brushed aluminum looking stuff began to crack in the corners.

that's wierd, I've had my kit on for almost 8 months now, and I don't have any cracking, I also live in California, and I don't use a windshield visor.. (but I will start now, thanks for the heads up)

In any case, if i were you, I would tell them and ask for a refund or something

[alphapig]

In any case, if i were you, I would tell them and ask for a refund or something

True, but I didn't take it off because of the cracking... I'm putting in a new Alpine head unit, and it will need a differently sized center piece.

I'm leaning towards the Alpine CDA-9887... Any input about that Doc?

[mcheddadi]

Hah this thread has strayed far from topic!

Mcheddadi,

I actually had the brushed aluminum kit on my dash for a few months... But my dash is black. It looked OK for a while, and there was a lot of black showing between the pieces. Then it started to crack in places, so I tore it off with lots of WD40 and Googone... I wouldn't recommend it at all.

What you can do, if you really dig the aluminum look, is take off all of the dash trim and paint it. Maybe sand down the texture to get it all smooth, and then paint it a metallic aluminum color.

A while ago I think Kyle from Stillen mentioned how to achieve a brushed aluminum look, with lightly sanding the area with a low grit and then adding a layer of some kind of chrome paint... I will try and dig up that thread.

do you have pics of your old dash trim?

[alphapig]

do you have pics of your old dash trim?

No I didn't see it as a mod worthy of pictures

[rjdmmfl1]

True, but I didn't take it off because of the cracking... I'm putting in a new Alpine head unit, and it will need a differently sized center piece.

I'm leaning towards the Alpine CDA-9887... Any input about that Doc?

yeah, that's a good unit, not very fancy, but pretty much all of Alpine's cd-headunits are good units.

you may already know this, but be sure to convert your mp3's into 320 or 356 kbps sampling rate... your music will come out so much louder and cleaner on your mp3 player.