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Wood/carbon fibre/aluminum trim dash kits
jackfactor
Member Posts: 25
in General
Just wanted to put in the good word for Mike at
Joshua Tree. His site is www.woodtrim.com and I am
really happy with his service and the kit. I will
install it tomorrow and let you know how it went.
Looks pretty simple if you follow the directions
and take your time. I found some cheaper kits on
the web, but Mike's are really well made and come
with a guarantee. No laser marks or cheap flat
pieces. I think he can make a kit for just about
any make so check it out if you are interested. I
am not affiliated with their business - so this is
a genuine recommendation
Joshua Tree. His site is www.woodtrim.com and I am
really happy with his service and the kit. I will
install it tomorrow and let you know how it went.
Looks pretty simple if you follow the directions
and take your time. I found some cheaper kits on
the web, but Mike's are really well made and come
with a guarantee. No laser marks or cheap flat
pieces. I think he can make a kit for just about
any make so check it out if you are interested. I
am not affiliated with their business - so this is
a genuine recommendation
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I had them install it for me. Time just wasn't something I had alot of, plus I wasn't comfortable installing it (alot of parts). But the finished results are spectacular. It is not real wood, but it gets alot of comments from friends and the dealer who sold me my 4RUNNER.
I went with English Burlwood for me tan interior.
Good luck. I also did look at Joshua tree, but I wanted to have it installed for me.
Keep in mind though, that even flat kits can be applied to some curved surfaces (within reason of course)if you carefully heat them prior to application. It is critical that the surface has been thoroughly cleaned (with alcohol) and that you use "adhesive promotor" to enchance the bonding.
It takes some skill and care, but it can often be done.
Cheers,
If you'd like some more info, you are welcome to e-mail me at autostock@home.com
George
Don't worry too much! The recent innovation of the glue is great! As long as you are not in the coldest climate, you'll do just fine.
When you get the kit, make sure there is no scratch on any of the parts. Then inspect for dry fit. (Put all the parts where they go without removing the backing) They should fit perfectly, if not, a slight sandpaper should do a trick. (But do not sand the surface of the trim! Just the sides!)
If applying on to the curved surface, lightly force it to meet that curve. (Don't over do it and crack the thin wood film) If that curve is so intense, a hair dryer blow will do the job.
If you need to drill a hole for let's say a security LED, press the part against it so that it leaves a mark of that LED location, and drill the hole from the back side of the part, at slow rpm. Once everything is in place, (dry fitted)
clean the surface with the included wet towel
(alcohol) to clean the surface where the glue is going to attach VERY WELL! If you have any of the chemical stuff such as Armorall or something, it will either not stick and ruin the glue, or won't last as long... This is really important.
Then remove only 1/3 of the backing from the piece and apply to the surface. Just a small amount of opening is fine. Once you fix the position, slide the rest of the backing slowly, and press and hold against the surface for a while until it seems to hold on to the surface on it's own. The piece applied to the curved surface, the longer you might want to press and hold. Repeat for all parts. I recommend the window tinting if it's not illegal in your area to keep the direct sun light off from them. Hot and humid shouldn't affect the parts as much as the direct sun light which could fade the plastic color...(Seen the back plastic window of Open cars? Yap, got the picture...)
Overnight it at the cool place and you are done!
The key is how well you clean the surface before applying the pieces.
Pieces to be applied to curved surfaces, are easier to apply if warm (hair dryer carefully not to overheat the piece), simply leave in the sun on the inside of the windshield for a few minutes, and they'll soften enough to "wrap" nicely to the surface being applied to. If the surface is "porous" like softer/padded plastic surfaces, you should utilize "adhesive promoter" (usually supplied with the kit)to ensure goof adhesion.
Then just take you time and enjoy.
http://www.woodtrim.com/catalog_detail.cfm?prod=3607
Good luck with your choice.....
INKY
Also have you added tint to your front windows. They have good uv block. If you do these two things you will do better. Does your car sit out all day? Out at home also?
INKY
I am waiting on my Joshua Tree dash to arrive. I assumed they were in Colorado and ordered UPS ground. Noticed on UPS scan that origin is San Diego. I hope this thing did not come from China.
INKY
Looks great. Thanks to posters who told me about the site.
INKY
inky's suggestions are great, but their is more to add. I reccomend using wood protectant products such as Lemon Pledge. It works great on my '00 and '01 BMW 540i and X5's factory wood trim.
For those of you with "NO PATIENCE" forget it.It took me about 2 3/4 hours. You first have to apply lacquer thinner with a Q Tip or small cotton ball, then clean off with alcohol, then apply the prep, then apply the wood dash piece.You have to be very careful not to get any of the lacquer thinner or prep on any area other than for where it is intended.
The final product looks great and it was worth it to me to do my own, as I do have patience for that type of detail, however; make sure you take your time and it must be in a warm area plus a blow dryer helps when applying the kit.Once you apply it, you can't slide it around to the proper area...It has to be right "the first time".
John
Try http://www.woodtrim.com for real wood gear shift knobs. They sell a generic shifter (your choice of burlwood, mahogany, or rosewood) for just under $96.
Hope this helps!
Drew
Host
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I ordered a metallic dash trim kit to be installed with my new 2001 Civic. A day after I picked up the car, I realized that the installed trim (which is metallic with a "gold" hue) doesn't match the standard trim (which is metallic with a "silver" hue) around the stick, and on the door handles. So right now if I look at the inside of my car, I can see trim that's gold-hued, and trim that's silver-hued - yuck.
Honda apparently has realized that people would make the mistake I did, and they are releasing a "sliver" hued dash trim kit. My dealer has offered to remove the old trim kit and install the new one for free.
But is it possible to remove these things without damaging the dash? I'd rather have the silver trim kit, but not if the dealer has to damage the dash in any way to remove the gold one.
I've looked at the installation instructions for the trim kits and both use an adhesive backing to apply the part.
Thanks for any info!
I just installed a "wood" kit on my car and really didn't like the looks of one particular piece which I thought was overkill. I just ripped it off and cleaned off the adhesive with alcohol, but this was only on about an hour before I had my epiphany. I expect that if it is on for several hours it will then be much harder, but not impossible.
I'll have to ask them exactly how they plan to remove it and how traumatic it would be. Thanks for the info.
Thanks
that is supplied with the kit and is it really necessary? I figure I could get
the double sided tape off, if I had to. But, I am not sure what the promoter
will do to the car. Thanks.
DashKit NORT
applied to the surfaces. I think I may try the flat surfaces w/o the
promoter and see how much tension is on the curved surfaces. I
took the day off tomorrow hoping to do it, but, the temp in Ct is
only supposed to be in the low sixties. I was hoping for 70. I will
have to play it by ear.
I bought a wood kit a year ago from exoticwooddash.com for my '99 Caddy STS. I bought the 13 piece kit for $153.00, significantly less than the Woodtrim.com site.
One thing, though, is that the woodtrim.com site offers more pieces, however, in my case I didn't want to go overboard with too much, I just wanted to add wood to the radio/HVAC controls and the cupholder door, linking the center floor mounted console with the dash wood trim in the center of the car. IMO, that is enough. Adding wood to the headlight switch surround and the glove compartment handle ruins the symmetry of the wood flow up from the console and then spreading right and left across the front of the dash.
The woodtrim.com kit comes with pieces that cover the door handle/door lock button area, and lots of other little things in front and back. This is too much, and when applied around the door handles/lock buttons, the wood surface is not flush with the rest of the factory wood trim on the upper door panel. I've seen it and it ends up looking like a tacky add-on.
Anyway, the quality of my kit is very good and the color matches very well...as good as I have seen anywhere for the Caddy's with the Zebrano wood.
Just my 2 cents. It's another source to check out if nothing else.
Rob
Highly recommend.
Jim
Question for those who've installed a dash kit, I noticed that the pieces from the Florida Auto Trim manufacturer look like a very thin piece of wood, with a lot of the expoxy resin on top of it, making it look like one of those raised soft plastic stickers they sometimes sell for kids.
The surface seems kind of soft, and pushing a finger nail into it is easy, although it "heals itself" within seconds.
Question: Are all the other manufacturer's trim made this way? I kinda like the OEM "feel" of real wood with lacquer, rather than the soft epoxy. The samples certainly look great, but the feeling just ain't there.
Having been in the re-styling business for many years, I can tell you that there are some significant differences between the manufacturers.
There are about 100 manufacturers or so. Keep in mind though, that there are lots of web sites selling dash kits, many from the same manufacturers. Some of the big player are: B&I, Superior, Florida, Sherwood, New England, and Woodview.
There are others of course but many of those are simply private labeled products from one of the above mentioned manufacturors.
Florida's kits are known to a bit squishy. Yes the resin does heal itself, but can in some cases do a bit of creeping. The other thing to keep an eye on is the precision of the cuts themselves. Also, you want to make sure that the stuff is not too thick. Some of these kits have too much resin trying to obtain depth. This often will become yellow and milky in time when exposed to the sun.
Therefore you want to make sure that the kit has UV inhibitors to reduce color changes in the kit.
About adhesive promoter. If you live anywhere hot, use the promoter! If you are applying pieces to anything that is the slightest porous, use the promoter! If any of the pieces are applied to any curved surface (convex or concave) use the promoter! Catch my drift? The promoter should be used if supplied, especially around the corners where a piece is most likely to loose adhesion otherwise. But yes, be carefull in making sure that you only apply it where the pieces are going, as it can etch the surface permanently. Once installed, DO NOT use Armor-All or the like product on the dash. If you do, the kit will come off sooner or later. In addition, in some kits it will cause the lamitation top release and the kit will look terrible.
It's worthwhile doing though, because it makes a big difference to the overall look of your vehicle. Take your time, pay attention, have fun and enjoy!
If you need more info, you can contact me off list
at autostock@home.com
Geo
Any advice out there?
The rest of the kit fit fine. However according to the instruction given there was supposed to be a "dash spray" to be used on the formed pieces, I didn't see anything except for a small spray bottle of alcohol which I used to clean the installation areas with. Hopefully they didn't mislabeled the solution.
Had it installed only 4 days ago, hopefully it will perform well under "severe weather" in southern calif :-)
I need your advice. I am looking for a wood dash trim for my new bimmer. Here are my questions
1) Which dash company would you recommend?
2) All dashes I have seen lack the 2 pieces for rear passenger door compartments and the front dash of the car, can i get em outside?
3) Is there an aftermarket part from BMW?
4) Once installed how do they come off?
thanks guys
Ak