Another Wood Trim Job

Here's a variation on wood trim from Dennis's black with reddish wood. My previous car was an Audi with beautiful (to me) light burl sycamore. I used the kit from http://bdtrims.com/ and only used the smaller pieces - about half the kit. I like how it turned out. I chose the BD Trims kit to get the strips for the door and glove box. I think it looks great with Barcelona Red and light interior.

- Tom

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(usbseawolf2000 @ Sep 7 2006, 11:12 PM) [snapback]316145[/snapback]</div>

Hi Dennis! Yeah, it does have a narrow band for around the power button, it just doesn't show up in the pics very well. There were also rings for around the air conditioner vents in the upper dash, but I didn't like how that made them stand out instead of how the black vents blend in with the black dash. I got the kit and did this after being inspired by your pictures. Thanks!

- Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(B Rad @ Sep 8 2006, 04:31 PM) [snapback]316554[/snapback]</div>

You can call BD Trims (see link in first post for web site) and request samples of the various colors you might be interested in. That's what I did. It took them 2 or 3 weeks to send them, but then you get to see the actual color and get a feel for the material, its thickness, flexibility, etc. When I then ordered a kit, it only took a few days to get it.

For Dennis, here is a flash shot of the power button taken this evening. The chrome ring doesn't show up too well - it is to the inside of the wood trim piece.

- Tom

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(luna @ Sep 11 2006, 08:39 PM) [snapback]318068[/snapback]</div>

That is a Wheelskins cover on the steering wheel in plain old black. See http://www.wheelskins.com/ , I think I ordered mine through Autobarn. It is a bit of a struggle to install it as it goes on very tight, but it is very nice when finished. I've used other covers on other cars and this is the nicest steering wheel cover I've ever used.

- Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stanlwyjohn @ Sep 11 2006, 08:15 PM) [snapback]318057[/snapback]</div>

Whatever 3-M tape product they used for the backing, it looks like it is on there for life. It survived multiple weeks in late July and August where it was parked in the sun on 90 to 99 deg.F days. There was not a hint of coming loose or being able to move the pieces around on the dash, glovebox, or anyplace the underlying Prius trim was smooth. I have had various velcro and other stick-on pieces come off of other cars in hot weather in the past so I understand your concern.

I did have some problems with the narrow trim strips on the textured surface of the doors, but I think that was due to inadequate cleaning of the mold release compound left from Toyota production. I'll mention more about this in a reply to Jan's questions.

I started putting it on in late July and only just finished the last couple of pieces now as I considered what I would like and what pieces would be too much. As I said earlier, I only used about 1/2 of the kit.

- Tom

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jan @ Sep 11 2006, 08:44 PM) [snapback]318073[/snapback]</div>

I did not have any problems on the textured dash surfaces or glove box door. Even though the contact area is greatly reduced, it still seems to stick like crazy. However, on what seems like an identical surface, I had problems with the long thin strips in the grove at the top of the doors.

I cleaned the surfaces with the 3M "Prep Solvent - 70" that I got off of ebay (~ $30 for a gallon). On the doors, this did not seem to wipe clean even after 3 applications. I then followed up with 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol, then the promoter.

These door strips tended to get loose at the ends on hot sunny days. I took one off, recleaned the surface and reapplied - not much difference. I discovered that there seems to be what I think is a mould release compound on the doors left over from manufacturing the part that is hard to get off. If you try to get masking tape to stick, it won't grab at all, even after cleaning. I found that after about 4 or 5 Prep Solvent-70 treatments followed by a scrub down with a wet rag seemed to make progress in getting it off - masking tape begins to stick. I solved my problem on the doors by putting a very tiny dot of cyanoacrlyic cement (model airplane stuff, medium thickness) on the 2 or 3 ends that were lifting and sticking that back down. They are holding fine now.

I did not have to do the extreme cleaning anywhere else, although I did use a damp rag to clean off any left over Prep Solvent-70 after that step. Like I said, the same surface on the dash worked great.

I only got 4 little applicators of the promotor. Where I used it, I put it on the whole surface. Since I was doing only a few pieces at a time, I soon ran out. I called BD Trims and they said it was not really necessary except on steeply curved pieces. This seems to be true as I did not use any promoter on the Power Button ring, the pieces around the instrument panel brightness control wheel, or the center console strips and they all are sticking just fine. If you just did the edges, the promoter would go farther. However, once you start using a promoter applicator you have to use it all up fairly quickly as it is a paper and fiber applicator with the promoter in a glass capsule that you crush to release. It dries out after a half hour or so.

It really was not difficult to apply this kit.

- Tom

 

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cbustapeck @ Nov 11 2006, 10:08 AM) [snapback]347426[/snapback]</div>

I think it is a plastic print. If it was wood, the manufacturer would brag about it. But I can't really tell the difference at a glance versus the Audi which was supposed to be real wood.

- Tom