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Here's a couple of things I vinyl wrapped today....... I had wanted to do the steering wheel lower trim piece so I bought a piece of Carbon Fiber Vinyl wrap for $5 but the piece was 12" X 60".
So after doing the steering wheel trim piece, I thought WHAT ELSE can I wrap...... so took apart both key fobs and wrapped them too.
Next, I might try doing the larger steering wheel silver painted trim piece that has the buttons in it, IF I can figure out how to remove it without having to take too much apart. Anyone know how difficult that is, or does the airbag have to come out, etc, etc? Little leery of messing with the airbag....
Amazon........ $5.99 for a 12" X 60" piece. Nice stuff. I could have paid about $14 for a smaller piece of 3M material, but thought I'd try this. It was listed as 3D Carbon Fiber Film.... I'd attach a link, but I don't think that is allowed here......
I figured that for $5.99 I'm not out much if I didn't like it, but as you can see, I'm happy with the results.
Here's a couple of things I vinyl wrapped today....... I had wanted to do the steering wheel lower trim piece so I bought a piece of Carbon Fiber Vinyl wrap for $5 but the piece was 12" X 60".
So after doing the steering wheel trim piece, I thought WHAT ELSE can I wrap...... so took apart both key fobs and wrapped them too.
Next, I might try doing the larger steering wheel silver painted trim piece that has the buttons in it, IF I can figure out how to remove it without having to take too much apart. Anyone know how difficult that is, or does the airbag have to come out, etc, etc? Little leery of messing with the airbag....
How close does this match the stock carbon fiber on the car dash?
It's pretty darn close. Close enough that I'm going to pop out the trim piece on the lower left side that has the mirror adjuster and HUD rocker switches that is currently flat black.
If you wish, I can take a pic tomorrow of the material up against the factory dash. Let me know if you want to see that....
Looks great !!!! Was the removal of the airbag a big deal, or any surprises? That's a bigger concern to me than the wrap process
How well did the vinyl wrap pull around and conform to all the curves, etc? I figure I'll need to use a hair dryer to heat it up in those areas. Did it take multiple attempts to get the wrap on nicely?
Looks great !!!! Was the removal of the airbag a big deal, or any surprises? That's a bigger concern to me than the wrap process
How well did the vinyl wrap pull around and conform to all the curves, etc? I figure I'll need to use a hair dryer to heat it up in those areas. Did it take multiple attempts to get the wrap on nicely?
thanks,
Removing the air bag wasn't a big deal to me since I removed it before when I did the steering wheel swap.
Heat gun is a must, it was my first try by just watching YouTube videos and it actually came out pretty good.
To get at the bezel, remove the negative battery cable. You use two thin screw drivers into the two small holes that are on each side of the back of the steering wheel. There are threads on here with pictures. You press both screw drivers at the same time and you will feel a spring there and while doing that you push out the air bag. You need three hands but I usually use my legs to help. Then there are two connectors on the air bag. The wires are short, but if you tilt the top out slightly, you can get in a small screw driver to pop up the lock on each connector. So the locks are at the top of each connector and they pull up. Then the connectors just pull off. The connectors are on the bag itself. Don't pull hard on the connector where the go into the steering column. The bezel just pulls off.
While you are at it, you might consider trying to wrap the paddles. It should be possible. I just got a set of real CF paddles and they are pricier than gold. There are two Torx screws to remove the bottom paddles, and one for each top. Once you have the paddles removed, there are three small torx screws to take the switches apart. You need a set of micro torx bits for electronics. I got a set of bits for a few bucks from the local Harbor Freight. You remove the three torx screws and the paddles fall off. Then you can paint them or wrap them easier without having to worry about the switch contacts. I assume this is how the vendors "wrap" the switches in real CF.
This is just a suggestion "while you are in there". I think it really looks sharp when it all matches, so just use the same wrap material. I could not figure out a way to get the symbols back, but if you are artistic I would think they could be painted on by hand? I assume there is some commercial machine that can imprint these somehow?
I'm not sure if the switches for cruise control and the dash display on the bezels could be done. I have not seen any of the CF vendors do them so I assume they are tougher.
Again, this is the real carbon fiber, but wrapping it would be produce similar results I think - minus the original symbols.
It's pretty darn close. Close enough that I'm going to pop out the trim piece on the lower left side that has the mirror adjuster and HUD rocker switches that is currently flat black.
If you wish, I can take a pic tomorrow of the material up against the factory dash. Let me know if you want to see that....
That would be great, because I am thinking about doing the console
Thank you for the details on how to release the airbag, etc... still thinking about it.....
As for the paddles, mine are RED from the factory, and I like them as is. I would not attempt to do the radio control 4 buttons on the lower section of the wheel, as I couldn't get the marking back again.
The other piece I really want to do is on my factory FAY CF dash, to do the lower panel for mirror adjustment / HUD display. I poked around at it yesterday with my plastic trim tool, but it is so tight a fit, I can't get the tool in to start prying it out. Another member posted some great pics from the back side of the dash showing that the 2 big retaining clips are at the top side, and two plastic tab retainers are at the bottom. I just need to be able to get something in to pry it out without damaging my dash.
thanks again,
Richard
Originally Posted by Flame Red
Very nice job.
To get at the bezel, remove the negative battery cable. You use two thin screw drivers into the two small holes that are on each side of the back of the steering wheel. There are threads on here with pictures. You press both screw drivers at the same time and you will feel a spring there and while doing that you push out the air bag. You need three hands but I usually use my legs to help. Then there are two connectors on the air bag. The wires are short, but if you tilt the top out slightly, you can get in a small screw driver to pop up the lock on each connector. So the locks are at the top of each connector and they pull up. Then the connectors just pull off. The connectors are on the bag itself. Don't pull hard on the connector where the go into the steering column. The bezel just pulls off.
While you are at it, you might consider trying to wrap the paddles. It should be possible. I just got a set of real CF paddles and they are pricier than gold. There are two Torx screws to remove the bottom paddles, and one for each top. Once you have the paddles removed, there are three small torx screws to take the switches apart. You need a set of micro torx bits for electronics. I got a set of bits for a few bucks from the local Harbor Freight. You remove the three torx screws and the paddles fall off. Then you can paint them or wrap them easier without having to worry about the switch contacts. I assume this is how the vendors "wrap" the switches in real CF.
This is just a suggestion "while you are in there". I think it really looks sharp when it all matches, so just use the same wrap material. I could not figure out a way to get the symbols back, but if you are artistic I would think they could be painted on by hand? I assume there is some commercial machine that can imprint these somehow?
I'm not sure if the switches for cruise control and the dash display on the bezels could be done. I have not seen any of the CF vendors do them so I assume they are tougher.
Again, this is the real carbon fiber, but wrapping it would be produce similar results I think - minus the original symbols.
01-15-2017, 04:24 PM
Fun with CF vinyl wrap today
