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Wood/carbon fibre/aluminum trim dash kits

72 messages,  Last post on May 04, 2009 at 10:24 PM

You are in the Speed Shop Tuning and Modification Forum.

What is this discussion about? Interior

Messages Page 6 of 8

#43 of 72 Wood Shift Knob by deuce56

May 14, 2001 (7:22 pm)

I'm not sure you can get an aftermarket wood shift knob on an automatic. I've only seen them offered for manual trans. Try woodtrim.com and search back near the beginning of this topic for one other company that offers shift knobs.

#44 of 72 Adhesive promoter by jaki30

May 15, 2001 (3:50 am)

Getting ready to install a wood dash kit. What is the adhesive promoter
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.

#45 of 72 Adhesive promoter is.... by tronsr1

May 15, 2001 (12:37 pm)

The solution that comes with the kit to be applied after the given area is cleaned with the alcohol pads to make sure the wood dash kit section will properly adhere to the area. It is not really necessary if the given area has no wax on it such as Armorall, Son of a Gun,Lexon, or whatever. If it is a "new car" and nothing has been applied to the dash area, such as the aforementioned, then usually the alcohol will do the job. When I did my kit, I used the adhesive promoter and applied it "sparingly with a Q Tip, but found out later {due to the fact it was a brand new vehicle and virgin to wax, etc., that I did not really need the promoter. It is a bit-- to apply if need be... and don't get any on any area other than where the dash kit will be as... it doesn't come off...be patient when applying the dash kit. It took me 2 and a half hours with the blow dryer.. and make sure the temperature is about 75 degrees or better so that the kit is "flexible". Hope this helps.
   DashKit NORT

#46 of 72 tronsr1 by jaki30

May 15, 2001 (4:09 pm)

Thanks for the info. The car is one month old and nothing has been
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.

#47 of 72 Exotic Wood Dash by robh3

May 16, 2001 (3:45 pm)

For what it's worth, I checked out the Woodtrim.com site, and their prices seem much higher than others.
 
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

#48 of 72 Best Kits by jthornburg

May 16, 2001 (4:17 pm)

I purchased a kit for my car that I finally liked after sending 2 back. edashkit.com has the highest quality materials and the guys sell at incredible prices. They were very helpful and the kit was so easy to install.
 
Highly recommend.
 
Jim

#49 of 72 sample boards/epoxy by sonatava

May 17, 2001 (1:34 pm)

For those interested, Wooddashfactory will send you a sample piece for $8.95, and autodash.com sells the sample boards from Florida Auto Trim for $15 each. I just received the board for real wood and another for the synthetic wood. Autodash will also send you two pieces for free.
 
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.

#50 of 72 epoxy by geo21

May 19, 2001 (12:01 am)

No, there are a number of different epoxy's and resin coatings in use. Normally you'll find that synthetic kits seem a bit mushier.
 
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 autostockhome.com
 
Geo

#51 of 72 Removing an Exoticwood kit by maemark

Jun 13, 2001 (12:33 pm)

I put a lot of pieces from and Exoticwood dash on my new Solara. After a couple months, I don't really like it. It is obviously fake, not wood like at all. I have seen photos of real wood trim pieces from Joshua Tree and they look so much better. I would switch if I could be assured removing the old kit will not leave me with a ruined surface. I did the installation myself, suing the promoter. Is there any way to remove the pieces without damaging the underlying surface? Some solvent to remove the "glue"? Does the promoter craze the plastic where it touches? I especially regret putting the pieces on the radio face, the climate controls and the coin box area. They look better in their original black with real wood trim surrounding the whole area.
 
Any advice out there?

#52 of 72 Removal by tronsr1

Jun 14, 2001 (5:18 am)

You can probably use a blow dryer to remove same, however; I cannot help as to whether or not the promotor is easily removed???> Sorry.

Messages Page 6 of 8

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