Carbon Fibre Wrapping My Is 250

[agent_dess]

** UPDATED - New Photo's Added - 15th March 2013 **

Hey guys i've been busy in the past weeks wrapping my interior with carbon fibre wrapping...

Motivation for doing this was to:
1) Make it look fresh and stylish.
2) The previous owner must have been a smoke, as they have tried to use touch up paint on the centre console... So really it was bugging me!
3) Couldn't find any right-hand side trim on the web... Except for the horrible wood effect!!
4) Lexus quoted £315 to replace the centre console!!!

What I've done:
1) All 4 door panel control + the plastic cover inside the door handle
2) Centre console + Can holder + Ashtray
3) Key fob
4) centre vent

Still to do (Work in progress):
Air vents both side - I started to work on it but had to temporarily abandon this due to time constraint, still left the photo

Possibly considering:
1) Steering wheel control (don't know if i have the guts to take that a part.. I'm scared the air bag might go off, will refer to Ahmed post on how to do it)
2) Silver trim that fits all around the edge of the speedometer instrument cluster panel
2) Overhead lights

Attempted but abandoned:
Tried to do all the small button panels i.e petrol, boot, snow, ect... Couldn't get the vinyl to stick to the surface as its not smooth!

Total Cost for Project:
£8

Obviously pictures can never do the same justice as see the actual thing for yourself but at least you will get the idea

[bluenose1940]

That all looks the bees knees. Very well done. Must have taken loads of patience.

[RichC]

Looks good, personally i prefer the 'horrible' wood effect i think but nice work all the same :)

[RayKhan]

Looks good

[agent_dess]

Thanks guys :D

I did the above over stages... You learn to appreciate the value of time when you have a family!

I took my time over the course of a week, to remove the object from the car, take them apart and then wash and dry the panel to ensure they were dirt and grease free...... to be honest the hardest bit and the most time consuming was the driver side door panel switches (its also the 1 i screwed up a fair bit) but luckily the carbon fibre texture is forgiving for that....

So yes i did make some silly mistakes along the way but i also learnt from them... and im totally pleased with the end result.

[widemonkeys]

Looks good I like the key wrapping might do that myself.

[stevet]

looks good! The centre console looks just like the ISF

[agent_dess]

Taking the key fob apart was the really easy bit... hardest part was wrapping the vinyl over the corners!! even now its not 100% perfect, if you look carefully at the photo you can notice the vinyl wrinkle but i decided its good enough for now and one day when im really really bored i shall re-attempt the key fob.....

In case anyone is interested i got the 2D Carbon fibre (they sell the 2D / 3D and 4D vinyl)... i found the 2D to be the more shimmering glossy viny:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2D-3D-4D-BLACK-COLOUR-Bubble-Free-Carbon-Fibre-Vinyl-Wrap-4-CAR-/200860617388?pt=UK_Wallpaper&var=&hash=item2ec439caac

[normski2]

Well done..a tricky job neatly done.

My only slight (and it is slight) concern is the integrity of the bond with heat. I assume this is sticky backed so to speak. But will it lift if the temp rises? We occasionally see temps of 30 degs in this country but certainly in France 35+ degs are quite common in summer. I would hate to come back to a car left in the sun and find it has softened and lifted.

[agent_dess]

It's pretty strong stuff once it's set in place...

You need to ensure the surface you are applying is wrapped over the edge and not just the top surface and be sure to leave at least 1-2 cm of extra vinyl wrapped over the edge.. this will in theory allow for contraction in the summer....

You need to apply heat to vinyl when installing it.

What i do is apply the vinyl to the panel, flip it over, cut the holes required (leave at last 1-2 cm from the edge of the shape you want to cut) fold the vinyl so that it sticks to underside of the panel and apply heat (i used hair dryer) this will cause the vinyl to shrink and tight wrap itself around the panel/edges... Personally i don't believe it will bubble or peel off.

The stuff is designed for use in cars.

I'm sure someone else could explain this better than me...

[normski2]

OK thanks for that. Interesting.

When you said 1-2cm of extra....I'm thinking you intended 1- 2mm??

[agent_dess]

1-2 cm = 10-20 mm

or if you prefer leave 1/2 inch :)

But really depends on the surface... on some panel i had to cut so tight that it only just reached the bottom side of the panel...

If beneficial i can take pictures of the air vent (hopefully do that this weekend) so everyone can get an idea of the process?

[normski2]

Cripes you really did mean 2cm!

It was the flip lid in the centre console that was of concern. I guess that would be one where you cut it so its just lips round a bit?

[IHgs300]

Nice job, You must have the patience of a saint.

[agent_dess]

Thanks IanS200 :)

I reckon if i was to do all the above again, it would only take a few hours.... Hardest part 1st time is understanding how the vinyl works and knowing where and when to cut and like i said before i did make quite a few silly mistakes along the process.

Normski2:

The can holder lid is a separate component to the entire console.

What i did for that was use a separate piece of the vinyl, i aligned the pattern to match the rest of console the best i could.

the technique for the lid is a little different than the rest of the wrapping because the lid will lift open and the bottom will be exposed.

The other problem i had here was that i couldn't physically remove the lid (it would have involved taking the push mechanism apart.. too much effort)

so what you need to do is cut the vinyl prior to fitting it, but take into considerations the sides of the lid itself and cut it to that size so that when you stick it on and fold the vinyl it will wrap to edge exactly as you fold it from all 4 side.

The console itself consists of 5 parts (see image - yes i know its the left-hand model :winky: but you'll get the idea):

1) seat heater control (4 clips)

2) gear shift panel + drive letters (4 screws)

3) chrome gear shift edging (Held to the console using 5 plastics point melted - snap them to pull this out... use 3M tape to put it back on in the end)

4) can holder + lid (4 screws)

5) curved plastic piece that connects to the console storage box (2 screws)

I wish i had taken before and after shots now!!

[normski2]

You've got my round of applause. Think you did very well.

I've worked extensively with veneers and inlays/marquetry and think I would call on a lot of those techniques of plotting out and preparation to do this type of challenge...if I were so inclined.

I do actually like the polished wood decals as they are....but then....as my son is quick to point out...".you are 56 Dad".

But, you know what I have to be totally honest and confess I have made a note of your link and what you have achieved, and also of Ahmed's excellent work too! So there is hope for this old git yet!!

[F.A.]

The centre console looks brilliant, but the rest looks a bit after market in my opinion. Still each to their own. Looks a nice neat job

[agent_dess]

I plan to redo the photo's at some point but I'm well pleased with how it's turned out so far :)

[Pete-r]

Love the console, where did you get the vynil from?

[agent_dess]

Hi Peter-r

Check post #8 on page 1

I've mentioned where I got it from and which one it is

[Pete-r]

Cheers,

Im looking to do some bits on my VX220 do ordered the 4d and will spray a clear coat on it for gloss.

[agent_dess]

Yeah they were all good but main reason for choosing the 2D was to keep with the black and silver interior of the car

[Pete-r]

I've done some real carbon stuff in the past, but to be honest it's such a tricky job I lost patience.

Here is a vw corrado spoiler in 200g carbon before sanding.

http://i467.photobucket.com/albums/rr33/pete-r36/Cars/Corrado/video-2012-04-05-17-00-54.mp4

[agent_dess]

That's quite neat but I can totally see what u would have lost patience with it and I guess it wasn't cheap either??

[Pete-r]

Price wasn't so bad, but it just takes ages to mix the epoxy, do a base layer, wait for it to tack, work the fabric, put the resin on and then work through the papers to get it smooth!