Ok, about two years ago, I went out and got the aluminum dash kit for my car.

I put it on, and was not impressed by the fit and finish of the kit.

So, after much debating, I began the task of going back to stock.

I checked out how much it would cost to put all new parts in and it came to about $250. ( window switch trim pieces, shifter trim, radio surround, vent surround, etc) ( then I hit the junkyard- and did not find any pieces I could use)

So I went out and got some 3M adhesive remover.
After one hell of a chemical high, I got most of it off. But there is some scoring from the adhesive/and/or remover.

SO- make sure you really want the dash kit before you put it on.

No bling is better than bad bling

 

Did you tru using a heat gun to warm all the parts up before attempting to remove them?
Ive been considering removing my dash kit but I really do not want to deal with it if its a real pain in the ****.
Im just wondering if once warmed up, the 3M tape would be easier to remove.

 

What kind of dash kits do you guys have? The ebay ones? Real aluminum or the fake one?

 

dam you have to glue it on?? shiet i was going to get the ones off of ebay, btw i have wood intereior so, and i dont want to mess around with that!

 

You dont have to glue them on. They come with a 3M tape installed on them
All you do is peel the backing off and place onto your dash.

I have an older Ebay simulated CF kit.

 

why not just replace it with a quality dash kit

 

hey does anyone have pics of the ebay kit? brushed aluminum or carbon fiber

 

Thats what I was wanting to do, well just replace it with a REAL cf kit.
Back when I purchased my dash kit real CF wasnt available from too many sources and the ones that were available were around 400.00
So I purchased the simulated version.
Now the real cf kits go for around 200.00
But in order to replace, you must first remove, which may be more trouble then its worth.

 

I have no complaints with my ebay one, especially for the price, but all personal taste, I feel it gives it a more up to date look:

 

I'm interested in re-coloring my dash too. I have the 96 GLE (fake) wooden trim. I have about 98% black interior. ie, black leather seats, charco gray floor mat, etc. How does it look to have 100% black interior. Well, the roof is beige. I might remove the trim and spray paint it black.

 

but it was driven in Texas before I bought it so there was sun damage all around. The plastic parts were so brittle they pretty much just cracked off leaving the wood and glue. It took me forever to remove the majority of the glue. Nothing would take it off other than a scratching fingernail and a slow pull. But now there is a lot of little scratches in the dash and not too sexy. So it is a pain in the *** to take off. But considering my original dash doesnt look to good Im considering going with CF now.

No just a thought.

Anyone have CB in an all black interior?

 

yeah I have heard removing the dash kits can be tricky... which is why I haven't bothered with one up to this point..

 

Blackcat does

 

any of you guys try just painting your dash, i bet it would help cover up some of those scratches you got from removing your cheap dash kit.

I spent $3.99 on a can of Duplicolor wheel paint (adhears to plastic better) and went at it with some wet-sandpaper and dish soap, i think it came out really nice.







i think the edges look cleaner than those i'v seen with dash kits, and you have a better selection of colors and options

I was able to find a color that matched my radio detector, and i was able to paint anything i wanted, like the cover of the cruise control buttons on the steering wheel (look closely)



check out the 3rd page of my homepage for a short write-up i did

 

oxford burwool

 

Sadly, I am not a fan of the wood look. I had to remove the 3M backing that is what 99% of the kits use to hold the kit to the plastic. I used 3M adhesive remover.

When you heat it up, the 3m stuff bonds better, so heating it before using is not going to work in this instance.

I tried the paint look too before buying the kit, but I was not impressed with that either.

I just need more stupid people locally to wreck their Maxima so I can get more cheap parts!

 

Just put on a newer, more expensive kit, it'll look nicer than nothing, imo.

 

I am going with the chrome "trim" idea. chrome shift ****, i-30 interior handles, gauge trim rings and door sills. Keeping the rest black.

 

I have the simulated brushed alum. kit. Doesnt look amazing, but I like it........

 

i took mine off(after 4yrs) with a hairdryer and some goo-gone... i had ZERO marks on my dash trim when i was finished.

Ant

 

Hey my car came with wood trim like that... but its peeling now... where did u get the one that you have cuz i like it a lot

 

Unfortunately I don't have an interior shot available. I remember someone here has a pic.

 

I bought my car no too long ago. It has the fake aluminum one off eBay. Its just an aluminum look. With a lot of sun, it'll change colors. Some pieces are now yellow.. It looks like garbage.

 

so you bumped a thread from 2005 to add in something that wasn't even relative to the orginal post?

 

^AHHAHAHAHAHA didn't realize that till almost your post

 

 

Crap...I was going to post something constructive for once....then I looked at the timestamps...WTF!