Going under the knife again....(YaKuZa_GS build 2.0)
05-12-13, 05:22 PM
#106
So just a few little updates to the interior for you guys.
If you've been following my old thread I originally had all my wood panels wrapped with Hasepro dry silver carbon. Although I liked it I wanted to give it a little more pop, so I had it redone in the traditional wet carbon look so it has that gloss shine. I sent them to a local guy who works with fiberglass and carbon composites. He told me it's his first time working with silver carbon (which is thicker than traditional black carbon making it a little harder to conform to certain shapes), but was assured it would be a top notch job. I was told for custom jobs like this they need to be paid in advance which I obliged (BIG MISTAKE!). When I got the parts back not only was the work really sloppy, it wasn't even vacuum sealed (which is a must otherwise you get air bubbles or separation down the line.)
For those who are curious on how the process is done....Once you have the parts wrapped you need to layer the resin, sand to a smooth surface and repeat until you feel the resin is thick enough then apply cleat coat, wet sand and polish to a smooth shine. Well in my case the guy who was doing the sanding, sanded right through the carbon so there was patches of carbon missing in some areas. Not only that, when he dremeled out the holes for the buttons on the center console it was sloppy and uneven. With only a couples days of owning them air bubbles were popping up everywhere on the center console. It was truly a nightmare. I would have rather stuck with the original dry carbon look.
Here's some photos of the terrible craftsmanship.
Anyways I b***hed and complained to these *** clowns and they said they can have the parts redone but I can already tell they could never achieve the quality I'm looking for. I had to take my loses and move on.
So after doing some research and reading the boards trying to source other shops to do a proper job. I came across FX Auto Design which seemed to have some good reviews on here. After sending the photos to Chris, he was confident he can salvage the parts instead of sending him whole new set which I had lying around. I was told the parts are sent off you their factory in Asia and takes about 2-3 weeks to get back. It turns out they had to send it back again because the weave angle was different from how I described I wanted it to be, so it was a little longer to get back than anticipated, but well worth it. Chris explained due to some of the shapes and that the thickness of the silver carbon was harder to work with. They were very professional and lots of communication back and forth to ensure everything was correct. I was surprised and pleased with their service.
These are how they turned out.
This was the original weave angle they got back. But I specifically requested to have the weave angle the same as the end. It was most likely just a small miscommunication. But it was all good as they got it all corrected in the next photo.
These are the corrected pieces. Call me OCD but its the small attention to details that can really make things stand out.
Now since half of my center console was gone I would dress up the rest of it just a little. I was trying to think of other ways to update the look of the dash. I've always been a fan of the Sport Design silver panels, so I gave it some thought and decided to step it up a notch. I picked up 2 yards pf brushed titanium vinyl and wrapped the A/C unit, 2DIN head unit frame and shifter/cupholder area.
3 things you definitely need. An X-Acto knife, a steady hand and a lot of patience. One little screw up and its back from scratch.
And VOILA!
BEFORE
AFTER
If you've been following my old thread I originally had all my wood panels wrapped with Hasepro dry silver carbon. Although I liked it I wanted to give it a little more pop, so I had it redone in the traditional wet carbon look so it has that gloss shine. I sent them to a local guy who works with fiberglass and carbon composites. He told me it's his first time working with silver carbon (which is thicker than traditional black carbon making it a little harder to conform to certain shapes), but was assured it would be a top notch job. I was told for custom jobs like this they need to be paid in advance which I obliged (BIG MISTAKE!). When I got the parts back not only was the work really sloppy, it wasn't even vacuum sealed (which is a must otherwise you get air bubbles or separation down the line.)
For those who are curious on how the process is done....Once you have the parts wrapped you need to layer the resin, sand to a smooth surface and repeat until you feel the resin is thick enough then apply cleat coat, wet sand and polish to a smooth shine. Well in my case the guy who was doing the sanding, sanded right through the carbon so there was patches of carbon missing in some areas. Not only that, when he dremeled out the holes for the buttons on the center console it was sloppy and uneven. With only a couples days of owning them air bubbles were popping up everywhere on the center console. It was truly a nightmare. I would have rather stuck with the original dry carbon look.
Here's some photos of the terrible craftsmanship.
Anyways I b***hed and complained to these *** clowns and they said they can have the parts redone but I can already tell they could never achieve the quality I'm looking for. I had to take my loses and move on.
So after doing some research and reading the boards trying to source other shops to do a proper job. I came across FX Auto Design which seemed to have some good reviews on here. After sending the photos to Chris, he was confident he can salvage the parts instead of sending him whole new set which I had lying around. I was told the parts are sent off you their factory in Asia and takes about 2-3 weeks to get back. It turns out they had to send it back again because the weave angle was different from how I described I wanted it to be, so it was a little longer to get back than anticipated, but well worth it. Chris explained due to some of the shapes and that the thickness of the silver carbon was harder to work with. They were very professional and lots of communication back and forth to ensure everything was correct. I was surprised and pleased with their service.
These are how they turned out.
This was the original weave angle they got back. But I specifically requested to have the weave angle the same as the end. It was most likely just a small miscommunication. But it was all good as they got it all corrected in the next photo.
These are the corrected pieces. Call me OCD but its the small attention to details that can really make things stand out.
Now since half of my center console was gone I would dress up the rest of it just a little. I was trying to think of other ways to update the look of the dash. I've always been a fan of the Sport Design silver panels, so I gave it some thought and decided to step it up a notch. I picked up 2 yards pf brushed titanium vinyl and wrapped the A/C unit, 2DIN head unit frame and shifter/cupholder area.
3 things you definitely need. An X-Acto knife, a steady hand and a lot of patience. One little screw up and its back from scratch.
And VOILA!
BEFORE
AFTER
Last edited by Sonic_RC; 05-12-13 at 05:28 PM.
05-13-13, 08:10 AM
#110
Word. I've felt and compared the silver vs black side by side and its a night and day difference. Whats commonly called silver carbon is not even carbon at all. Technically its silver texalium which is a woven aluminum. I know what you mean about the vinyl carbon, super tacky looking in my opinion. I didn't my the Hasepro stuff I used before as it was REAL composite and not a vinyl. But it just doesn't quite have the same effect as the wet/gloss look. But I do love their brushed metal vinyls
Last edited by Sonic_RC; 05-13-13 at 10:26 PM.
05-22-13, 11:02 PM
#113
OK so here's a little update for you forum fiends out there.
For the past couple months in my spare time I've been working on a custom set of illuminated door sills for my car.I really wanted to do a DIY write-up but I was already half way through when I thought of it LOL. Also a few concepts I wasn't too sure of.
They actually weren't that hard to make. Here's basically the steps
1) Pop out the original door sills.
- Each door sill has 3 clips (One on each end and one in the center). If you're having a tough time getting your fingers under the plastic, try masking a flat head screwdriver with electrical tape to pop them off.
2) Take out the stainless insert from the door sill.
- This part is pretty easy. If you bend black the plastic, you should see the stainless separating. It's only held by epoxy. You can also use a flat head to wedge between the plastic and stainless if you're having trouble separating the two.
3) Now come the measuring.
- Each front is roughly 633mm (top) / 626mm (bottom) / 23mm (height). The rears are roughly 381mm (top) 376mm (bottom) / 23mm (height)
4) Now we need to make new inserts.
- My material of choice was 1/16th think sheet of plexi-glass. Had I done it again I would have chosen thinner (1/32" thickness). Being that I used 1/16" thickness I had the plastic shop cut them to the appropriate sizes. If I had done it by hand it would take quite a bit of time. For those who want to go with the 1/32" an X-acto or box cutter should go through it pretty easily. USE A RULER or FLAT EDGE to guide your cut. If you try to freehand it, it most likely wont be straight and look F'd up. Be sure to round the corners of the plexi for a cleaner look. Once you are done your cuts, test fit them into the plastic sill to ensure they fit correctly.
5) Now we need to apply texture to the plexi
- I brought the plexi strip to my vinyl guy who had some brushed stainless steel vinyl. He measured the original strips to ensure the LEXUS cutout positioning was the same. Once they were cut out and the logos weeded out, its just a matter of laying it down on the plexi. I also used a frosted clear vinyl on the backside of the LEXUS lettering so it wasn't completely see through.
6) Cutting out holes for the light.
- Now that your vinyl is laid down on the plexi, you can see where you need to cut your hole in the bottom plastic trim to allow the light to pass through. You can use a razor or box cutter to cut through this.
7) Now you need to attach the light
- There are many light sources you can use. You can use LED strips or EL tape. What I did was buy a cheap set of illuminated door sills for a Civic and ripped it apart and robbed the plastic LED panel inside. I applied the LED panel to the bottom of the plastic door sill, secured it with hot glue and sealed it with aluminum tape.
8) Now lets install and power it up!
- This part is the longest part and definitely easier said than done. Take your door panels off and follow the wire coming from your door light. Strip the wire to tap in, then solder and shrink tube/electrical tape and you should be good to go. Put all your panels back, clip everything in and you're done.
Sorry I didn't have photos of the process. I know a picture is worth a thousand words. Anyways, here's how it turned out.
The last two photos above looks a lot brighter in the photo than in person. I guess its the camera. In reality its closer to this photo below. (maybe a little brighter)
For the past couple months in my spare time I've been working on a custom set of illuminated door sills for my car.I really wanted to do a DIY write-up but I was already half way through when I thought of it LOL. Also a few concepts I wasn't too sure of.
They actually weren't that hard to make. Here's basically the steps
1) Pop out the original door sills.
- Each door sill has 3 clips (One on each end and one in the center). If you're having a tough time getting your fingers under the plastic, try masking a flat head screwdriver with electrical tape to pop them off.
2) Take out the stainless insert from the door sill.
- This part is pretty easy. If you bend black the plastic, you should see the stainless separating. It's only held by epoxy. You can also use a flat head to wedge between the plastic and stainless if you're having trouble separating the two.
3) Now come the measuring.
- Each front is roughly 633mm (top) / 626mm (bottom) / 23mm (height). The rears are roughly 381mm (top) 376mm (bottom) / 23mm (height)
4) Now we need to make new inserts.
- My material of choice was 1/16th think sheet of plexi-glass. Had I done it again I would have chosen thinner (1/32" thickness). Being that I used 1/16" thickness I had the plastic shop cut them to the appropriate sizes. If I had done it by hand it would take quite a bit of time. For those who want to go with the 1/32" an X-acto or box cutter should go through it pretty easily. USE A RULER or FLAT EDGE to guide your cut. If you try to freehand it, it most likely wont be straight and look F'd up. Be sure to round the corners of the plexi for a cleaner look. Once you are done your cuts, test fit them into the plastic sill to ensure they fit correctly.
5) Now we need to apply texture to the plexi
- I brought the plexi strip to my vinyl guy who had some brushed stainless steel vinyl. He measured the original strips to ensure the LEXUS cutout positioning was the same. Once they were cut out and the logos weeded out, its just a matter of laying it down on the plexi. I also used a frosted clear vinyl on the backside of the LEXUS lettering so it wasn't completely see through.
6) Cutting out holes for the light.
- Now that your vinyl is laid down on the plexi, you can see where you need to cut your hole in the bottom plastic trim to allow the light to pass through. You can use a razor or box cutter to cut through this.
7) Now you need to attach the light
- There are many light sources you can use. You can use LED strips or EL tape. What I did was buy a cheap set of illuminated door sills for a Civic and ripped it apart and robbed the plastic LED panel inside. I applied the LED panel to the bottom of the plastic door sill, secured it with hot glue and sealed it with aluminum tape.
8) Now lets install and power it up!
- This part is the longest part and definitely easier said than done. Take your door panels off and follow the wire coming from your door light. Strip the wire to tap in, then solder and shrink tube/electrical tape and you should be good to go. Put all your panels back, clip everything in and you're done.
Sorry I didn't have photos of the process. I know a picture is worth a thousand words. Anyways, here's how it turned out.
The last two photos above looks a lot brighter in the photo than in person. I guess its the camera. In reality its closer to this photo below. (maybe a little brighter)
Last edited by Sonic_RC; 05-22-13 at 11:05 PM.
05-23-13, 12:37 PM
#117
J, those look great
if you look here post # 2-3 this will provide pics/details on installing/wiring
people will still need a 12v invertor to make power though
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/2ge...-of-parts.html
05-23-13, 02:04 PM
#119
not exactly original. it is a copy of the TTE sills they dont make anymore.
J, those look great
if you look here post # 2-3 this will provide pics/details on installing/wiring
people will still need a 12v invertor to make power though
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/2ge...-of-parts.html
J, those look great
if you look here post # 2-3 this will provide pics/details on installing/wiring
people will still need a 12v invertor to make power though
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/2ge...-of-parts.html
The light panels I used didn't need an inverter as they were 12v ready. I was never a big fan on the TTE style as it was just one large plate with no plastic around it. IMO it looked too generic, also the bolts on the ends kinda cheapened the look for me. I wish they made the insert only. I'm talking with a local machine shop who might redo the inserts for me in actual stainless steel. Either cut by water jet or CNC. If I go ahead with it I may have my plastic ones up for grabs if anyone is interested.
05-23-13, 02:39 PM
#120
The light panels I used didn't need an inverter as they were 12v ready. I was never a big fan on the TTE style as it was just one large plate with no plastic around it. IMO it looked too generic, also the bolts on the ends kinda cheapened the look for me. I wish they made the insert only. I'm talking with a local machine shop who might redo the inserts for me in actual stainless steel. Either cut by water jet or CNC. If I go ahead with it I may have my plastic ones up for grabs if anyone is interested.
