Vinyl wrapped dash?

[Jacob]

Has anyone had experience with using a vinyl wrap on the dash? I want to use a faux carbon fiber vinyl wrap on my dash and am concerned about how durable it would be and whether it would hold up over time? Any input appreciated!

[jetheft]

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I wrapped my dash to look like carbon fiber. Looks great, just working on the wiring.

[AC Bill]

You know at one time, FFR offered an optional Carbon fiber dash. They looked pretty good.

[cgundermann]

I purchased a sheet of real carbon fiber and had the company vacuum adhere a 3M adhesive to the back. Laminated this to the FFR aluminum dash. They ship out of Washingtom and offer various grades/finishes of carbon fiber to suit your fancy. You can PM me and I can give you their info. Not nearly as affordable as a wrap and certain tricks to cutting and trimming for nice visible edges which I can share if you go that route.

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[CraigS]

See phileasfogg build thread. He just did his in cf look vinyl.

[Jacob]

Appreciate the responses!!!!

[DaleG]

Check-out "water transfer" or "hydrographics" (Google for your area). They can give you a good carbon fiber look to your dash, or any other component. They did my dash modules in walnut burl.

[Jeff Kleiner]

You know at one time, FFR offered an optional Carbon fiber dash. They looked pretty good.

Yeah, they did but it's been a while. I got one of the last ones produced about 10 years ago:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj43/jkleiner/100_0696.jpg

Cheers,
Jeff

[phileas_fogg]

From post #300 of my build thread http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/508121-phileas_fogg-s-mk-4-roadster-build.html :

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/36248648136_c7871f2bf1_k.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/XeaNd1)IMG_3561 (https://flic.kr/p/XeaNd1) by jhsitton (https://www.flickr.com/photos/91016165@N07/), on Flickr

"I knew early on that I wanted something different than a vinyl or leather dash. I’d seen several carbon fiber dashes, and decided that was the look I wanted. I had read good things about 3M’s 1080 vinyl, which comes in all colors including black carbon fiber. At $20 for a 5’ roll, I figured why not?

"The 1080 is very easy to work with, and very forgiving on installation. However, I found that any imperfection in the dash surface shows through; also, it appears to scuff easily (which can usually be brought back to its original appearance with a little bit of heat) and is VERY fragile. I’d be very reluctant to recommend this product for a dash covering, and if it gets beat up and I have to remove it I’ll use an actual carbon veneer to replace it."

If you go this route, I recommend painting the dash metal the same base color as the wrap. That way, if you nick the vinyl, you won't have bright shiny aluminum showing through.

Cheers,


John

P.S. I just applied the vinyl a couple of weeks ago, so obviously too early to provide any durability data.

[Outdoor_funguy]

You might want to visit Gatorwraps (http://www.gatorwraps.com/services/). You can request a quote plus they have a lot of vinyl wraps with lots of colors to choose from. Professionals there will be able to address all your concerns plus you can request a quote. They have branches and installers located in just about every large city.

[Jacob McCrea]

John, would a thicker type of vinyl change your opinion? I saw on ebay some apparently thicker products, and I'm curious if you think that a different product would change your views on using vinyl. Thanks for your comments above, and any further thoughts you have.

[Avalanche325]

Do real carbon fiber.

When someone asks "Is it real?", you can say "Yes". If you get called out, just tell them you thought they were talking about the dash.

[phileas_fogg]

John, would a thicker type of vinyl change your opinion? I saw on ebay some apparently thicker products, and I'm curious if you think that a different product would change your views on using vinyl. Thanks for your comments above, and any further thoughts you have.

Some stream of consciousness thoughts:

I can't speak to the thicker products because I haven't tried them. But if you're even a little bit interested, I encourage you to try. Now that you know you might have to baby the material, you're almost guaranteed to get a result with which you're happy. And if you find something that works - or doesn't - then we're all a little bit smarter.

The fragility aspect you can get around by being extra careful and maybe putting a layer of cotton between the vinyl & wrench for the heater-, wiper-, or headlight-switch. The scuff aspect is unknown - to include the 1080. One thing I will say, though; the 1080 looks really really really nice.

If you decide you want the real deal, I would call http://www.protechcomposites.com/ and ask them for a quote on a 12"x60" piece of their 0.5mm carbon fiber. They used to offer it on their website for ~$120. If their price is still in this ball park, I recommend going with the real thing.

Cheers,


John

P.S. Keep in mind that whatever you choose the F5 cutouts will likely be either too big or too small - which means you're either going to start with a blank dash and make your own custom cutouts, or you're going to have to figure out a way to make the too small cutouts just large enough. I found that the F5 classic gauges (made by Speedhut) fit really well in 3.9" & 2" holes. Also, you may have to get innovative figuring out how to cut holes in the carbon. Finally, I don't think you'll find carbon with a bending radius that will wrap around the bend at the bottom of the dash - which means you'll need to figure out how to finish the bottom edge.

[MVRight]

Similar to John, I used carbon fiber veneer.
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[Jacob McCrea]

"Some stream of consciousness thoughts:"

Thank you! I am going to try some thicker stuff from ebay (6 mil thick). My Type 65 dash has a 90 degree bend and has been split in two for ease of maintenance, so using real carbon would be more of a challenge than I want or need. After six years and probably 30 major and minor chassis mods, major aluminum panel mods to accommodate those changes, and a small but growing assortment of tig welded ducts, brackets and other such things, my desire to customize is nearly exhausted! I will order some thicker vinyl and report my findings here.

[Jacob McCrea]

Here is my report on this: I ordered a 10' x 1' roll of "6 mil automotive grade carbon fiber vinyl" (or something close to that) from an ebay vendor named "paperstreetplastics." It was not exactly cheap at $50 but the material was very easy to work with and, as far as I can tell, very durable. It was much thicker and more malleable than the thin orange vinyl I recently used to wrap my ski poles. I had no problem with tightening the 10-24 screws securing the dash, i.e., they did not deform the vinyl despite putting appropriate torque to them immediately after installing the vinyl. Judge for yourself from the photos, but I think it looks very nice and will likely use the material in other places.

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[AC Bill]

It came out looking very nice.

[phileas_fogg]

Nice work Jacob. If my 3M 1080 needs replacing, I'll try the material you found.


John

[Jacob]

Looks great!