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!
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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!
MK IV complete Kit - 1st time builder started Sept 2016
Levy 306
T5
2015 Mustang IRS
Power steering - Levy setup, Breeze roll bars, Thompson trunk box
fuel injection, powder coating, sway bars, heater, wipers, 17 in wheels
IMG_5873.JPG
I wrapped my dash to look like carbon fiber. Looks great, just working on the wiring.
Joel "Beef" Heft
LIFE'S JOURNEY is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shi*, what a ride!"
FFR MK3 #4306, 05 Mustang 4.6L 3V, 5 Speed, IRS, Dual Roll Bars, Power Steering and Power Brakes.
You know at one time, FFR offered an optional Carbon fiber dash. They looked pretty good.
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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Last edited by cgundermann; 04-10-2017 at 09:28 PM.
See phileasfogg build thread. He just did his in cf look vinyl.
FFR MkII, 408W, Tremec TKO 500, 2015 IRS, DA QA1s, Forte front bar, APE hardtop.
Appreciate the responses!!!!
MK IV complete Kit - 1st time builder started Sept 2016
Levy 306
T5
2015 Mustang IRS
Power steering - Levy setup, Breeze roll bars, Thompson trunk box
fuel injection, powder coating, sway bars, heater, wipers, 17 in wheels
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.
SOLD 03/2013: MK II #5004: 5.0 EFI: 8.8, 3.55, E303, TW heads, GT40 intake, 24#, 70mm MAF
Ordered MK IV Coyote Complete Kit.
From post #300 of my build thread http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-fact...ter-build.html :
IMG_3561 by jhsitton, 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.
Last edited by phileas_fogg; 08-06-2017 at 05:01 PM.
MK IV Roadster #8631
Ford 302, Holley Terminator EFI, T5z, 3.55 Rear End, IRS, 17” Halibrand Replicas (9” front, 10.5” rear), Nitto 555 G2’s (275/40ZR17 front, 315/35ZR17 rear), Fast Freddie’s Power Steering, F5 Wilwood Brakes, FFMetal’s Firewall Forward, Forte’s Hydraulic Clutch & Throttle Linkage
https://www.ffcars.com/threads/phile.../#post-4776313
You might want to visit Gatorwraps. 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.
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.
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.
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.
Last edited by phileas_fogg; 07-28-2017 at 07:06 AM.
MK IV Roadster #8631
Ford 302, Holley Terminator EFI, T5z, 3.55 Rear End, IRS, 17” Halibrand Replicas (9” front, 10.5” rear), Nitto 555 G2’s (275/40ZR17 front, 315/35ZR17 rear), Fast Freddie’s Power Steering, F5 Wilwood Brakes, FFMetal’s Firewall Forward, Forte’s Hydraulic Clutch & Throttle Linkage
https://www.ffcars.com/threads/phile.../#post-4776313
Similar to John, I used carbon fiber veneer.
IMG_1037.jpg
"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.
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.
Carbon Dash 1.JPG
Carbon Dash 2.JPG
Carbon Dash 3.JPG
It came out looking very nice.
Nice work Jacob. If my 3M 1080 needs replacing, I'll try the material you found.
John
MK IV Roadster #8631
Ford 302, Holley Terminator EFI, T5z, 3.55 Rear End, IRS, 17” Halibrand Replicas (9” front, 10.5” rear), Nitto 555 G2’s (275/40ZR17 front, 315/35ZR17 rear), Fast Freddie’s Power Steering, F5 Wilwood Brakes, FFMetal’s Firewall Forward, Forte’s Hydraulic Clutch & Throttle Linkage
https://www.ffcars.com/threads/phile.../#post-4776313
Looks great!
MK IV complete Kit - 1st time builder started Sept 2016
Levy 306
T5
2015 Mustang IRS
Power steering - Levy setup, Breeze roll bars, Thompson trunk box
fuel injection, powder coating, sway bars, heater, wipers, 17 in wheels