I am sure we are all familiar with the wrap peeling off of the centre console. Well, I have the poverty pack interior - all gloss black (except for the centre console) so I thought why buy a new part when I can just strip the wrap off and paint it to match?

I made a few little mistakes on the way so I thought I would share the experience to save you guys the heartache.

For those of you who don't know what trim I am on about, this is it:



And a close up of the peel:





ok so first up, remove the trim. Start by lifting out the useless coin holder:





Next, remove the torx screw (T20 I think, can't remember):




Now lift the trim from the front. I have used a trim wedge because I'm a little obsessive like that, but you can probably just pull it up by hand:



pull the trim forward toward the shifter to release it:



Congratulations, the easy part is done. Now you need to remove the plastic wrap. There is probably a solvent or something but I had the bumper off for another project and couldn't go to the shops so I made do with a razor blade. You need to be really careful doing it this way. Some of the wrap comes off easy, some not so easy. The point it the plastic underneath is really soft and you don't want to be spending hours trying to fill the gouges (see my previous comment on making mistakes):



Once it is stripped, you will find a lot of residual bits that won't budge. I hit them with a 80 grit sanding sponge. Keep scrubbing until you get something like this:




Now hit that bad boy with some wet and dry 800 grit



Keep sanding, cleaning and drying off the part until there are no high spots and everything is fairly smooth:



Next step: filler primer. Hit it with a nice light coat first up. wait 5 minutes, hit it again. repeat about 3-5 times:



now repeat the sanding process above - stick with the 800 grit. Use a sanding block this time and keep going until there are no shiny spots left.

Once you are happy - and seriously, be 100% happy or you will regret it (see mistakes made comment) - Start on the paint. Apply it just like the primer only with 20 minutes between coats. Again, 3-5 coats are recommended.

<sorry, I got absorbed into the process here and stopped taking photos>

Repeat the sanding process again, waiting at least an hour for the last coat to sure. Use 1500 grit this time and stick with the sanding block.

Now repeat the painting process with a clear coat.

Final sanding step! start with 1500 grit, taking down those high spots (the shiny bits are low spots):



Once it is all flat, move on to 2000 grit. Use very soapy water and a sanding block. You want to make light, straight strokes - minimal pressure. This step will be what dictates a good finish.

Once you are happy, it is elbow grease time.

Polish the hell out of it with rubbing compound and then polishing compound. When you start this process, it will look matt black and be full of light scratches. By the end, it will look something like this:



Note that last pic was taken before I finished polishing and it is covered in grubby finger prints.

Now hit it with a good wax coat or two - I like carnubra? wax personally.

Last of all, reverse the removal steps and fit it

 

Great Job! looks really good!

 

Awesome job! Thanks for the tutorial.

 

Looks great

 

was just looking for a replacement trim piece and came across this. Awesome but alot of work!

I think I might just buy a new one and stop throwing my bag onto it!

 

Good job! I want to do this but I want it to have the wood trim finish. Does someone know a shop that does that? I saw a post ages ago and they sell wood trims (not the cheap ebay type) that matches perfectly the OEM wood trims and there is one for the glove box that I want so bad.

 

I just peeled the bits off to the closest corner so that it looked better. If I'd seen this tutorial sooner I would have tried it most definitively.