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SOMEONE HELP! I hate this stupid Piano Black Console
Hi Guys,
I need some help from you experts on how I can get this sorted.
I bought my Mercedes C Class W205 about 7 months ago - I love the car.
It was second hand, only a few thousand miles on the clock. Upon the handover, I noted that the piano black centre console just didn't look... right.
It was kind of blemished, a few light scratches, one deep one. None of this seemed urgent enough to turned down the car and I'd already made them deliver one previously so I went with it.
Long story short I think the console ruins the entire car and it just does not belong in a luxury vehicle. I have used professional polish and all sorts to no avail.
The garage I bought the car from have been useless in getting me a quote to retrofit the ash black console (without clock) but I have had one quote for £660. Now I know retrofitting anything is expensive but x3+ is taking the mick.
I'm happy to install it myself if I could find it OR if a place offers wrapping in the UK.
But is there anyone out there in the UK who has done this that can show me the way?
May not help since it's US versions but worth a read to see what you need
Thanks pal but yes I've been through every thread known to man. The 2 difficulties I'm having are a) most show the clock version, I would like the non clock version and b) most are international buyers but there has to be a UK solution out there, or someone that went into a MB dealership asked for it to be done and they did it.
Yeah I don't know why they call it Piano black. Pianos aren't made of soft milky black plastic. Not anything a dealer will be of much help for though, unless you're willing to spend the money for the panel and clock module. It's going to take self help. Pull the panel, buy some CF wrap on EBay and experiment. Or pull the panel and take it to a shop that does vehicle wraps.
Yeah I don't know why they call it Piano black. Pianos aren't made of soft milky black plastic. Not anything a dealer will be of much help for though, unless you're willing to spend the money for the panel and clock module. It's going to take self help. Pull the panel, buy some CF wrap on EBay and experiment. Or pull the panel and take it to a shop that does vehicle wraps.
Hey Mike,
Thanks for the message mate. The non clock version exists - I've had a dealer quote on it - but its silly money (even without the clock). I just want to buy the part and do it myself. But all links I've seen are international sites with no images, no details on if its a clock version or not etc
Know your pain, man. My console is linden, but also gets scratched just from loking on it:/ I would've swithced it, but don't know what to do with door trim parts - are they easy to disassemble?
However, as far as console goes, you can wrap it, or you can try hydropainting - works even better for uneven surfaces with lots of details and angles.
My piano black centre console was really scratched on the 2015 C250 I bought recently. I asked the dealer to polish out the scratches but they did a pretty poor job, so I bought some Meguiars Plastx and it's done a top job of getting looking like new again
I wrapped mine in Di-Noc "Silver" Carbon Fiber and it looks fantastic. I'm not a fan of gaudy carbon fiber trims but this complements the black car interior and aluminum trim well. This picture shows a few tiny bubbles but the sun has worked them out since then.
Last edited by SnazzyLabs; 01-25-2017 at 02:40 PM.
Think I prefer piano black to Di-Noc "Silver" Carbon Fiber.
Have to say though that I have to give the piano black a daily wipe with a microfiber just to remove the dust and the odd fingerprint so it isn't a practical finish.
I agree that the 'piano black' trim looks terrible. Well, it looks OK, but you can feel the cheapness of it. It's always fitted on the loaner c300's the dealer gives me and it makes me so appreciative of the 'black ash' my car has. I think I actually prefer the ash over the CF trim since it's much more unique.
But if for some reason I did have the piano trim, I would probably wrap it with this:
If I owned the car and was keeping it for more than 3 years, I would look into retrofitting the ash trim, but that^ would be very cheap and easy for the short term; especially for a lease.
Like sean1.8t had mentioned, the 5D carbon fiber vinyl on the interior is a fairly good alternative to the piano gloss black finish. The 5D's carbon fiber weave is able to hide any possible scratches better, due to the nature of the carbon fiber weave and how it reflects in sunlight. Owning a piano black interior is good when it is perfectly clean and without scratches, which I usually compare/describe to as owning a black car.