CF Parts 2: CarbonPart Interior Trim Pieces
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 207
Likes: 3
From: Mid Atlantic
CLK BS
CF Parts 2: CarbonPart Interior Trim Pieces
Hi all,
This is the second custom CF wrapped part I'm reviewing. Also got this idea after seeing Kicherer's CLK BS. Anyway, I always thought the two plastic rear seat cover pieces look cheap and out of place in the BS. I was able to find this custom CF seller on ebay, goes by the name "CarbonPart", contact person's name is Mandy.
It turns out it's a CF shop located in Taiwan, and they are willing to do any custom real CF wrapped interior pieces. Their price is very good: 350 for both pieces including international shipping!
This also took ~4--5 weeks including shipping time. They took off the vinyl wrapping and re-wrapped in CF. I had them match the weave pattern as close to the OEM CF center console as possible.
This pic compares the weave patterns:
Finished pics: (sorry for the glare, I suck at this photo thing
)
The re-install process was harder than I thought. The gel-coat is thicker than original so the fit isn't exactly the same, although I have to say the original fit wasn't exactly perfect either--I could wiggle the bottom piece easily. Overall I think it looks better and more cohesive with the front CF trim pieces.
How's the quality compare to MACarbon? Well you get what you pay for. For 350 I really can't complain. I think the weave is excellent, equal to (if not better) MACarbon's. The gel coat is not as smooth as I wanted though, but I think it's hard to do such a large, curved piece.
One good thing is the excellent service I received. Maybe it helps that I speak Chinese But Mandy was excellent, provided me with constant updates, finished pics before shipping back to me.
I've been fiddling around cars for ~10 yrs and both John @ MACarbon and Mandy @ CarbonPart are among the best people to deal with.
This is the second custom CF wrapped part I'm reviewing. Also got this idea after seeing Kicherer's CLK BS. Anyway, I always thought the two plastic rear seat cover pieces look cheap and out of place in the BS. I was able to find this custom CF seller on ebay, goes by the name "CarbonPart", contact person's name is Mandy.
It turns out it's a CF shop located in Taiwan, and they are willing to do any custom real CF wrapped interior pieces. Their price is very good: 350 for both pieces including international shipping!
This also took ~4--5 weeks including shipping time. They took off the vinyl wrapping and re-wrapped in CF. I had them match the weave pattern as close to the OEM CF center console as possible.
This pic compares the weave patterns:
Finished pics: (sorry for the glare, I suck at this photo thing
)The re-install process was harder than I thought. The gel-coat is thicker than original so the fit isn't exactly the same, although I have to say the original fit wasn't exactly perfect either--I could wiggle the bottom piece easily. Overall I think it looks better and more cohesive with the front CF trim pieces.
How's the quality compare to MACarbon? Well you get what you pay for. For 350 I really can't complain. I think the weave is excellent, equal to (if not better) MACarbon's. The gel coat is not as smooth as I wanted though, but I think it's hard to do such a large, curved piece.
One good thing is the excellent service I received. Maybe it helps that I speak Chinese
But Mandy was excellent, provided me with constant updates, finished pics before shipping back to me. I've been fiddling around cars for ~10 yrs and both John @ MACarbon and Mandy @ CarbonPart are among the best people to deal with.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 207
Likes: 3
From: Mid Atlantic
CLK BS
One thing I forgot to mention: After getting the mirror and interior pieces installed, I noticed something interesting: IMHO the OEM interior pieces are somewhat less well finished compared to the outside OEM CF pieces, so the quality of the two aftermarket parts kind of mirror those of the OEM pieces. Overall it looks the way you'd expect from the factory.
