LukasBMW

As most of you know, I "settled" for an SL600 when I could not find the right SL55. I prefer a few things about the SL55 including the interior, so I'm doing some modifications.

Step 1:

SL55 steering wheel. But there is a problem. My SL600 did not have shifter buttons, and I found a great deal on a barley used SL55 wheel with the buttons removed. The solution: Take the wheel to a local guy who has done some upholstery work for me in the past and have him fabricate some blanks. I paid him $40.00. The work is good...not great, but I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a 3 spoke wheel or 4 spoke wheel with paddles that I wouldn't use. Plus you can't really see the back of the steering wheel.

Here is how it came out:












By the way...for those of you who are interested in doing a more extensive interior transformation, I have a standard leather R230 steering wheel that would make a great "core" for the good folks at DCT Motosports. This wheel has the smaller (2.5") shifter buttons. I originally bought this wheel to send to them so they could turn it into something special, but then decided against spending that much money. I'm asking $150.00 for the wheel OBO. Pictures below. It would make a great core and allow you to keep your current wheel on your car until DCT transforms the core into something exotic. The fact that this wheel already has shifter buttons probably means that it would be easier for DCT to convert to paddles if you so desire.








Next up will be a re-wrap of my trim in Carbon Fiber, a new all leather shifter, and custom V1 hardwire with mount.

I will soon have a complete set of 2004 SL600 Burlwood trim (door pieces, center section, ashtray, keyless go shifter, and steering wheel) for sale. It might make a nice upgrade for the SL500 guys or AMG guys who don't like their aluminum trim.

LukasBMW

Step two was to buy a spare set of aluminum trim which I had a friend paint black (to match the car).

I wanted to do carbon fiber trim, but I just could not justify the 4 figure price tag. Additionally, no one in this community seems to have tried painting their trim so I thought I'd be the guinna pig.

The friend that painted these for me used a filler to make the aluminum trim smooth before he painted it black. Had I gotten my hands on a spare wood trim set, I think this step could have been skipped since the wood already has a smooth finish.

Pictures of the aluminum trim before paint:

LukasBMW

Final results:

Before:





After:

(Black trim installed, AMG steering wheel installed, AMG shift knob installed)

Ekselent

Great jobb.... It's look much better now

Sharkster

It looks REALLY good (and makes me want to paint my aluminium trim in black too).

One question though... couldn't you've let your wood trim painted black? I mean... where's the point in getting the aluminium trim parts when you want to have them painted black anyways?

150shot

Great work Lukas! whats the difference between the AMG shift knob and the other one? I thought they were all the same just diff. material?

kustom2k1

I like it!! Did he sand the parts flat? The aluminum has a grainy look/feel to it.

LukasBMW

The original plan was to buy a spare set of trim and have it wrapped in carbon fiber. I got a decent deal on the used aluminum trim and even toyed with the idea of just installing the aluminum trim as I always liked the look. Had my SL been silver in color, I just would have probably installed the aluminum trim. I eventually decided not to have the trim wrapped and painted. Either way I wanted a spare set to play with because I only wanted to pay the shop to do one install (rather the uninstalling my trim, having it painted, and then re-installing it). So basically I picked up a spare set just to simply the swap. I know I’ll be able to sell my set for at least what I paid for the aluminum set so in the end it won’t cost me anything.


The non-AMG knobs always seem to have the wood trim. The AMG knobs are just solid leather and have no wood trim.


He used filler on the aluminum and then sanded down the filler to make it flat. Painting the aluminum trim without filler to keep the grainy look/feel is also an option.

kustom2k1

Thanks for the info. Does the interior smell like paint?

kingnash

+1 for great thread - im going to do this next!

LukasBMW

No. Not at all. But I had the finished trim sitting around for a week or two before I had time to get it installed.

LukasBMW

$1,500.00 for carbon fiber trim.

or

$200.00 to have your trim painted.

Z06KLR

The black painted trim looks awesome!

Sharkster

My ride's exterior is black too and I always wondered how it would look if the interior parts were painted glossy black.

Now, I think I'll do the same to my ride...

andy_meng1024

It actually looks really good! I have the CF wrapped trims now which cost less than $100 DIY but this seems like a good alternative when I'm bored with the wrap!

WHTEVO

That looks way better in black. You guys did a great job.

What's that little toggle switch for near the headlamp switch?

Aaron

LukasBMW

It is the "on" switch for the escort radar system.

(I prefer the V1)

amok55amg

Great job ...... and it looks very professional ....... you certanily shall have the credit for being the first going down that road.

If you still have tis wooden trim and will ship to Europe I could be interested.

Benz-O-Rama

Looks great!

I guess since your SL600 doesn't have the shifter buttons, it wasn't equipped with the 321 AMG package? That package makes a big difference, IMO.

Sir-Boost-a-Lot

iTrader: (1)

Wow that looks great! I like way the gloss black stands out from the other textures of black in the interior. Good job!

sprins

mission accomplished. Old fart interior converted to super-slick!