EK CF-look Instrument Bezel

[jpestrada115]

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!


Aim: carbon fiber look EK gauge/instrumentation bezel

Required:

(1) Self adhesive carbon fiber look vinyl
(2) Scissors
(3) Sharp cutter
(4) Hair blower (not shown on photo)
(5) MF towel
(6) Tweezers
(7) Ruler & pen
(8) Lots of patience :p

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/materials.jpg

CF-look vinyl:

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/cf sticker weave.jpg


Steps:

This DIY started when I was cleaning my gauge as the instrument lights are already dim. After cleaning everything and I was about to put everything back together, I thought of giving it a new look.

(1) First step up removing the instrument cluster and taking out the bezel.

(2) Next is prepping the bezel. I washed it with dishwashing detergent and thoroughly rinsed it. Wiped dry with MF towel and air-dried.

(3) Trace the bezel on the backing of the CF-look vinyl. Trace line should be around half an inch from the edge of the actual outline of the bezel. Then cut along the trace line.

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/cut CF.jpg

(4) Remove the vinyl backing of the CF-look vinyl then stick onto the bezel. Try to get rid of air bubbles. Then wrap the excess half-inch around the edges of the bezel. Use the hair blower to heat up the edge of the vinyl so that it will be more flexible. This will make it easier to pull the vinyl around the bezel edges. Fix the sticker onto the back of the bezel. Next would be cuting the 3 big holes (speedo, fuel/temp & tach). Remember to leave around half an inch so that you can wrap it arond the edge of the bezel. More important that you do this on these holes. I cut the 'excess' radially then wrapped the smaller flaps around the edges of the gauge holes. Heat up the vinyl flaps before pulling then and fixing on to the back.

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/cutout gauge.jpg

(5) Next would be the small oval holes for the instrument/indicator lights. I did this by slitting a "*" on each hole using the cutter blade. Then repeat the heat-up-by-hair-blower and wrap-around-the-flaps process. Note that the flaps would be really small. You will need the tweezers here to pull the flap, wrap around the edge and fix onto the back of the bezel. Using the tweezers will also prevent dirt from sticking onto the adhesive part if you use your fingers.

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/cutout inst light.jpg

(6) Reinforce the flaps at the back of the bezel (around the 3 big gauge holes and small oval holes). This will minimize the likelihood of the flaps from debonding and pulling back out to the face of the bezel. I used bits of vinyl stickers to do this. Cloth tape will also do. Looks ugly! Ghetto patchwwork.

http://img.techpowerup.org/071101/back reinforced.jpg

(7) The finished bezel! Can’t wait to install it! :)

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/cf bezel.jpg

(8) Assemble the instrumentation cluster. Photo of the bezel installed on the gauge:

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/installed on gauge.jpg

(9) Fit the instrumentation cluster back into the car. Photo:

http://img.techpowerup.org/071029/installed in car.jpg

(10) Lights on! :)

http://img.techpowerup.org/071101/installed in car-illuminated complete.jpg

Enjoy!

Share the love and give a PQ point please... :)

[J_Phongsavan]

very impressive... had an idea using that vinyl but didnt know how to do it proffessionally but now i see... me and cousin will get on to it soon...

[preludacris]

looks good

i'd be worried about how long it will stay stuck down tho.

[kriZy]

WAH!

very nice man.

[Zdster]

Looks like a good outcome, but for the amount of time/effort/cash spent you might as well pick up an ek9 cluster bezzle and be done with it. Thumbsup for effort though.

[turtle187]

WOW AWESOME DUDE, and i dont reakon u wasted ur money man, with extra cf material you can do your door trims or other small areas within the car too.
mind me asking where can this material be bought ???

[jpestrada115]

@ turtle187: that's right - one whole CF-look vinyl roll (shown in the materials) would probably be enough for 3-4 bezels so yes, you'll still have a lot for other parts that you want to wrap with them.

i've seen some of these CF-look vinyl in autobarn but not sure how much they cost.

the one that i used was bought in the philippines - less than $10 for the roll.

[panda[cRx]]

Looks like a good outcome, but for the amount of time/effort/cash spent you might as well pick up an ek9 cluster bezzle and be done with it. Thumbsup for effort though.

he same result with enough for a slab left over:thumbsup:

but yeh i do see your point as the bezels are cheaper than expected, $55 from jdm concept http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63372

[jpestrada115]

^ thanks guys.

yeah, i really like the EK9 real CF bezel. too pricey for that bit for me though as i'm el-cheapo so i went for this DIY (less than $10 all up!). :p i enjoyed doing it and the final product made me feel that the effort was all worth it.

@ preludacris: yeah, that may be a worry. that's the reason why i did the "patchwork" at the back of the bezel to reinforce the flaps - to lessen the chances of the vinyl peeling off. it will definitely start from those flaps as those would be the weakest points.

[MikeyG]

very nice dude and if u made the lights on the cluster abit darker aswell would set it off :D nice job tho

[jpestrada115]

very nice dude and if u made the lights on the cluster abit darker aswell would set it off :D nice job tho

thanks mate. actually the lights became brighter because i cleaned the internals of the gauges/instrument cluster. cleaned the bulbs and replaced the busted and dim ones as well. :)

[jpestrada115]

found another thing to wrap with the CF-look vinyl to use the left over vinyl - A/T shifter base! :) here's the thread for this DIY:

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106615

[Vtec R]

just buy the real deal lol no headache

[turtle187]

rofl no fun if you buy the real deal theres no DIY!

[XP02ED]

nice work on both DIY's dude, does the vinyl bend on rounded spots?

[jpestrada115]

rofl no fun if you buy the real deal theres no DIY!

yeah, it was for the fun of the DIY. :)


nice work on both DIY's dude, does the vinyl bend on rounded spots?

thanks. :D yes it will - have to heat it up a bit with the hair blower to make it a bit softer and give it some flex to bend and wrap around rounded spots.

[XP02ED]

might have to grab 1 aye, my sisters there atm might try some DIY with some interior bits.

[rey2009]

nice DIY!

where did u get this self adhesive cf from?

[jpestrada115]

nice DIY!

where did u get this self adhesive cf from?

from the philippines mate. but there's similar stuff in autobarn.

[rey2009]

wow

u mean u can get this stuff in autobarn????

like carbon fibre sheet?

[Premature Vtec]

+1 for u good stuf

[jdmlvn]

ive seen some hondas on honda-tech putting a layer of clearcoat over the top of it to give it a glossy finish

[dougie_504]

Excellent. Very intricate work there around the holes and edges. I like it, rep for you.

[jpestrada115]

ive seen some hondas on honda-tech putting a layer of clearcoat over the top of it to give it a glossy finish

good idea. if you clear coat the back part of it as well, i'm pretty sure that the clearcoat will also seal and hold the tiny flaps around the holes that was stuck around the edge and to the back.:thumbsup:


Excellent. Very intricate work there around the holes and edges. I like it, rep for you.

cheers mate. in fact the holes was the hardest part of the DIY.

[snk99999]

Good job man

[Ryan_Chandler]

looks great and i've been considering doing this myself, but like someone else said earlier in the thread im a little curious to how long it will hold before lifting. Did you get any lifting/bubbling problems?