Dash Kit Installation
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One nice way to improve the insight of your car is to supply it with wood dash kit. There is no need to buy an expensive vehicle to get benefits from the addition of dashboard trim to your original factory dash kit. Today car owners are always seeking for variants to restyle their cars and SUVs. Mounting the dash kit to your ride is very easy. Spending low efforts and time, you will greatly raise up the value of your car. Following the installation step-by-step instruction below will help you to commit an easy and quick mounting of the newly bought dash trim kit on your automobile.
Right now I’m going to take you step by step through the installation of your trim kit. I would suggest that you first read this article through to the end before you begin the installation. Then you can restart reading, pausing when you work on each step. At the first step of the process make sure that you have correct part numbers for your particular application. Kits may be different for automatic and manual transmission, 4-wheel driving and so on. So you need to check that before beginning. The schematic will be supplied with you kit which will help you to identify all the individual parts. And it is a good idea to keep this schematic with your warranty card for future reference if you ever need a replace a damaged part. The items included for the installation are:
– 3M Prep-Sol 70 wax and grease remover;
– Adhesion promoter;
– alcohol napkin;
– paper towels;
– a pair of latex gloves.
In addition you will need a heat gun or a hair drier, standard screwdriver and a scratch resistant fabric. Before starting any work use a plastic cover to protect the surfaces of the vehicle from damage. Then separate trim parts from the packing material. The actual installation begins with by test fitting each trim piece to its proper location. This allows you to check the fit of each piece as well as to familiarize yourself with its mounting location. At this time you will want to know the easiest way to properly align each part.
Check for the most obvious straight lines such as switches, vent or radio cuts out for a correct positioning. Because the wood trim is flat you will need to note areas which will require special attention if the need a bending to match sharp curves. Remember you’re installing real wood and you want to make sure it’s flexible enough before test fitting to an area. Therefore we recommend that if the temperature is below 80 degrees Fahrenheit you should use a heat gun or hair drier or the vehicle’s heating system to raise temperature to between 80 and 100 degrees on the trim components. Use a low heat setting of the heat gun or hair drier and continuously moving with a back and forth motions to prevent an overheating and damaging the surfaces. The heat gun or hair drier should be 6-7 inches from the surface of the wood. However, if you are using a home type hair drier, you will need to head wood trim longer to reach the desired flexibility. It is very important to properly clean all the factory surfaces, to which the trim parts would be applied. DO NOT use the sharp fabrics for cleaning this factory surfaces or panels. Instead use soft towels and the special wipes provided. Do NOT reuse towels on the cleaning steps as they become contaminated. Apply 3M Prep-Sol 70 to a fresh towel to clean the factory surfaces. Then wipe the surfaces dry with a clean towel.
DO NOT spray or pour the cleaner directly on the factory surfaces. If the vehicle’s surfaces were protected by special covers, you will need to repeat the cleaning process for 5 times. An easy test to check your cleaning process is to stick a piece of masking tape to a clean surface. If the tape does not properly stick, repeat the cleaning steps. When the interior surfaces are properly cleaned with 3M Prep-Sol 70, use the alcohol napkins to thoroughly wipe down the surfaces then allow them to air dry. Now you will again fit each trim piece paying close attention to the operational switches, vents, ash trays, cup holders and so on. When each individual part is properly positioned, trace around the outside edge with the pencil. This will mark the area to be treated with adhesion promoter. Carefully apply the adhesion promoter to the areas in the trace line. If any promoter was accidentally applied to the areas not to be covered with new trim parts, you must immediately wipe it off before it dries. Use a clean towel wet with alcohol and carefully wipe the area. DO NOT apply extra pressure as it could remove color from the factory panel. When the promoter has dried for 3-4 minutes you are ready to begin the application of the trim parts. Carefully remove the protecting backing tape from the trim pieces. Then heat both sides of the wood trim and the factory surface to which the trim will be applied. On larger parts you will need to pull off the section of the backing, position the piece, and then remove the rest of the backing as you laid the piece to its place.
Be careful not to touch the adhesive backing of the panels. When you are heating the trim components and the factory surfaces between 80 and 100 degrees, remember to use a low heat setting and keep the heat gun or hair drier moving at all time. It is VERY important to align each part before application because once installed, removing the particular part may damage it or the surface it was adhered to. Carefully hold the trim piece at a slight angle to the surface it will be mounted on. Starting with one edge properly align the piece to its position as you lay it down. Check the proper operation of the switches, vents and other moving parts. Press the trim firmly at the place, using your finger tips. Pay the particular attention for the parameter of each piece. Then press the whole part firmly with a clean towel to ensure proper adhesion. With all the new trim parts in place you now need to recheck the operation of all moving parts of the interior. Check them up and down and side to side movements of all vents. Check the proper operation of the window and door lock switches and all other moving parts. Then remove finger tips and smudges from the panels with a dry and scratch resistant fabric. The installation is now complete. Place the warranty card in a glow box and impress everybody with your newly upgraded vehicle.