Hydro-dipped wood parts

M Darrah

New member
Some of you may have seen this elsewhere, so sorry for the copy-paste. I'm just lazy.

I just got these pieces back yesterday from a local shop. Damn place took two months to get them done. Their excuse was that they were in the process of moving, which was true, but they told me three weeks due to that, then made numerous other promises they didn't keep. Anyway...

My plan was to just lighten my trim up some, because I thought the original was just too "90's bachelor pad", especially on 98 midnight black. I wanted to stick with burl, as my thing is making cosmetic changes to the car that I think Ford would have done to them. I'm not into CF or any of the other wild stuff.

Unfortunately this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. The biggest problem with these shops is that they steadfastly REFUSE to provide samples. There are so many variations, I suppose it's impossible, but still. The shop I went to of course had a bunch of CF samples and some ungodly trashy looking purple skulls and such nonsense, but the only thing they had for wood was a big keychain with about fifty clear plastic "chips" with the translucent films applied. In other words, they were USELESS! So I had to go by what was on the web site which was also USELESS.

Now that I've got them, I'm not sure I'm pleased with the results. I wanted something much warmer looking.

What do you guys think? Be as brutal as you like... or am I just being too negative?

Luckily these are all spares, so I'm in no rush to install them.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, these might look good in an ivory or tan interior.





 
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Lvnmarks

quandoomniflunkusmoritati
I would wan't a little darker for an ebony interior, but your right a grey or tan one would look better.
 

markup97

Lost in Translation
Overall, the process/finished product looks quality. As to the shade/color, it will definitely add some 'pop' to a dark interior. Couple it with some white gauge faces and it might just add some warmth to an otherwise dark interior. I have been contemplating redoing my wood in a DARK Cherry or Black Walnut tinted with Dark Cherry. I think it too would look quite nice in an Ebony interior sporting White gauge faces.
 

steve

With "LOD" Since 1997
i like the OEM better then what you have there for the dark interior, on their own they look nice.
 

LSCmuscle

New member
Luckily these are all spares, so I'm in no rush to install them.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, these might look good in an ivory or tan interior.
I have a nice tan interior to try those out on. Just sayin :love-it:.

On a serious note though, I think it looks pretty good. Maybe a little darker would have looked a touch better as others said, but it still looks good and its unique. Just my 2cents though.
 

driller

El Presidente
Don't let your preconceived opinion diminish your perception. Personally I don't think you'll know how they look until you install them. Far too often I have seen the older interior 'trim kits' look so-so by themselves but they end up looking really look nice after installation.
 

steve

With "LOD" Since 1997
Don't let your preconceived opinion diminish your perception. Personally I don't think you'll know how they look until you install them. Far too often I have seen the older interior 'trim kits' look so-so by themselves but they end up looking really look nice after installation.
After taking a 2nd look i will have to agree with JP. Just tack them in so we can see it complete and it may come together nice.
 

M Darrah

New member
I had these redone at another shop. Not only is the color much better, but the quality of the finish is a hundred times better. The previous film had orange peel, stretch marks, and bumps from debris under the film. These are like glass. Plus, the old color looked like a chocolate milkshake explosion.

Next to the stock piece:



The "fuzz tape" around the openings (actually called "flock tape" but I like "fuzz" better) were barely hanging on. This stuff is impossible to find retail, so I located the manufacturers to see if I could buy a bulk roll or something. In my search for a source, it seems like everyone is looking for this stuff, so I figured I could get my money back by selling it on ebay or something. Unfortunately, my idea of "bulk" fell far short of what they offered. A 56 inch by 100 foot roll :eek-large: was all I could buy, so I gave up on that idea.

My fuzzies were still in decent shape except for the adhesive being dried out, so I found a source for adhesive films that looked like it would work. It did, and only cost $5 for a roll! The fuzz tape has a stiff nylon layer and there was very little adhesive on it luckily, as it was all on the plastic panel openings. The old adhesive came off with Goo Gone, but it was a pain because it would just roll around like snot and stick to everything. After an hour of scraping and wiping, it was finally gone and I applied the new adhesive film. Very sticky, but you have an hour before it fully cures and becomes permanent, so I was able to adjust the things until they were perfect. I'm very pleased with the results. The stuff is really strong and is good for -40 to 176 degrees, so I shouldn't have to worry about my fuzzies coming off any time soon.






Here's the source for the tape. I ordered the clear in 3/8" wide but if I had it to do over, I'd get 1/2" because the fuzz tape is too wide to get two strips from the same length of adhesive. Not that there's any danger of running out, but still...
http://www.findtape.com/product282/...d-PVC-Tape.aspx?cid=41&idx=1&tid=25&info=jvcc
 

95blklsc

New member
The first one doesn't look bad at all, especially on a light interior. I really like the second one. The hyrdo dipped stuff can really come out good as long as the print and operator are really good.
 

Redman

New member
Major improvement,...

..., enjoy!

Adds "pop" to interior and a much more realistic look.
Cheap by any measure.
Cheers!
-Frank
 
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