Want to replace/cover wooden dash trim

[Agentkitten]

Hi all,

Just became a MB owner over the weekend (woo-hoo!), and am now proud driver of a 2000 CLK 230 (or W208?).

LOVE IT

Anyhoo, am considering changing the dash trim which appears to be Burlwood(?) to brushed aluminium and haven't a clue how to go about it. So far I've seen 2 companies that manufacture W208 dash trims; Sherwood and B&I. Neither appear to include the long horizontal strip that goes across the top of the dash in their schematics, and I also don't know whether the trim kit is expected to be stuck over the trim that's there or not. Terrified of getting this wrong and it looking horribily obvious and cheap (although I'm sure there are a number of people who think that I'm crazy for wanting to change it in the 1st place!).

Has anyone done this? Have already tried to search the forums

Thanks in advance,
AK

 

[television]

Welcome to the forum Pleased that you love the car,,they are so nice.

Can you give some detail of the kit that you want to fit

 

[Xtractorfan]

I would expect a trim kit to come with fitting instructions..

 

[Agentkitten]

Thanks very much for the welcome and the replies. I've attached a picture of what I'm thinking about changing. There are 10 pieces:

- Driver & passenger-side seat adjustment surround (circled in picture)
- Strip along both driver & passenger-side doors
- Strip at the top of the dash that runs the full width of the windscreen
- Surround for temperature control panel
- Cover for ashtray and cigarette lighter area
- Surround for gearshift (2 pieces)
- Cover for storage area

The kits that I've come across don't include the strip at the top of the dash, are for left-hand drives, and are in 2D so I would be concerned about the moulded pieces (strips along the doors, strip at the top of dash, covers, outer surround for gearshift).

Has anybody done this before on these forums? Or does anyone have an opinion that they could share? I'm sure the kits come with instructions alright, but I'd love to hear about anyone's experience doing it.

Thanks!

 

[television]

Yes I know the ones that you want to fit,,would I put them in that car = they will always look plastic, they can come off in the sun if the car gets too hot inside, the LHD does not help and limits what you can use. You may still see the wood around the edges

 

[whitenemesis]

First question to ask is was your model ever offered with Alu trim? If so, then the dealers or breakers would be your answer. Dealer parts will be very expensive and breakers very hit 'n miss as to avalability.

What ever you do don't fit an aftermarket kit for all the reasons Malcolm mentions..

BTW, I changed mine from Alu-Linear to Birdseye Maple, dealer parts, cost approx £800! And mine is one of the cheaper models....

 

[Agentkitten]

Wow - V. glad I asked! Def won't touch it with aftermarket pieces. Will look into the brokers and dealers, but I'd imagine that £800 is a bit too much for a bit of trim at the moment. Hadn't planned on spending that!

Thanks so much for the help and advice everyone

 

[Dosco]

Wow - V. glad I asked! Def won't touch it with aftermarket pieces. Will look into the brokers and dealers, but I'd imagine that £800 is a bit too much for a bit of trim at the moment. Hadn't planned on spending that!

Thanks so much for the help and advice everyone

Good question and welcome to the forum you now know where to come in the future for sound advice, best of luck in your search for the replacement trim.

 

[postmastergeneral]

would it not be more effective to remove the trim and spray or paint them?

G

 

[television]

Thats what I did

 

[turbopete]

that looks very slick Malcolm! what paint did you use on your trims?

 

[television]

Just flatted the walnut with 1000 paper, and 1 black coat, flat with 1500, then 2 coats of 2 pack plastic floor paint, each flatted with 1500 in between,, it goes touch dry in 2 mins.
Leave it to cure for 24 hours,flat again with 1500 and then polish with T cut, then plastic polish

 

[turbopete]

floor paint eh? id never have thought of that! it does look great though. almost as though it was standard fit, the finish looks so good! incidentally, can you recommend a decent plastic polish? and where to get it from? my headlight lenses need a bit of a re-furb as they almost failed the mot last year!

 

[television]

Yes plastic 2 pack is hard , and will withstand boiling water.

"Mothers" do a good plastic polish,,that I also used on 129 soft windows

 

[turbopete]

any idea where i can get hold of some?

 

[television]

any idea where i can get hold of some?

For all you need,,let me see if I can find a little bottle to put some in and send it to you

 

[turbopete]

cheers Malcolm. that would be great!