Hi All,
Spent the past couple days figuring out how to remove, removing, and wrapping my interior trim pieces in 3M Di-NOC Carbon Fiber Vinyl. First, pics of the finished and re-installed trim pieces:
This was the first time I ever tried this and it wasn't perfect...I did everything slowly and very carefully but still made rookie mistakes (e.g. wrong alignment of the trim around the center air vent vs headunit ). The change in color you see in the last pic above was due to lighting and shadows when I took the pic, and NOT because of the material or the wrap. Overall, I'm very pleased with the results and the custom touch it adds to the interior!
DIY Trim Removal
Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics while I was removing the trim so I will try to best describe how I did it through words. Please try this at your own risk. I am, and will not be responsible for any potential damage to your car if you try this for yourself.
Trim around the Headunit
This piece is simply held by a series of clasps/clips on all sides.
1. I used a butter knife and wrapped the blade in microfiber cloth
2. Pick a side you want to attack first and start near the edge. Carefully insert the wrapped butter knife in the edge/seam between where the trim meets the dash.
3. Slowly but firmly start prying the trim and the clasps/clips should release. Start on one side, work your way up, across, down the other side, and back across to release all the clasps and the trim.
You may end up breaking some of the clasps (as I did) as they are simply held together by what appear to be bits of melted plastic. As long as you don't break MOST of them you should be fine -- there's a good amount of German over-engineering here and the trim will reinstall with no issues without having all the clasps in place. Also, the wrap helps insulate the trim so I haven't experienced any rattling etc.
Trim around the Climate Control Functions
This piece is simply held by a series of clasps/clips on all sides. Follow the same process you used for the trim around the headunit. This piece was by far the easiest to remove.
Trim around the Center Air Vents
This, IMO, was the hardest and most involved piece to remove. The entire center air vent unit is held by a series of clasps/clips on all sides and by 2 torx screws that are only accessible by removing the headunit.
1. Remove the trim around the headunit. This will expose the 4 torx screws that are holding the headunit in place. Remove the screws and gently remove your headunit. I didn't bother/have to disconnect any of the wiring -- just gently set it aside.
2. Find the 2 torx screws under the center air vent unit and remove these screws.
3. Using the same butter knife wrapped in microfiber cloth method, slowly but firmly pry the trim through the seam/edge between the trim and the dash. The clips/clasps should release enabling you to remove the center air vent unit.
4. Remove center air vent unit unplugging the hazard light connection.
5. Inspect the unit and you'll see that the trim around the vents are actually removable -- they're held by more clips/clasps. As you can see them, it's a no-brainer on how to disengage them and remove the trim around the vents. The vent fins are also removable once you remove this trim.
6. You're left with just the trim that can be wrapped!
Ashtray Unit and Trim
The entire ashtray unit is held in place by 2 torx screws that are only accesible by removing the shifter boot (I have a manual GTI). These instructions only work for manual GTIs but hopefully someone can chime in for the DSG's.
1. Shift to 3rd gear position.
2. Using 2 hands dig your fingers as much as you can in the edge between the shifter trim and the ashtray trim. Dig your thumbs in the shifter boot feeling for and finding an edge opposite to where your fingers are.
3. Get a good grip and slowly but firmly start pulling towards you and up. This should release the clips on all sides of the shifter. Move the released boot out of the way and you'll see the 2 torx screws holding the ashtray unit in place.
4. Remove the 2 torx screws taking care to not drop/lose them in the car!
5. Lift the ashtray unit up and disconnect the 12V plug and ESP plug.
6. Remove the entire unit by lifting it up and wiggling it a bit as it's a tight fit in the back. You'll see what I mean if you try this, but it will come out after a couple wiggles.
7. Similar to the center air vent, the trim you want to wrap is held to the ashtray unit through a series of clips/clasps that you can see and disengage. I had to break the 2 clips on the left and right side of the trim -- again, you'll see what I mean if you try this. If you find a way to release the trim without breaking these 2 clips, kudos to you! Once done, you have the trim free and ready to wrap!
8. I wrapped the ashtray deck/door as it remained connected to the ashtray unit.
Horizontal Dash Trim Pieces (1 long piece passenger side, 2 shorter pieces driver side)
These pieces are simply held by clasps/clips. Follow the same method as described in the trim around the headunit. One difference is these pieces have a "hook" so take note of that as you'll need to put that in first before snapping the rest of the trim back in place when you're done wrapping.
Door Trim
TBD -- ran out of material so haven't removed/wrapped these pieces! I'm hoping they're just clips/clasps as well and that you don't have to disassemble the door panel to get them out! If you've done this, please add your 2 cents to this thread!
Wrapping
The 3M Di-NOC CF Vinyl is adhesive based but the key thing is that it can be stretched with heat (I used a heat gun) which helps tremendously with the curves, edges, and corners of the trim pieces; and with overall tightness of the wrap with no air pockets/bubbles. It's very durable and of great quality -- absolutely top-notch material!
We'll all have our own way of working with the material and I've tried to describe my method below. Feel free to add your own tips/tricks in this thread!
1. Clean the trim surface with rubbing alcohol.
2. Lay the trim on the material so you know how much CF vinyl to use.
3. Cut out the material you want to use based on the trim piece. Make sure you leave enough overhang so the material can wrap AROUND an edge/corner. The only time I didn't leave an overhang was for the ashtray deck/door as the edges will be hidden by the rest of the trim you've wrapped (you'll see what I mean if you do this). I also cut out the holes for those trim pieces that have hole-areas (i.e. headunit trim, center air vent, ashtray trim, climate control trim)
4. Partially remove the paper exposing a section of the adhesive backing and stick it to the trim making sure it's secure and rubbing in/spreading out so there's no air bubbles. After that section is secure remove the rest of the adhesive piece by piece following the same process until the entire trim surface is covered by the wrap.
5. I heated the edges and corners so that I could stretch and wrap the vinyl around the edge and corners -- working section by section. KEEP NOTE OF THE CLASPS/CLIPS AND MAKE SURE YOU DON'T WRAP THEM! Make sure they remain free and unhindered so they can clip back on when you reinstall the trim piece
Re-install
Reverse the steps for the specific trim you've wrapped and are now re-installing. Stand back and enjoy the end-product! :w00t:
I had a lot of fun (mixed with fear and frustration), and a nice sense of accomplishment in removing and wrapping my interior trim pieces! I hope this has been helpful for others and, as always, feedback, comments, questions etc. are always welcome!
Spent the past couple days figuring out how to remove, removing, and wrapping my interior trim pieces in 3M Di-NOC Carbon Fiber Vinyl. First, pics of the finished and re-installed trim pieces:
This was the first time I ever tried this and it wasn't perfect...I did everything slowly and very carefully but still made rookie mistakes (e.g. wrong alignment of the trim around the center air vent vs headunit ). The change in color you see in the last pic above was due to lighting and shadows when I took the pic, and NOT because of the material or the wrap. Overall, I'm very pleased with the results and the custom touch it adds to the interior!
DIY Trim Removal
Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics while I was removing the trim so I will try to best describe how I did it through words. Please try this at your own risk. I am, and will not be responsible for any potential damage to your car if you try this for yourself.
Trim around the Headunit
This piece is simply held by a series of clasps/clips on all sides.
1. I used a butter knife and wrapped the blade in microfiber cloth
2. Pick a side you want to attack first and start near the edge. Carefully insert the wrapped butter knife in the edge/seam between where the trim meets the dash.
3. Slowly but firmly start prying the trim and the clasps/clips should release. Start on one side, work your way up, across, down the other side, and back across to release all the clasps and the trim.
You may end up breaking some of the clasps (as I did) as they are simply held together by what appear to be bits of melted plastic. As long as you don't break MOST of them you should be fine -- there's a good amount of German over-engineering here and the trim will reinstall with no issues without having all the clasps in place. Also, the wrap helps insulate the trim so I haven't experienced any rattling etc.
Trim around the Climate Control Functions
This piece is simply held by a series of clasps/clips on all sides. Follow the same process you used for the trim around the headunit. This piece was by far the easiest to remove.
Trim around the Center Air Vents
This, IMO, was the hardest and most involved piece to remove. The entire center air vent unit is held by a series of clasps/clips on all sides and by 2 torx screws that are only accessible by removing the headunit.
1. Remove the trim around the headunit. This will expose the 4 torx screws that are holding the headunit in place. Remove the screws and gently remove your headunit. I didn't bother/have to disconnect any of the wiring -- just gently set it aside.
2. Find the 2 torx screws under the center air vent unit and remove these screws.
3. Using the same butter knife wrapped in microfiber cloth method, slowly but firmly pry the trim through the seam/edge between the trim and the dash. The clips/clasps should release enabling you to remove the center air vent unit.
4. Remove center air vent unit unplugging the hazard light connection.
5. Inspect the unit and you'll see that the trim around the vents are actually removable -- they're held by more clips/clasps. As you can see them, it's a no-brainer on how to disengage them and remove the trim around the vents. The vent fins are also removable once you remove this trim.
6. You're left with just the trim that can be wrapped!
Ashtray Unit and Trim
The entire ashtray unit is held in place by 2 torx screws that are only accesible by removing the shifter boot (I have a manual GTI). These instructions only work for manual GTIs but hopefully someone can chime in for the DSG's.
1. Shift to 3rd gear position.
2. Using 2 hands dig your fingers as much as you can in the edge between the shifter trim and the ashtray trim. Dig your thumbs in the shifter boot feeling for and finding an edge opposite to where your fingers are.
3. Get a good grip and slowly but firmly start pulling towards you and up. This should release the clips on all sides of the shifter. Move the released boot out of the way and you'll see the 2 torx screws holding the ashtray unit in place.
4. Remove the 2 torx screws taking care to not drop/lose them in the car!
5. Lift the ashtray unit up and disconnect the 12V plug and ESP plug.
6. Remove the entire unit by lifting it up and wiggling it a bit as it's a tight fit in the back. You'll see what I mean if you try this, but it will come out after a couple wiggles.
7. Similar to the center air vent, the trim you want to wrap is held to the ashtray unit through a series of clips/clasps that you can see and disengage. I had to break the 2 clips on the left and right side of the trim -- again, you'll see what I mean if you try this. If you find a way to release the trim without breaking these 2 clips, kudos to you! Once done, you have the trim free and ready to wrap!
8. I wrapped the ashtray deck/door as it remained connected to the ashtray unit.
Horizontal Dash Trim Pieces (1 long piece passenger side, 2 shorter pieces driver side)
These pieces are simply held by clasps/clips. Follow the same method as described in the trim around the headunit. One difference is these pieces have a "hook" so take note of that as you'll need to put that in first before snapping the rest of the trim back in place when you're done wrapping.
Door Trim
TBD -- ran out of material so haven't removed/wrapped these pieces! I'm hoping they're just clips/clasps as well and that you don't have to disassemble the door panel to get them out! If you've done this, please add your 2 cents to this thread!
Wrapping
The 3M Di-NOC CF Vinyl is adhesive based but the key thing is that it can be stretched with heat (I used a heat gun) which helps tremendously with the curves, edges, and corners of the trim pieces; and with overall tightness of the wrap with no air pockets/bubbles. It's very durable and of great quality -- absolutely top-notch material!
We'll all have our own way of working with the material and I've tried to describe my method below. Feel free to add your own tips/tricks in this thread!
1. Clean the trim surface with rubbing alcohol.
2. Lay the trim on the material so you know how much CF vinyl to use.
3. Cut out the material you want to use based on the trim piece. Make sure you leave enough overhang so the material can wrap AROUND an edge/corner. The only time I didn't leave an overhang was for the ashtray deck/door as the edges will be hidden by the rest of the trim you've wrapped (you'll see what I mean if you do this). I also cut out the holes for those trim pieces that have hole-areas (i.e. headunit trim, center air vent, ashtray trim, climate control trim)
4. Partially remove the paper exposing a section of the adhesive backing and stick it to the trim making sure it's secure and rubbing in/spreading out so there's no air bubbles. After that section is secure remove the rest of the adhesive piece by piece following the same process until the entire trim surface is covered by the wrap.
5. I heated the edges and corners so that I could stretch and wrap the vinyl around the edge and corners -- working section by section. KEEP NOTE OF THE CLASPS/CLIPS AND MAKE SURE YOU DON'T WRAP THEM! Make sure they remain free and unhindered so they can clip back on when you reinstall the trim piece
Re-install
Reverse the steps for the specific trim you've wrapped and are now re-installing. Stand back and enjoy the end-product! :w00t:
I had a lot of fun (mixed with fear and frustration), and a nice sense of accomplishment in removing and wrapping my interior trim pieces! I hope this has been helpful for others and, as always, feedback, comments, questions etc. are always welcome!
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