CL-Z

A while ago I decided I wanted two-tone interior just like the CL's with parchment/taupe color.

So I color dyed the top half of the doors, dash and rear panels, black. And I started covering all of the wood piece with this simulated carbon film (which looked okay). But then when I got to the center console wood piece I realized it was going to be impossible with all the curves.

So now I decided on a new color scheme.

I will be posting 3 pics in a row, the fist of which was the two-tone black/charcoal and carbon fiber trim, the following 2 are new and I will explain it in the last post.

CL-Z

2

CL-Z

The plastic wood pieces where sanded with 1500 paper and coated with 3 coats of PPG automotive paint (metallic charcoal) and then 4 coats of automotive clear coat. The rest of the door was color dyed flat black aside from the leather insert, which was dyed in silver.

I will post more pic once the entire interior is complete.

99CL

that looks really nice. To bad my interior color is tan, and can't due much about that. But I really like what you did. You're going to have to take apart your whole dash, cause how are you going to take off those big wood trims?

Padger

I have noticed a coupe people have died dash pieces. How exactly is this done? I know you take off the pieces, but then what? What type of die do you use? How long does it have to sit for? I'd love to put that flat black in my car!

Luckyax2

BUMP
this is something I have always wanted to do and have no clue how too

some1

Ya, I really like that. It looks sweet. But I how did you do the dash. Good luck taking out those wood trim pieces without breaking them...very hard, or so I here! Great job on the color choice...I love black and silver.

Bitchin' CL

wow, that looks really nice, what color was your original interior?

VXCL

i have cloth interior heh. would u belive the first cl i test drove at the dealer was a white 3.0 cl w/ blue cloth interior!!!!!!!!! wtf was acura thinkin??? i was like thanx for the free ride butr the interior sukz my assssss

q2slinger

I hate the fake wood in our cars. Your paint job on the plastic wood looks awsome. Can't wait to see the finished interior.

Vitamin CL

Damn, that looks nice! It's gonna be a pain in the ass to remove the woodgrain piece from the dash...lookin forward to seeing the pics..

CL-Z

The original color was Charcoal.

I had dyed the top half of the dash and door panels black, a few months back(there is a post in here somewhere).

Once the part to be colored has been removed, it must be cleaned. I use dish soap and water and a brush........sort of like a nail brush.

The dye is then applied and it soaks in quickly. The pieces are usually dry in about 15 minutes.


I took the wood piece off my dash and it did break. I had to order a new one. But now I know how it comes off without breaking it. There are 3 screws that hold the center piece in place. One is easily accessed by opening the glove box. the other two are screwed in through two holes on either side of the A/C control panel and into the wood piece. In order to remove it w/o breakage you must remove the center console, controls and radio. Once that is out, there are two screws that hold the A/C control panel in place, they are on the underside of the panel. This should allow you to slide out the A/C panel and attached wood piece.

The other little piece w/ the sunroof control is simple.
Remove the lower plastic piece that is under the steering wheel and you should be able to reach up under the dash and using a short stubby phillips screwdriver, remove the trim piece, if I recall there are just 2 screws.

Padger

Ok, could you give more specific details about coloring? One thing, I don't know how to remove panels. If anyone has instructions, please let me know. CL-Z, what kind of dye did you use? Is it something like RIT, or a special dye? Where can you get it? How much do you need? How much does it cost? My interior is charcoal, and I have always wished it had black. Also, where did you get the replacement wood piece for the one you broke? Thanks!

CL-Z

Door panel removal:

1. ROLL DOWN BOTH WINDOWS remove the triangular plastic piece at the top inside corner where the glass is closest to the door hinge.....just pull on it, it will pop out. Just below that triangle piece, on the surface of the door panel, you will see a round plug, pull it out too.

2. look in the area where the door armrest start to turn into the door closure handle (that is a technical term), there will be a small rubber like plug that conseals a vertical screw, remove both.

3. under the backside of the window control switch(s) there will be a small phillips screw, remove it, this should allow you to pop out the switch(s) and unplug them

4. in the same area as the switch(s) screw the door closure handle will have another screw going horizontal into the door, remove it.

5. behind the door opener handle is a round plastic plug that swings out, behind that is another screw, after removing this screw, pull the handle like you where opening the door and hold it there, you should now be able to slide the black plast piece (with the door lock switch) toward the rear of the car, and then it will slide over the handle, you will also have to unplug the lock switch.

6. Now starting at the lower end of the door panel closest to the little light, pull the panel away from the door, it will make a 'pop' noise, there are several of these, about 9, but after you have popped off several along the bottom and back edge, you will have to unplug the light. It helps to have someone hold in the light switch b/c that damn light gets hot quickly. You will have to reach under and sqeeze a tab on the wire harness while pulling downward. The tab islocated between the harness and back side of the light.

7. THIS PART WILL IS EXTREMELY HELP FULL, ESPECIALLY WHEN RE-ATTACHING THE DOOR PANEL the door handle and lock assembly has two screws securing it to the door frame, remove them and just let the assembly sit there.

8. if you have popped the panel away, it should swing out from the bottom hinged only at the window sill. (If you are working on the drivers door, you still need to disconnect the alarm LED) the panel should swing out a little bit and then you can slide it upward and off of the window sill.

Rear Seat Removal:

1. located in the 'ass' crack of the rear seat (between the lower and upright portions) there are (4) bolts. Remove them all.

2. the back or upright portion of the seat will now slide upward a few inches and you can then pull it out of the car.

3. the lower cushion has two clips under the front edge of the seat (between the seat and carpet) you have to pull up on the seat and the clip at the same time to remove this part.

Rear Panel Removal:

1. after the rear seats are out, remove the phillips screw located in the deep hole that was once concealled by the rear seat.

2. between the door jamb and rear panel the is a strip of rubber weather stripping, pull this away from the jamb to expose the edge of the panel.

3. the panel should now 'pop' away from the vehicle's sub frame similar to the front door panels



IF ANYONE KNOWS THAT I HAVE MISSED SOMETHING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.....BUT I THINK THAT IS ALL

CL-Z

Oh yeah.......I used vinyl/leather/carpet dye.

It comes in a spray can for like $5 bucks a can. I estimate that the total cost for dye will be $40 when I finish.

Some people have complained about the stuff but I did the top half of my dash and door panels about 4 months ago and haven't had one problem. I think the key is to make sure the parts are thoroughly cleaned be applying the dye.

CL-Z

Okay....I got the rear seat and rear panels finished last night.

I still have to do the seat belts and rear deck lid, but I decided to put the panels and seat back in...........I thought I might have to drive people around this weekend, plus the excessive road noise and sloshing noises from the gas tank were driving my nuts.

So here is the latest pic............

acinteg10

HEY PADGER IF YOU DECIDE TO DO IT TO YOUR CAR LET ME KNOW SO WE CAN DO IT AT THE SAME TIME CUZ I WANNA DO THAT ALSO TO MY CAR HOW BOUT THIS I BUY THE PAINT FOR UR CAR AND YOU TAKE CARE OF MINE IN THE SENSE ON PAINTING THE INSISDE ALSO ?? DEAL LET ME KNOW WAS UP OK HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON

Padger

So you buy the $5 paint and I do the work? I don't know about that, but I can't do anything right now cause my car is in the shop for a couple weeks (ouch!). If you want to work on them together, that's cool cause I don't know a whole lot about taking apart the interior. If anyone has advice, let me know!

acinteg10

well ok just let me know when ur down to do it about taking a part the interior i have no clue but i think they tell u some what how to do it in some replys before ours

acinteg10

HEY CL-Z BY ANY CHANCES DO YOU HAVE MORE PICS OF THE INTERIOR OF YOUR CL IM VERY CURIOUS TO SEE MORE ON HOW THIS IDEA IS COMING OUT???

CL-Z

I had planned on finishing most of it this past weekend....but I ended up partying the whole time.

I will continue to post pics as I complete the interior.

acinteg10

Dude I'm so down to do that to my car in black where the wood trim is but don't wanna freaking take apart anything is there any easier way to do it ??? Also how the hell did you do the center console cuz that looks like a mission to do ????

Luckyax2

today I wrapped my door panels, rear top panels in white and covered my wood dash in black. I used systhetic leather vinal, spray adhesive, a lot of cutting, and a 4 hour window frame. When using the spray adhesive let it sit enough to get tacky, yet not dry. Stretch it really good and be sure you havecut your holes for the screws. Once i get the window pieces done I will post pics. If you want to see the fabric I USED to have in there look at my post in the Picture section under Evolution Cl... dust was nice enough to post it for me

CL-Z

Here is a pic of the center console.....................sorry the picture didn't come out that good, plus I had to rotate it.

D73

Fckin' awesome dude!!!! I love the look. You must've spent a lifetime on all the custom work, but man, it is SO worth it! Good job!

97CL2.2

Hey CL-Z... Looks great and much respect to all the time you spent informing on how to take apart the interior... Although i have never had any reason to take out my back seats, now i know how many bolts to look for... I just might need that info. one day.

Very original...

CL-Z

Thanks CLr's.........it is a slow process but at the same time it is fun. I hope to be finished with the interior and body kit by the end of the month. The interior will probably be finished this weekend, so I will post more pics.

As far as originality, I can only take credit for the color change. I initially wanted a carbon fiber dash to replace the wood. That ended up being too difficult so I painted the pieces instead. But that had already been done by Ross.

Thanks again.

Padger

What do you mean the carbon fiber would be too difficult?

acinteg10

Hey Padger you already started on your interior ??? Dude I thought we were going to do it together ???

PoPlaya

that looks clean as fuck bro.....that's hella nice.....

q2slinger

You are the man!

Bitchin' CL

Amen brotha!

Padger

My car is still in the shop! They keep telling me one day, then it is a couple days later. I was supposed to get it back about 2 weeks ago and they still haven't painted yet. I'll holler when I get it back.

acinteg10

ok kool

CL-Z

The simulated carbon fiber material I was using is thick vinyl based sticky sheets, which actually works and looks suprising good. The only time it is difficult to work with, is in a case where there are multiple curves and/or changes in the surface to be covered. The center console piece was just going to be too hard to cover and the stuff would have probably peeled or bubbled.

CL-Z

Thanks for the props!!!

Padger

Gotcha. Well how thick was it? I have seen on ebay some carbon fiber sheets that aren't too thick. I just don't want to have that wood anymore. I like your black interior, but the wood just doesn't go. I guess I will have to try something with a black leather wrap or something. I'm planning on keeping my CL for a while, so I don't want it to bubble or peel! I wonder if you can sand it down and stain it black like the dark burlwood in the 2nd Gen CL's?

acinteg10

Hey Padger was up ??? You finally got your CL ??? Let me know if your still going to do the painting of the wood trim to a different color man cuz im going to need help taking apart those parts with the wood trim OK Lats.

Padger

No CL. It seems the shop just likes to have my car there. They haven't been able to paint too much because it is raining... or some shit like that. But hey, I just broke the $9K mark for repairs! As far as taking apart the dash and pannels, I don't know Jack! So I'm no expert or anything. I'll holler when I get her back...

acinteg10

OK KOOL LATS