I finally chromed the shift plate for my 02 TL. I spent so much time on this. First I tried about 4 different kinds of spray paint. No good. Then I tried buying a new plate for a 99 from Acura. No Good. (they dont put chrome under the paint anymore). I tried to have the plate dipped in wood trim patter. Too expensive. Then I finally thought, what about vinyl?






Wow, It looks really great. Like the OEM 4 speed but I can still use 1st. It was pretty cheep too. I just bought a small sheet of silver chrome vinyl from www.Rvinyl.com It cost about $21 with shipping (I got some white carbon fiber too - looks kinda cheep)

I spent about 2 hours setting the chrome inside the gate in small sections and then I had to wait 2 days for the vinyl to shrink a little. Then I trimmed and added the top pannel. It took about an hour to trim 2 days later. If I had to do it again I think that I would paint the inside of the shift gate black and only chrome the top. It was a lot of time and you really can't see the effect inside the gate. Anyway it looks great in my opnion! If you get really close you can see where I cut too much from the corners or where the folds overlap, but from 2 feet away it looks perfect. Overall it cost me about $100 to find this cheep, quick, and really good looking sloution. Don't forget to wipe in rubbing alcohol.

 

Wow, looks great...

http://www.rvinyl.com/cart/store.php...on=show_detail

^^ Is this what you got?

 

That's it, Silver Chrome

 

Why'd it cost $21? I figured the smallest sheet would be enough?

 

props to you for originality buddy lookin' good!

 

looks hot!!! good job.

I wouldnt do it because of sun glare on the highway. I have had one instance i can remember where I was thankful the shift plate was a matte finish or I would've gone blind.

But that just added to the bling bling value! Cool mod!

 

i did mine and i never had any problems with glare.. it says dirty with fingerprints anyways

 

WOW....it looks great!!!!!
really well done !!
can you show us the DIY step by step?
cuz I wanna do mine too...thanks.

 

a friend of mine is going to do it for me,he chromes plastic for a living,if any of you guys want i'll get a price for you,it's not with spray paint,it's a whole chroming process.

 

really?
I want!!!
how much?

 

Well, I'm glad you informed us that the 99 gates don't come with the chrome underneath anymore. I was planning to buy one in a couple of weeks! Good looking out.

 

looks good!

 

Interesting - looks good - can you take a closer picture?

 

great f#@kin job!!!!

im jealous!!!

 

sweet

 

I'll find out and let you now.

 

I'm interested too

 

Up Close

 

I got chrome and white carbon fiber. The CF looked cheep, but the chrome looks great. Not perfect, but it makes me happy

 

That's what sunglasses are for.

 

Remove the shift knob by un-screwing it. Someone had trouble with an aftermarket knob, but the OEM one should come right off. Carefully pry up the black plastic sorround. You can do this with your fingers. Dont risk scratching the plate with a screwdriver. Lastly, remove the plate. It un-snaps eaisly if you if you push to the right and pull up lightly then push to the left and it should pull up nicely.

I started with the silver chrome universal wrap viynl from Rviynl.com
I sanded the plate with 400 grit paper to give the viynl something to cling to
Then you clean the plate with rubbing alcohol

I attatched the chrome to the inside of the shift gate in small sections. If I had to do it again I would paint this part black and only put chrome on the top. After 2 days I trimmed the viynl with an exacto blade.

Last you attatch the chrome to the top. Wait 2 days and then trim the excess install and enjoy.

 

very nice......interior looks good, the steering wheel and shift plate give it a more luxurious look.

 

good thinking man. nice werk indeed.

 

damn, that's nice. i want ot do this too.

 

I'm going to pick some up to do the wood grain parts ofthe car... doors, center console liners.

 

very nice, im lovin' it.

 

wow that actually works i was thinking it was too cheap and will fall right off, but great mod. Has anyone tried this on the wood trim panels?

 

me too....

 

does it fall off easily? cuz I m planning to do this mod but I don't think I will do it right.

btw...is anybody here selling your 99 chrome shift plate? let me know thanks.

 

The viynl has been on the plate for a few weeks now and it does not look like it will peel off any time soon. The adhesive is very strong. According to the site you have to use a special adhesive remover to get the viynl off. There are tiny scratches on the paper, but they are only noticable at certain angles. It is a little rough around the edges where I cut out the shift pattern. Other than that I think that it is perfect. I would have liked a 99 plate, but I did not want to loose the ability to lock into 1st gear. This seems to be the best solution. If the paper started to peel up, I would remove it and re-apply new viynl.

 

The viynl has been on the plate for a few weeks now and it does not look like it will peel off any time soon. The adhesive is very strong. According to the site you have to use a special adhesive remover to get the viynl off. There are tiny scratches on the paper, but they are only noticable at certain angles. It is a little rough around the edges where I cut out the shift pattern. Other than that I think that it is perfect. I would have liked a 99 plate, but I did not want to loose the ability to lock into 1st gear. This seems to be the best solution. If the paper started to peel up, I would remove it and re-apply new viynl.

 

Nice job on the chrome vinyl. My shiftplate is discolored. Is there any way to restore it to original by buffing or other means?

 

wow, i wished mine looked like that.


mine is half silver/gray half yellow. i tried the paint method and didn't work. now it's just peeling slowly.. it's on for about 3 months now..

 

I sanded mine first down to the plastic under the paint. You can try that, but it does not look that great. I have painted it several silver colors and they all looked cheep. Some one painted theirs back and it looked pretty good.

I still like the chome look. THere is a link in the first post showing where I got the chrome. You might try it, not too expensive.
Sean

 

Will you guys be willing to pay 45.00 dollars for a true 5 speed chrome shift plate?

 

are you selling one?

 

I might be able to get some in Feb/Mar.

 

really? that's good...
I have been waiting for one since last year....
but 45USD is too expensive...
I think 30USD will be the right price for it.

 

To El pana/TL32:
-If you're really offering a GB on this, I'm in. How serious are you that you can get this done for $45? Let me know when they're available.
Thanks

 

I am in if the price is right and the GB is confirmed