Hi Everyone,
I really wanted a chromed shift plate, so I followed the lead of ElPana. I was asked by the rep. at Chrome Tech USA (http://www.chrometechusa.com/autoplate.html)
to buy a new shifter plate (I guess they might have a poor result if the finish on the existing plate wasn't prefectly smooth). I got mine from Bell Acura in Phoenix, AZ for $51 (it's a whole assembly), then had it shipped to Chrome Tech USA (in Wisconsin). It was $30 to perform the vacuum metalizing. I guess it's hard to get plastic perfectly chromed, and Chrome Tech did a pretty good job, it's just that there are a few minor imperfections. I would rate the job an 8.5-9/10. Overall, it looks good in the car. My brother is checking out a different metalizing site, http://www.mmmetalizing.com/pricing.html
so if the piece he sends them looks any better, I'll be sure to let you know.

Overall, it was ~ $80 to do everything. Yeah, I know it's a high price, but it does look good. You can see the minor defects in the region of the 'P' and 'R' windows.

Anyway, here's some pics:

New and Old:



Installed:



Darker pics so you can see the defects:



In the daylight:



The whole dash:




Let me know what you think. I, like El Pana would like to hold a GB to do this for others interested, but $200 to hold the GB is a little much for an individual, so unfortunately, I guess if anyone wants one, the best way is to contact one of the vacuum metalizers. If my brother's piece comes back even better than what I have (he's sending them a test piece to have 'chromed'), I'll probably look to sell the existing plate done by Chrome Tech, and have my original plate done by M&M Metalizing.

 

Great feedback! Yours came out exactly the same from the pictures. The problem with the process is that it requires to many steps, therefore leaving room for potential contamination (dust particles) in the air that will not allow a "perfect" finish.

All in all, for those of us wanting the chrome look, it's well worth the time and money. I agree with erdoc48, if you want it, look for companies that have experience in vacuum plating.

The ideal situation will be to find a company that has a true sterilized environment that will ensure a pure and perfect finish, then and only then it will be perfect. But considering the alternative, it's great!

Great work men!

 

i think it look great.

 

Looks Good!

 

Yeah indeed looks good...but I wish my trim is not wood

 

dont worry about the defects, because it will now scratch VERY easy. so after time you will have quite a few small scratches on it anyway. Just try to keep metal away from the area and dont wipe it with any napkin or dirty cloth and you should be good to go (I speak from experience). I took my stock '99TL shift plate down to the original chrome finish over 2 years ago. For that long of time, it does look very good still actually

 

I believe you're right- I was given some alcohol soaked cloths by the metalizer and was clearly instructed not to use Windex on the plate as I guess it will dull and ultimately remove the finish. On the 99 TL plates, were they the equivalent of vacuum metalized and then coated with the gray/ silver paint? My stock plate actaully held up pretty well, and I was careful not to rest anything on the shifter plate, so I guess I'll be even more careful now.

 

I may have to look into this. Thats one thing I loved about my 99, and I definately miss it! I still wonder how we ever figured out there was chrome under that plastic in the first place!

 

what u do to ur steering wheel....i like it! is that just a leather wrap???

 

looks great!!

hey quick question, is some of the wood trim just sticker based? im buying a TL tomorrow and the guy swore that the wood trim was stock and he bought it like that but since it looked like it was a slap on sticker i didnt beleive him..

 

Looks great.. but 80 bucks??

For my '97 I ordered a 2004 RL shiftplate for $19 from an Acura dealership.

 

First, the leather wrap for the steering wheel is a Wheelskins brand wrap- they run ~$45 (www.wheelskins.com). Mine has been on a year because I had some minor discoloration of the leather of my steering wheel. The cover is of real high quality. The wood trim in the TL is not all over the dash- from the factory, the wood trim (actually plastic) runs down both sides of the console and is on the doors as a wide strip. The dash kit is known as a flat dash kit- these have adhesive on the back (typically in the form of a 3M tape type adhesive), and require an adhesive accelerator (similar to super glue). It is a high quality kit, and is permanent, so it's not a flimsy sticker. It just might not be to everyone's taste, but I like the appearance. Lastly, $80 is a decent amt. of $$$ to do the shifter plate, but like I had mentioned, the Chrome Tech rep wanted to work on a new piece, I guess to make sure the outcome would be optimal. If anyone wants to do this plating project, and your existing plate is in pretty good shape (no paint chips or gouges), then the cost is only the $30 to metalize it (plus a few bucks more to ship back and forth). Acura doesn't just sell the plate, as you have to buy an assembly that includes the plate, and that is $51.

 

thanks for answering question.. didnt one member say that it was actually chrome or something underneither the polate and he sanded it down to get the chrome color ?

 

The oem wood trim is a sticker based material.

That was ONLY on the 99. the 2000+ was just painted (and you dont sand the color off, you use a paint or graffiti remover to get the color off)

 

lol thanks for answering my quesstion.. looks like the trim is coming off then! it woulda been hella funny if i started sanding down my 2000 shiftplate.. LOL

 

Trim coming off?

 

Chrome plate looks nice.....I would like to do that, but I'm too lazy to go through the trouble,.

 

the 99 shift plate doesnt need to be sanded.. wiping with paint thinner will remove the coating!

 

Yeah, it looks good. Have you had any problems with it scratching easily? I've been trying to decide what to do with my shift plate because it is scratched up a little. But I've heard that people that chrome them say it scratches very easily.

 

Luckily i have a 99TL so i didnt have to worry about spending 80 bucks for a chrome shift plate. WOOT WOOT.

 

I just being real careful not to rest anything on it- my stock plate held up real well, and I never really treated it with extreme care, so I hope this will last- so far, so good.

 

hehehe That's TRUE...

 

Hey man...my TL has wood trim on it...which I hate !!!! but yeah it's sticker based material just like ftfmsys...(sorry if your nick name spell wrongly man, too long :P)
and the quality in my opinion is not so good...
I was planning to take it off, but my friend who has Maxima said his friend having a hard time to clean up the sticky element from the sticker itself. So I dunno

 

Looks good. That will be one of my last editions to my car once I've finished all my performance mods. Nice job!

 

looks great! i'm still debating this mod. and ur the only other person besides me (that i know of) that has that shifter!

 

Looks good! I'd lose the dildo shifter though and get the smaller burlwood one.

 

Much easier to use graffiti remover.