hi

i bought a metra kit today with a new clarion headunit. I should get everything tomorrow and will do the install. I made a search and read that wet sanding the metra kit and painting it with flat black paint will make the color match the dash pretty close.

what do you guys think? anyone knows a way to make the metra kit match the color of my dash??

thanks

justin

btw what grit should i use to wet sand the kit (if i do it)

 

i tried 5 different paints and none matched any closer than just wet sanding it. i started out with 220, then went 400 then 600-800

 

yeah i just wet sanded mine and it looks almost perfect

 

the wet sanding does look good, but you need the flat black spray paint to make it look near perfect because the sanding will leave some small scratches and other imperfections that a few coats of the paint will fill in and make it look very smooth with an even color throughout. I just used regular 3M paint from Home Depot.

 

thank you all for the tips! I should get the kit and headunit this afternoon, i cant wait

 

thats why you use the fines grit paper you can so it doesnt leave scratches. i couldnt get any paint to match on mine. the upper part of my dash(part that goes around the speedo) is a different color than the lower (part that comes up to the radio) the wetsanding is the closest match to the upper. the dash has a very small flake to its texture and flat blacks dont match (atleast not on mine)

if your going to try to better just the wetsanding match, make something a test panel and try different spray paints on that first to see what is the best match to help eliminate extra work sanding the stuff that doesnt match off just to try it again

 

well guys i just finished installing the headunit and IM LOVING IT

I was able to raise the gain on my amplifier much more than with the Bose headunit so now my system is even louder (much louder ) and i dont have that cheesy engine whine anymore, also i dont hear any noise when the sound is low (background noise or whatever it's called).

As for the metra kit, i wet sanded it using fsttyms1's method, then gave it a few very light coats of flat black paint. Let me tell you, unless you are 1.5' or closer to the dash you cant tell the difference!! I'm really happy with the color thank you guys!

I will post pics tonight!

 

what speakers/subs are you running? i think changing my headunit was one of my best investments

 

Justin be sure to get a few pics up whenver you can.

 

I am changing my aftermarket headunit this weekend back to the OEM because I can't stand the way my dash looked with the custom dash kit.

 

what????????? it doesnt look bad with the metra kit

 

Well, thats not the only reason. The pop up screen was starting to irk me because it covered the HVAC controls. Besides, I listen to the radio more than I watch movies in my car, so I invested into a Alpine XM addon for the OEM deck.

But the dash really was an eye sore.

 

everything but my headunit is from Soundstream. the speakers (Components) are from the van gogh serie. The rear are 2-ways and are also from the van gogh series. The sub is also van gogh, 12", 400w RMS. My amplifier is from the tarantula serie and pushes over 800w RMS. Oh and the box is a slot-ported one from Bassworx. Now im gonna need a capacitor and a new battery, too.

 

check to see if your amps have a regulated or unregulated power supply - if they are regulated, then you wont need a capacitor at all, but an Optima Yellow Top battery wouldnt hurt.