misokisu

I was looking to 'add a little something' to my 05' TL. The wood looking dash kit at veneerz.com caught my eye. Has anybody purchased and installed a 'full-kit' like the one I mentioned? Are these just 'cheap stickers' that peel and fade away with time? And are these kits something the average car owner can install easily? Thanks for your comments

CAHobbs

misokisu, The company your referring to appears to be very reputable, They have a very good warranty and an excellent return policy. Their products are either synthetic or real wood veneers under a UV resistant polyurethane coating.

It's unfortunate that they have suspended sending out free samples because of abuse of this program. None the less, I would contact them by phone to see if a sample can be arranged. Most dealers are more responsive when talking to a live person. This way, you can see for yourself the look and feel of their quality.

Further more, their cover picture of the TL looks great! If I didn't have the dark interior and carbon fiber, I'd have installed this kit!


I have installed several of these kits in the past for different vehicles. They all use a double stick foam tape, The better kits use 3M tape.

I feel the 2 most important things are (1) cleanliness (all surfaces must be very clean) and (2) patience (Taking the time to insure the parts are lined up perfectly before attaching.

If you follow these two rules your dash should come out looking great!

Oh, one last thing, make sure the temperature is around 70 degrees, as this an optimum temperature for the adhesive to work at.

Good luck and post some pictures if you get the kit.

misokisu

about this now. I also found the example picture intriguing, same parchment interior as mine. And I truly appreciate the tips on making this little upgrade a success. I will call and request a sample of the kit material. If it looks like a good thing, then the kit will get ordered. I have one other question though. I may have wiped down some of the interior with the amor wipes for leather. And may have inadvertantly got some on the interior trim. What kind of cleaner is suggested to ensure I have a proper working surface?

CAHobbs

misokisu, that’s a good question.... I was going to recommend you use a multi-surface cleaner like 409 or Lysol or 91 percent alcohol because most kits come with alcohol wipes to prep the surfaces, but to be safe, I would ask the maker of the trim kit what they recommend to remove all traces of the Armor-All so their kit will stick properly.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

misokisu

was a response to my request for a material sample. They claim that they are so strapped by sending samples to Pakistan and Quatar, that they don't do any sample sending anymore. IF they're that hard to get a sample from, I sure as heck am scared to buy a whole dash kit 'blindly' and without recourse. Can anybody suggest another 'reputable' dashkit manufacturer that produces a quality product for the 2005TL parchment interior?

TampaBayTL

I bought a kit from them, but it was not as extensive as the pitured kit..fewer pieces. I also have the Parchment / Woodtrim interior.

Ultimately I just wanted the pieces for the window switch covers on the 4 doors. I decided not to put any other pieces on. I figured I could always add more pieces later if I wanted to freshen my interior look. So far, just those 4 pieces are all I want.

They are fine quality, and stick permanently. I do recommend using some rubbing alcohol to clean the surface. Just don't go nuts outside the area you are planning to apply the applique. Otherwise, you will be trying to get your conditioner to 'match' the area you removed it from that which will not be covered by the plood applique.

Some of these kits are real wood veneer. Others are photo- look appliques. Both have thick clear coatings that make it difficult to decipher which is which anyway. And our TLs have plood accents anyway.

By the way, I will be in Anchorage June 3rd...I love Alaska!

misokisu

How was the match up of the kit parts? And by the way, we got more snow predicted for this weekend (this winter just seems to keep going, and going)

TampaBayTL

The color match is nearly perfect. The grain pattern is not as exact. In my case, I just did the window switches on all 4 doors so it looks OEM. If these peices were right next to the OEM plood...it might be more noticable.

Don't feel bad, it snowed in NYC last weekend too! But here, in Tampa Bay it is sunny, breezy and bone dry at 80F.

misokisu

I suspected that there wasn't going to be a good grain/color match. And the slight difference would be masked, if not placed right next to the OEM trim. So I flipped a coin on the matter, and will order a kit. I'll dress up the back seat area, and see how it looks first If the kit was a mistake, at least it won't be 'in my face' everytime I drive the car!

TampaBayTL

Good idea. I had a similar approach. Although I knew I did not want to utilize the entire kit, I decided to start with a few discreet pieces. After applying them I was satified with the result and have had no desire to add the pieces I had planned (primarily the pieces now offered by Acura for the center console).

You can alway add more later, should you be happy with the results and want to freshen theinterior look from time to time.

I'll be at the Westmark in June,,,,drive by for a look see.

brucedeb1

I highly recommend ordering through exoticwooddash.com. This is the company I ordered my kit from both this car and cars before. Very reputable and customer service friendly. I have had great success with their kits before. Never fade or peel off in any way. The color was an exact match with my TL OEM parts. I can send picks to anyone that pms me.

AcurasGhost

Sorry. Not feelin' that above. Maybe the carbon fiber with the black buttons would look good ... but not the black buttons with the light wood trimming.

DA BLACK ACK

I must concur... not my personal taste but hey, if that's what get's your motor purring...

wolftag

RJANACONDA

iTrader: (1)

way too much some of the pieces might add a little extra like around the buttons with the wood steering wheel but not all of that

J.Edward

Without a doubt the full trim seems a bit overdone.

#1



#2



#3



Moving on, I've been looking for a way to replace the "simulated" wood on my WDP TL with the real thing. Veneerz seems to offer a product which will allow me to accomplish this (see below) but before I bite the bullet and pay out $346 + shipping I was hoping to see if anyone else had used their product or a similar one.

Here's a diagram of the package I'm considering. Note, while many pieces come with this I do not intend to install all of them. My goal is to simply replace the existing simulated wood with the authentic panels and perhaps add a few more pieces where appropriate.

Japanese Veneer Platinum Wood



Parts Diagram (I believe this is the kit installed in Pictures 1 and 2)

maluskills

Definite overkill...looks like it should be in a rap video

J.Edward

I'm with you on that one.

I think if you could replace the existing faux/simulated/fake/whatever wood with thereal stuff, the TL would gain a little class.

Moreover, perhaps a few pieces could be tastefully added (i.e. the wood around the window controls) but slapping on all the pieces... that would just be tacky!

enormus

Not to go off topic, but why the heck does Acura slap a black dash cap and sterring wheel on a tan interior? Too many colors. At least grey and black are in the same family.

maluskills

what dash cap are you talking abt?

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

Man, that is one ugly TL interior!

Wid-TL

Looks like a bit much to me, but that's just my opinion.

Anyone know if there is a company that makes brushed aluminum (or whatever some of the door/dash OEM metal trim pieces are) to replace/cover the carbon fiber?

I have the quartz interior, but just can't stand the cheesy look of carbon fiber!!!

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Ya know wid-TL, i wish I had thought of this sooner...
I have the Parchment/Wood interior, and I just spent $400 buying the OEM carbon fiber pieces that come in the quartz/ebony TL's. I sure wish I had known your dislike for the CF, I would have offered a trade, your CF trim for my wood trim.

BTW, the Parchment on CF looks extra hot!

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

I found the same kit on Ebay and I do not believe it was brushed aluminum but it looked like more of a silver plastic. I will try to find the link.

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ACURA...ayphotohosting

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

The website is www.veneerz.com and here is a pic of the carbon fiber gas tank cover.

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

mustiy

Wow... Way to ruin a car... It may be a matter of taste but some people are lacking the right taste.

Wid-TL

Awesome link, thanks! I just may try this in the brushed silver...

AcurasGhost

Now that I think about that light wood dash kit. It's really over done. It's like someone wearing every peice of expensive brand name clothing they own, every diamond ring the could find and putting as many as possible on each finger, 3 sunglasses on their head, peircing their ears to fit as many large diamonds as possible on it, etc. etc. etc. ....... the wood/carbon fiber trimmings are supposed to be accents to the interior. "Sometimes less is more" ...

But on the other hand ... it's your car, your taste, your money, etc. So if you like it ... do it ... who I am to tell ya what will look best on YOUR car, right?

imo Just my

twigglius

iTrader: (6)

I like the brushed aluminum but I also think it's too much. If you look at the inside of an M3, it has brushed aluminum but it's very limited. This kit would make virtually the entire dash brushed aluminum. I would like to see more, up close pictures to get a better idea of how this would look.

J.Edward

Bumped into these guys on eBay.

Exotic Wood Trim has a 38 piece dash kit for $200.71 as well as a 27 piece dask kit for $114.69. They do offer brush aluminum for anyone who's interested.

If one's wanting to slap on authentic Japanese Veneers than the best place I've found so far is Veneerz. Their 64 piece "authentic Japanese Wood Veneers" run about $346. They do offer Carbon Fiber kits (see picture below) for $346 and metal ones which range from $266 to $346.

As other's have stated, I think installing all the pieces would be overkill

But a few pieces could easily be added in good taste to afford the TL a more refined interior.

A Carbon Fiber Option:

mu1980

If you have the black interior and are looking to add some color.. this one may be appealing in a Medium Burlwood: http://www.exoticwooddash.com/ACURA/...prod47433.aspx

It's 8 pieces to cover up the OEM carbon fiber.

The pieces are 2-3mm thick, though, so if you can stand the pieces sticking out on, say, the door panels, it could be just the thing for you.