Body colour interior trim, rear speakers & headlights!!

[PAH]

Has anyone here colour-coded the interior trim of their car themselves? My car is arctic silver, and the rear section of the centre console (which you can hardly see) and the door pull bars are both painted to match the silver colour. However, the main part of the centre console (where the window and heated seats switches are) is just black plastic. I'm really keen to colour this arctic silver, but is it an easy job - I don't want the paint to start flaking off in 6 months?

If so, how do you remove this part of the trim to spray it? I can see a screw under the rubber mat right at the back of the lockable cubby box, and there are 2 more under the ash-tray. Can anyone give me advice on what else is needed to remove this please? Whilst I am doing this, I may do the same to the platic trim around the instruments and the fascia around the climate controls/heater vents etc. Again, any advice?

I would also like to install rear speakers if possible. I have the CDR-32 system installed, but it only has front speakers on top of the dash. I have the windstop installed, so have the cubby with sliding doors behind the seats. Is it possible to install speakers in the gaps either side, just behind the top of the seats? Will additional wiring be required, as I know some cars are fitted with rear speakers, and I'm hoping all cars have the same loom?

Oh, and one other thing (sorry to babble on!) - I'm still after the clear front lenses. Can the projector style lenses used for the Xenon system be purchased for normal halogen bulbs? I like the projector lens style (as opposed to the normal huge headlight), but don't really want to go all the way to Xenons if I can help it!

Thanks in advance.

Paul

[Brucelee]

"I would also like to install rear speakers if possible. I have the CDR-32 system installed, but it only has front speakers on top of the dash. I have the windstop installed, so have the cubby with sliding doors behind the seats. Is it possible to install speakers in the gaps either side, just behind the top of the seats? Will additional wiring be required, as I know some cars are fitted with rear speakers, and I'm hoping all cars have the same loom?"

Based on my doing this on a 02 Box S, yes, you will need a wiring harness to be run from the back of the stereo to the back area. It uses a VW harness that any good stereo shop should be able to get for you. This is the cheap part as the harness costs like ten bucks.

Then, you can install speakers in the little cubbies or for that matter, in the center cubby where the doors slide back and forth. The later Bose speaker sits in the center cubby on the Sports Touring model.

You can call a dismantler to see if they have the actual Porsche speakers but I am not sure that will be cost effective. The Porsche speakers sound OK but I am sure you can do better. The upside of the Porsche units is that these would fit perfectly in the openings.

I have done this deal with the Porsche unit and it is worthwhile to have sound coming from the back. I suspect a good stereo shop can do this w/o the hassle of trying to find these Porsche speakers.

Not too expensive a mod if you stay with the stock player and keep a rein on the stereo heads at the shop.

Given the inherent acoustics of the Box, personally, I would not spend tons of money on the speakers. That is just my personal bias.

[insite]

On the painting stuff, i did my interior myself and it came out insanely well. to remove the part you're talking about, just take out the ashtray and remove the screw underneath. The whole part (switches included) will now pop out with a little effort. Pop the switches out and prep for paint.

for painting, contact levine automotive. give them your paint code and they will put the paint in a can for you (it has flex additive included). also purchase some transtar sandable primer and some u-pol clear # 1 (it has all kinds of UV protectants in it).

PRIME:
clean the part thouroughly with soap and water. dry it completely. swab it with acetone. dry it completely. swab it with tack cloth. prepare to paint. spray three medium-wet coats of the primer, waiting ten minutes between coats. wait 24 hours for drying (this is important; if you don't wait this long, you will get pinholes in your finish).

PAINT:
wet sand with 600 grit until smooth. wash w/ soapy water, swab w/ acetone, swab w/ tack cloth. spray two medium wet coats of arctic silver, waiting eight minutes between coats. spray four medium wet coats of the u-pol clear coat. wait eight minutes between the first two, wait an hour for the third, eight minutes for the fourth. let dry 48 hours (DO NOT IGNORE THIS; i know the can says it dries in a few hours; not the case when you're doing the kind of finish i'm describing)

FINISH
lightly wet sand w/ 1000 grit. finish sand w/ 1800 grit (sand until completely smooth; you want to get rid of the 'orange peel' texture). rinse w/ soap and water. use 3M imperial microfinishing compound to buff finish. follow up with a high quality wax. enjoy.



as for the rear speakers, there are some made for the car to fit exactly where you're talking about. the wire harness must be run all the way to the head unit, though.


as for the lenses, the short answer is no. all best.

[insite]

agree w/ brucelee on the necessity of the rear speakers. spend your money on high quality front speakers / head unit / amp instead. a 2-seat car with an excellent front soundstage has no need for rear speakers at all.

[QporscheQ]

That speaker kit is on sale at Suncoast right now. I only know this, because I ordered it yesterday. HAHA. Nice timing.


http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=pna986kit&Category_Code=WS

[Brucelee]

"That speaker kit is on sale at Suncoast right now. I only know this, because I ordered it yesterday. HAHA. Nice timing.


http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/m...ategory_Code=WS"

Great info. If you are handy with electronics, you can do this one yourself.

[Ronzi]

Suncoast almost always has the factory rear speaker kit for sale on E-bay; current bid is $205 vs $215 on their web site. I think the list price is like $325 for the kit.
There is also another vendor on E-bay, selling a kit with supposedly better speakers, and a "Buy-It-Now" price of $235, including the factory speaker grilles.