Have you seen a limited edition car from the factory that has an interior that complements the exterior? This is the hottest trend among car manufacturers in dressing the interior up. For example, when you see a sport option offered by a car manufacturer it may have carbon fiber panels; a classy edition may offer different types of wood grain. This is big among luxury cars - the kinds of finish and how real it is. Over the years fixing up the interior of the car has taken a different direction. People don't stop at just re-upholstering the seats, door panel trims and personalized floor mats. Now those days are over; the new trend is to either paint your trim panels the color of your car or to finish the overlaying trim panels pieces made out of exotic material such as carbon fiber and wood grain.
Cosmetic integration is an important part of fixing up your car. It makes your interior flow with the rest of the car. In a car audio system many tend to make a theme throughout the car. This theme could be in matching colors on all trim panels of the interior and trunk area, or cosmetic trim panels which are taped on by double sided tape. This means maybe using exotic materials to match the theme of the car. If, for instance, they used aluminum in the exterior and some interior panels, then the panels around your car audio system could have aluminum accents to follow the theme of the car. Many tend to paint the trunk panels the same color of the car, and leave the interior alone because it is hard to build or match aluminum, carbon fiber or wood grain panels.
Let's talk about some of the options you have for interior panels. The most famous one out there is the dashboard overlay kits. They come in a choice of luxurious real wood or carbon fiber veneer. The kits are cut with a computer aided, CNC Router design/manufacturing system (CAD/CAM). The wood is then enclosed in an epoxy clear coat which allows needed flexibility and durability. These are affixed to your vehicle with 3M adhesive tape. Most of them are usually clear coated for a high gloss finish. These are applied by cleaning the surface with a cleaner and then stuck with double sided tape. They look good , but not like the original panels that would come with the factory option package. These kits run around $250.00 to $350.00 and installation is easy.
They next type is when you actually have a piece of real wood or carbon fiber molded to the shape of the panel - it usually replaces your original panel. This is very expensive and not available for many cars. This method is labor intensive as well.
The third type is the coolest: Photogenesis, the latest technology in decorating 3-dimensional parts. This advanced system allows you to transfer a decorative pigment such as wood grain, carbon fiber, granite, or numerous other patterns to virtually any three dimensional hard surfaced item. Then you buff it to a high gloss finish. So if you have a dash panel or a trim panel that you made you can get it finished just like the real thing. This process requires you to send in your parts; turn around time is about one to two weeks. Many companies are expanding this process to the car audio environment. One company that has been very successful is Car Navigation Systems (888) 928-8000. They are one of the leading companies in the car navigation systems and are always looking for ways to make the navigation installation seamless. Carbon fiber and wood grain are the two finishes offered for TV monitors which are used in car video or navigation systems. This company will match the monitor to your cars finish along with any other panels you want. The end result is a perfect cosmetic integration of the interior and the TV monitor. Prices vary depending on the size of the monitor or the panel you want done.
Check out these Web sites for more information: www.exoticwoodash.com, www.superiordash.com, www.customautotrim.com, www.xfinishes.com, www.bitrim.com, www.selectproducts.com, www.woodcorp.com, and www.carnav.com.