Alpine HCE-C105 Backup Camera Plate Mounting - Tricks Of The Trade

The best way to make a piece that needs to be symmetrical is to make half of the shape, then flip the shape over to duplicate it on the opposite side. We've traced the ABS plastic with a sharp pick using this technique.

Now the ABS plastic is cut along the line using a jigsaw. We made two of these pieces: one for the top of the camera and one for the bottom.

Each piece is glued to the plate frame using superglue and accelerator. This is done with the camera in place to assure a tight fit, so be careful to keep the glue away from the camera lens.

With both ABS plastic pieces glued in place, we can begin to see the shape of the finished piece.

Next, we simply cut two thin strips of ABS plastic to fill the gaps on each side of the camera. These cardboard templates are used to get the correct dimensions. Then, they are transferred to the ABS and cut using the jigsaw again.

These thin strips are bent slightly to conform to the curved shape and glued in place using superglue.

Now we can remove the camera and grind down the square edges of the added plastic pieces. The goal here is to match the contours of the existing plate frame for a clean look.

Mix some Evercoat Glaze Coat with the included hardener and spread it evenly over the area where the ABS pieces have been added. I like to coat the area completely so that only one fill application is needed.

Let the Glaze Coat dry for 15 to 20 minutes, and then sand it down with 80-grit sandpaper. Follow this up with 220-grit and 320-grit paper.

Blow or wipe the dust off of the frame and check the fit of the camera one last time. Everything looks good, so it's time for paint.

There are endless options when it comes to painting your new frame. In this application, a nice semi-gloss black surface matched the vehicle best. SEM's flexible plastic paint works great; spray four to five light coats to get a slightly textured finish.

Bolt the camera back in, pop in the license plate, and bolt the whole assembly back on the vehicle. The result is a clean, flush camera installation that's also very functional.