Thanks! It was my first time working with something like a carbon wrap. It didn't turn out too badly, even though in retrospect there were certainly things I could have done better. It was a bored afternoon project, mostly, but I likes it I do.
The product is from 3m's 1080 line, glossy weave. A local vinyl shop had some end-of-the-roll stuff that was useless to them and I picked it up cheap.
Tips. Well, definitely remove your parts and work them separately. Doing any of what you see attached to the car would have been another layer of unneeded complexity.
The front door handles just pulled right off with a fingernail or two under the edge.
The radio bezel required the Sync cowl to come off first (just yank it back and slightly up from the dash and it will let go). After that, a couple bolts holding the radio bezel on. Once the bezel was removed, pulled the vents out by removing the screws holding them in and *carefully* moving the retaining tabs. A good tap from the butt end of a screw driver pushed the retaining tabs for the radio control out and once that was out of the way, removed the light for the airbag by taking the screws out.
The airbag. Oy vey. Disconnected the battery, and looked up "remove fiesta ST airbag" on google, found the instructions, and did those instructions. No major surgery, it was just three springs pushed aside from the access holes on the side of the steering wheel. Best to look up the procedure though. Since I did not disconnect the bag itself, choosing instead to just lay it aside, it was not a dog and pony show. Once the bag was freed, backed the screws out that hold the chrome in, disconnected the switches, and removed the switches.
Tips for working with the product.
Leave the stuff laid out flat in the sun for a half hour to get it nice and workable.
CLEAN THE SURFACE IT IS SUPPOSED TO GO ON. Oh god. I had armorall left on the upper edges of the door handle skins and under the radio bezel and the carbon would not stick for it's life.
Keep a hairdryer handy but beware. Once you heat the stuff up once it tends to form and will not take a second heating very well. You have to be pretty fluid and ambidextrous when working the stuff.
Other than that, buy some extra in case you, like me, end up having to start from zero a few times because you melt/tear/misjudge size/don't have your workpiece cleaned.
I'm just so happy that the giant chrome mirror in the wheel is now not a giant chrome mirror.
The product is from 3m's 1080 line, glossy weave. A local vinyl shop had some end-of-the-roll stuff that was useless to them and I picked it up cheap.
Tips. Well, definitely remove your parts and work them separately. Doing any of what you see attached to the car would have been another layer of unneeded complexity.
The front door handles just pulled right off with a fingernail or two under the edge.
The radio bezel required the Sync cowl to come off first (just yank it back and slightly up from the dash and it will let go). After that, a couple bolts holding the radio bezel on. Once the bezel was removed, pulled the vents out by removing the screws holding them in and *carefully* moving the retaining tabs. A good tap from the butt end of a screw driver pushed the retaining tabs for the radio control out and once that was out of the way, removed the light for the airbag by taking the screws out.
The airbag. Oy vey. Disconnected the battery, and looked up "remove fiesta ST airbag" on google, found the instructions, and did those instructions. No major surgery, it was just three springs pushed aside from the access holes on the side of the steering wheel. Best to look up the procedure though. Since I did not disconnect the bag itself, choosing instead to just lay it aside, it was not a dog and pony show. Once the bag was freed, backed the screws out that hold the chrome in, disconnected the switches, and removed the switches.
Tips for working with the product.
Leave the stuff laid out flat in the sun for a half hour to get it nice and workable.
CLEAN THE SURFACE IT IS SUPPOSED TO GO ON. Oh god. I had armorall left on the upper edges of the door handle skins and under the radio bezel and the carbon would not stick for it's life.
Keep a hairdryer handy but beware. Once you heat the stuff up once it tends to form and will not take a second heating very well. You have to be pretty fluid and ambidextrous when working the stuff.
Other than that, buy some extra in case you, like me, end up having to start from zero a few times because you melt/tear/misjudge size/don't have your workpiece cleaned.
I'm just so happy that the giant chrome mirror in the wheel is now not a giant chrome mirror.
![[popcorn]](/images/smilies/popcorn.gif "Popcorn [popcorn]")
