DIY CF Interior

[GRLPWR]

I often visit this site, but this is my first post. A few weeks ago I finally broke down and wrapped my interior trim in cf.....the real thing! I had no idea I was getting the real deal until it showed up at my door. Cutting was the hardest (of course, after I completed the project and sent pics to the company I bought the material from, they told me about some special scissors. ARRGGHHH!).

Because it's the real deal and very hard to cut, some of the weave moved on me, and being it's not the easiest thing to put back in place exactly where it was, there are a few "natural defects" in it (yeah, sorta like wood has natural defects...ok, it's the best excuse for a mistake I could come up with). Anyway, here it is...

[A4 Maine-iac]

Wow. Looks great!

[FellowAudiMan]

I'm not that into red but since your a girl you can pull this off without getting raised eyebrows Nice job by the way! Did you do all the small chrome lines on the cup holder, card tray, esp button, ac controls, mode buttons on the cluster red too?

Now you only have to get black textile floor mats with red stitching around the edges to match your red interior

[GRLPWR]

I'm not that into red but since your a girl you can pull this off without getting raised eyebrows Nice job by the way! Did you do all the small chrome lines on the cup holder, card tray, esp button, ac controls, mode buttons on the cluster red too?

Now you only have to get black textile floor mats with red stitching around the edges to match your red interior

Yeah, red isn't my fav color (hmmm, but I have red hair....go figure), but I liked the red lighting in the dash, so I was trying to accentuate that. Had I thought about it beforehand, I would've gone PINK!!! hehe

Oh, and thanks for noticing my little red accent lines. Since I'm a DIY'er, I'm looking for a way to pinstripe the small (very small) fold where the stitching is around the seats. I'm thinking about trying to pinstripe the chrome ring and logo on the steering wheel (looking for another cover/wrap for it) as well as doing something w/the plate around the shifter. I'm sorta nervous about removing that after reading what all is under it and, if it's not put back right, the tiptronic might not work! (something about a magnetic piece....) Just wanna get rid of all the aluminum.

Floor mats.....well, I would only get a set for show 'cause the current set works very well w/protecting the floor and original mats (up under the rubber ones). Maybe I should've taken those out before taking pictures. )

I'll be detailing her this weekend and hope to have some exterior pics posted soon. Have any idea how to "fix" the delamination of the buttons? The peeling is driving me crazy and, although I know what button does what, it just looks terrible! Don't wanna have to buy a new radio/air unit just to fix that. Oh, and it's also peeling a bit around the light switch. Maybe I should start driving w/gloves!!! lol

[GRLPWR]

Wow. Looks great!

Thanks!!!

[FellowAudiMan]

I'm sorry but the only way to fix the peeling problem properly is to just buy a new oem part or buy a used one. You can just do a direct swap or if your unit looks better than the used on your buying you could disassemble the the used part and just take out the buttons you need from that and put it in the one you have in your car now. For instance just the headlight switch is $130 at ECS. It's not gonna be cheap if you decide to buy new parts because of the peeling..

I have bought new AC, driverside door window control buttons and armrest and I'm about to order a new headlight switch too.. By looking at the "peeling buttons" thread at AZ, 82% of A4 B6 have or had peeling buttons so its kinda a very common problem with our cars.

Nice touch with the red hair.. Yeah let us see how the rest of your car looks like

[ajclarke88]

what company did you use for the carbon fiber? do they have a website? was it expensive? im interested in doin something like this! Looks Great by the way

[GRLPWR]

Got it from Elitemotoring on Ebay. It cost around $50 for a yard (have some left over) and was a PITA to cut! Of course, the company told me AFTERWARDS they have a special pair of scissors that will cut it, for about $40. If it works, highly recommend getting them. That was my only complaint about working with the cf. Otherwise, it was a fairly easy mod. It took me a whole weekend to do, mainly b/c it was so hard to cut (the weave kept moving and it's not easy pushing it back into place). I ended up having to "outline" the area I wanted to trim w/masking tape then, using all my strength (trying to cut hard enough to not move the weave), cutting it w/a box knife.

Thanks for the compliment. Althought it could've turned out better/cleaner, I'm happy with the results; especially b/c I did it myself. )

[ajclarke88]

awesome found the company on ebay what kind did you get the 2x2 twill and what was the weight on it? i def wanna try it out : )

[ajclarke88]

also what did you use to put it on with 3m adhesive spray?

[info@a4mods]

the red is a bit extreme, but looks like it came out good

[GRLPWR]

@ajclarke88:
It is 2x2 and I'm not sure of the weight (don't think I had a choice in that area). I did use 3m spray (I think it was 77) and, after reading a DIY post up here, I followed the same procedure with using painter's tape so the mod can be reversed. Just be sure to keep your edges as clean and tight as possible. The parts were made to "fit" as-is, so adding weight to it will make it fit even tighter, but it will fit.

@info@4mods:
You're not the first to say that, nor will you probably be the last. The color combo isn't for everyone, but it's all good 'cause I like being different and going to the extreme. ) It could've come out cleaner in some areas (i.e. weave pattern that moved while cuttting and couldn't put it back exactly in place), but I'm satisfied with it knowing that it's a unique look that I accomplished by myself and can be reversed anytime I get bored with it or come up with another idea.

It's kinda like a fashion statement....some styles I wouldn't dare be seen dead in but looks fantastic on someone else. Dare to be different.

[FellowAudiMan]

Came across this thread the other day about how to fix peeling buttons without buying new or used buttons. It seems like a lot of work but if you really wanna try, take some pics and post here afterwards

[GRLPWR]

Came across this thread the other day about how to fix peeling buttons without buying new or used buttons. It seems like a lot of work but if you really wanna try, take some pics and post here afterwards

Hey.....I likey the Apple logo idea. I might try that and do the Audi rings....hmmmm.

I could probably handle the cutting/taping/spraying part of the buttons, but I'd have to study the removal of the unit; don't wanna mess up the electronics. I had thought of trying the vinyl wrap (think I saw someone mention that); might still try it. I also thought of doing the door handles.......red. hehehehe

If I do, I most definitely will post. I still gotta find a way to remove the plate from around the shifter. I got nervous after reading a post that said if you don't replace the magnet properly (or some kind of part), the tip-tronic won't work. I'm not liking the clashing of the black/red and aluminum.

[ReniA4]

hi.the red looks awesome,good job. The other day i tried to remove all parts in the dash but around the shift i cant find a way to remove them. did u glue it on top or u remove the parts at the shifter??

[GRLPWR]

hi.the red looks awesome,good job. The other day i tried to remove all parts in the dash but around the shift i cant find a way to remove them. did u glue it on top or u remove the parts at the shifter??

Thanks.....

If your setup is like mine, this is how I removed everything around the shifter:
1) Remove the 'skid plate' in the cubby hole (I did this by opening the ashtray and using a flathead screwdriver, wedge it between the two and pop the plate up then pull out)
2) Once this is removed, you'll need to remove the ashtray. There are a few bolts holding it down and I recommend disconnecting the wires (I think it's for a light - I never use the ashtray so I'm not sure what it's connected to). )
3) Now you should be able to pop off the plate around the shifter. It's kinda tight, as there are metal brackets on each peg to hold the plate in the slots. It'll come off, just be careful not to break any of the pegs.

*Thinking back, I think the two bolts that are holding down the ashtray are actually under the plate surrounding the shifter. With the ashtray open, you should be able to pull up the back of the plate then work your way to the front. Again, it's going to be tight, but it will come off.

I really want to remove and cover or paint the last aluminum piece around the shifter, but I'm leary about doing it. I've read in another post that, if you don't remove/replace it properly, there's a magnet underneath that may shift and cause the tiptronic not to work.

Hope this helps!

[simon]

how did you color the tabs red on the stereo?

[GRLPWR]

how did you color the tabs red on the stereo?

Had some touch-up paint from a previously owned red car (Nissan, actually) and just used that. Wherever I saw a line, I "highlighted" it.