Very nice. Question: I have the factory wood "applique", could they match it for say the steering wheel and the shifter? I'm thinking it wouldn't look good if they didn't match exactly. Another question would be could I have every piece done like yours , say in a darker wood tone, as compared to factory? I'm thinking about the existing wood tone, would they have to sand it off and then go with a new coat or could they just go over the existing wood tone?
I think a dark brown tone would look good w/ the grey leather and pyrite mica exterior.
Again very classy. I would stay w/ the stock shifter as you have it.
The vendor that did the work for me is called DMB Supply. They are based out of Hernando, FL. The place is owned by a father and son team, Mick (Father) and Bill (Son) Vargo. I spoke with both of them, but mostly dealt with Bill. Great guy.....very accomodating and upfront about what he can and cannot do. As you've seen from my previous posts, we went through several samples before I settled on the look that I wanted. He also sent me a leather swatch for the steering wheel, so there would be no match issues, after the fact.
I know folks are keen on pricing info, but again, its not fair to the vendor to disclose specifics, so just go with the range I highlighted earlier. Additionally, pricing is on a part-by-part basis, so if you decide to do more pieces or less pieces, that would affect the cost. Steering wheel was the most expensive piece. If you take a look at their website, you'll see their process (which includes a urethane molding of the area to be coated) and its evident as to why its the most expensive....its the most labor intensive.
They have done tons of these (Sequoias and Tundras) and, hence, could probably do this in their sleep. Bill did mention that my lower cluster piece was the first he had done with the seam filled in and that it came out really nice. He applied additionally layers of clear coat and buffed them to ensure that there was no chance of the seam showing.
I also had the trim piece that goes around the shifter done in a black paint (which was then clear coated) as opposed to the wood. Once painted, the entire piece was clear coated. I will highlight this when I get some more detailed pics posted.
Turnaround time was faster than I anticipated. I think Bill knew that I was excited and so I suspect he worked to turn things around as quickly as possible.....again, great customer service.
Anyway, thats all the major info. Will try to answer one-off questions.
Very nice. Question: I have the factory wood "applique", could they match it for say the steering wheel and the shifter? I'm thinking it wouldn't look good if they didn't match exactly. Another question would be could I have every piece done like yours , say in a darker wood tone, as compared to factory? I'm thinking about the existing wood tone, would they have to sand it off and then go with a new coat or could they just go over the existing wood tone?
I think a dark brown tone would look good w/ the grey leather and pyrite mica exterior.
Again very classy. I would stay w/ the stock shifter as you have it.
I think if you can send them a sample of your wood applique kit, they could probably match it very closely on the steering wheel and shift knob. Keep in mind, they are constrained by the patterns that they have. They have hundreds, so they could get very close in terms of matching. Also, color etc. is a byproduct of not just the pattern itself, but the base coat that is applied to the part before it is printed.
I didn't clearly follow the second part of your question -- are you wanting to remove the wood applique and have them coat the silver parts like I did or are you asking whether they can recoat your wood applique kit itself? I personally don't think the kit could be redone. You could however remove the kit, use rubbing alcohol to get rid of all the glue (or a special solution that 3M sells) and then send off the silver parts like I did.
Dark brown would look good. Hopefully, I can get some better pictures his weekend that serve to illustrate the true color in my vehicle.
I was thinking if they couldn't match the existing then send everything in as you did. but it sounds like they could get really really close in patern and color, so it would be a non-issue.
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New Ride 2008 White Sequoia SR5 4x4 5.7
Flowmaster 50 Series SUV
6000k HIDs Fog & Low Beam
OEM Reverse Camera
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SMD Leds
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White Gauges & Silver Needles
Alright guys....after several weeks of having started this thread, here are some decent pictures taken this morning of the final outcome. Enjoy!
Wide Shot from 2nd Row. This picture provides the most accurate respresentation of the actual real life color. The other pics are still marginally off, but much closer than the indoor garage pics I previously posted.
View from drivers side. Color is a bit off here (slightly more orange than in person):
Drivers side door piece:
Drivers perspective:
Steering Wheel:
Lower shifter piece. This is the one that I am the most proud off. Spent a ton of time with the epoxy to get rid of the square seam. I think it turned out really nice. This is what I was envisioning the final piece to look like.....was just never sure it would, and I feared I might have to buy a whole new piece if I messed up. Its hard to imagine, but the square piece is still in there, its just that the seam has been eliminated completely!
Steering wheel wood to leather transition. Wanted to take a close up to show you how nicely it was done. Feels seamless while driving and the wood feel really nice. One added touch which was done by the vendor (without me saying anything) is that on the backside of the wood part he created indentations in order to enhance grip. The stock wheel does not have the indentations.
Instrument cluster closeup. Kept the trim rings silver and I think they contrast really nicely against the wood backdrop.
This is a another part of the lower shifter piece that I got creative with. I just didn't think the wood would look good on the trim piece around the shifter. As such, I asked the vendor to remove the piece and paint it black. He did so and then hot glued it back. Once the wood treatment was done, he clearcoated the whole piece, including the black trim. I think it turned out well.
Shift knob. Still not convinced that I like it. May be going to full brown (no wood)....we'll see
Last edited by VernSchillinger; 05-23-2009 at 11:01 AM.
Alright guys....after several weeks of having started this thread, here are some decent pictures taken this morning of the final outcome. Enjoy!
Wide Shot from 2nd Row. This picture provides the most accurate respresentation of the actual real life color. The other pics are still marginally off, but much closer than the indoor garage pics I previously posted.
View from drivers side. Color is a bit off here (slightly more orange than in person):
Drivers side door piece:
Drivers perspective:
Steering Wheel:
Lower shifter piece. This is the one that I am the most proud off. Spent a ton of time with the epoxy to get rid of the square seam. I think it turned out really nice. This is what I was envisioning the final piece to look like.....was just never sure it would, and I feared I might have to buy a whole new piece if I messed up. Its hard to imagine, but the square piece is still in there, its just that the seam has been eliminated completely!
Steering wheel wood to leather transition. Wanted to take a close up to show you how nicely it was done. Feels seamless while driving and the wood feel really nice. One added touch which was done by the vendor (without me saying anything) is that on the backside of the wood part he created indentations in order to enhance grip. The stock wheel does not have the indentations.
Instrument cluster closeup. Kept the trim rings silver and I think they contrast really nicely against the wood backdrop.
This is a another part of the lower shifter piece that I got creative with. I just didn't think the wood would look good on the trim piece around the shifter. As such, I asked the vendor to remove the piece and paint it black. He did so and then hot glued it back. Once the wood treatment was done, he clearcoated the whole piece, including the black trim. I think it turned out well.
Shift knob. Still not convinced that I like it. May be going to full brown (no wood)....we'll see
Very nice job vern. While I know you have doubts, I really like the shifter knob as it is. Congratulations...you must be pleased. Too bad it doesn't come from the factory as an option. Can't really afford to have the vehicle laid up for a couple weeks but would love to have this look.
Heat, thanks. Truth be told, there was no real downtime. We kept driving the vehicle without the trim panels. Was pretty weird as it looked awful and we lost some functionality such as the main cabin light switch, auto dimming of the gauge cluster (with ambient light changes) and the the 4WD lights on the dash kept blinking as the 4WD knob was disconnected.
Another interesting fact is that the H-TEMS suspension appeared to switch to comfort mode without the damper control knob being connected. Vehicle was noticably softer and cornering was notably worse due to increased side-to-side weight transfer. Once everything was buttoned up, it was great to have the suspension back in sport mode.
Re: Hydrographic Printing: Wood (Dash Trim)
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