Rep Power: 329

Hmm, just got back from Home Depot...I moved my HU down in the dash to where the little storage compartment/door thing was, and now I need to build a cover for the hole so it doesnt look like ***** anymore...I got a sheet of 1/8 inch Acrylic for $0.97...but my problem is it only comes in clear, and I want black. Right now i'm experimenting with different paints and primers to try and get a decent finish...but if it doesnt work, does anyone know of a source for black? 1/4 inch is ok too....I know they make it, I can get it from my car audio shop but it's more expensive that way....any help would be great.

Thanks,
Mystic

 
Rep Power: 317

isnt acrylic hard to cut? you could use some spray tint, and tint the thing black. you can pick up spary tint at a local hobby shop for like 3 bucks a can and spray it like 5 times in light coats and it should turn pretty black..

 
Rep Power: 329

Good idea, didn't think of that...i'll give it a try. I'm using a Roto-Zip to cut it...(like a drill with a round sawblade) it cuts right through it no problem......You just make a patern with a peice of poster board, then trace it onto the acrylic, cut it with the roto-zip, sand the edges, and *presto* custom dash plate

My friend had our local shop do that to his 3.2 TL....looks f**king AWESOME...so I thought i'd try it for mine. Not sure how the shiny black will look though...I was thinking about it, and since our dashes are flat black, I think i'm gonna try some flat paint with light sparkle.....when I finally get it done, i'll post pics...maybe make them and sell em on here to you guys since I know a lot of you have relocated HU's and no finishing plate.

-Mystic

P.S. I just had another idea....regular window tint....I'll give that a shot too...would be cool...maybe i'll put a neon tube behind it...that would look pretty cool I think.

 
Rep Power: 0

he man if you want it to match everyhting go ahea and pain the trim piece whenever you paint the plate??

 
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i was going to say tint it.

 
Rep Power: 329

Ehhh....I would, but it's too much work, and I like the way the factory trim peices look...i'm going for a clean look, nothing too fancy...good idea though.

-Mystic

 
Rep Power: 0

Would you mind posting some pics, im curious to see how this turns out

 
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tint it, paint it, or BURN IT , and get the smoked look haha

 
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I've been waiting FORVER for someone to do this. Did you relocate your stock HU or an aftermarket one? I would love to see pics [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 329

Of course i'll post pics, I wouldent be a good member if I didn't [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

The stock headunit cant really be moved down without getting some serious custom work done to the front of it, due to it being preshaped to our f**kedup cutout in the dash. My HU is an Alpine 7893

-Mystic

 
Rep Power: 0

I was actually planning on getting that same model (i think) and pondered if it was possible to move it down to get rid of the glare, which is what i'm assuming is what you're doing

 
Rep Power: 329

Thats exactly why I moved it....that and the fact that i'm tired of reaching so damn far to put a CD in. It reduces glare quite a bit, it's actualy readable during the day now. The 7893 is the Silver/Blue HU with NO Mp3 capability....retail is $349 I think....I like it....cool feature is it can play CD-RW's....

-Mystic

 
Rep Power: 0

you should burn it and get the smoked look lol

 
Rep Power: 0

so if you move it down right below into that hole it doesn't pick up glare anymore. I have that same HU and cant read anything during the day. I hate it. I was thinking about moving the whole thing down to the bottom of the dash to assure I would have no glare but if that hole underneath works i will do that.

 
Rep Power: 329

It's still not perfect, but it's much much better. It's readable now, the problem is not glare, it's that the Alpine displays are the type of LCD that gets faded if you look at it from the bottom......Honda's very well paid engineers for some reason decided to put the radio up high on the dash, and then, in the 2nd brilliant move, angled it toward the ceiling....damn japs... j/k

Moving it down makes it a lot easier to reach the buttons....i'm 6ft tall, and I had to stretch to get to my volume ****...::sighs:: I've never been in a car with a setup quite like our civics. very weird.

-Mystic