Thanks to a few threads on AZ, I was able to gather some good input on the brushed trim DIY. The main concern I had before attempting the DIY was the finish quality. In the pictures I saw it is hard to tell how the trim turns out in person. And as some of you know I am pretty meticulous when it comes to this stuff so I took my time on every piece and observed how the sanding lines were and didn't stop until it was perfect. I learned when sanding I had to start at one end of the trim and continue to the very opposite end of it to make the brushed appearance look uniform all the way through the piece of trim. I only used one grit for the entire project (220) and touched up some areas with 400 grit, then cleared with krylon acrylic clear coat (with out buffing). My clear finish is very smooth because I did many LIGHT, LIGHT coats.
Here is the finished product.
These two pieces took the most time to get right. I also went with an up and down look rather than an side to side look which took a little bit longer, but was much worth it.
Sorry for the crummy pics. After xmas I'll have a dslr to get you some quality pics.
Last edited by A4natomical; 01-19-2011 at 10:27 PM.
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
BTW, I see you use the tape deck for your iPod I assume? If you pull out your ashtray you can tuck the line behind it and clean up the look a little, it helps keep that wire from just being all over the place
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
looks very clean OEM LOOK, it looks great, im getting fishscale trim tommorow, i woudl like to try this but id be worried about all of the pieces not looking the same and there is no going back. good job
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
Whoa, that was the fishscale? Amazing, no one will ever know.
Take much effort to work it past the scales?
Lots of people will be following suit I'm sure. Like me.
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
Originally Posted by lbs4
looks very clean OEM LOOK, it looks great, im getting fishscale trim tommorow, i woudl like to try this but id be worried about all of the pieces not looking the same and there is no going back. good job
If you keep the same grit on each piece it should all look the same. It just takes a little bit of focus keeping your streaks steady and straight. If your line gets a little crooked or you get a hairline scratch going against the grain then all you need to do is hit it with a few more streaks. There's really no messing up, it just takes time and patience. If you're gonna rush through it, don't expect it to look great. So basically, if you mess up just keep sanding...
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
Originally Posted by TwinTipSkier
Whoa, that was the fishscale? Amazing, no one will ever know.
Take much effort to work it past the scales?
Lots of people will be following suit I'm sure. Like me.
Yup that was fishscale. There's basically only two steps on getting past the fish scale: Acetone the original clear coat off, the scale will then look shiny. Then sand the fish scale down. The acetone step is the hardest part imo, only because it takes the most elbow grease.
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
nice man, hope my write-up helped you some.
the man who posted directly above helped me muster up the courage to do mine.
brushed aluminum is my favorite interior trim option for the a4/s4...i really love the way it looks when you go thru tunnels, hah.
- joshua
Sold to Dgro1! -> 02 A4 1.8t TiP Black on Black/35% Llumar Tint/USP Front/USP Rear/USP Wheels/USP Door Flares/OEM USP LiP Spoiler/Blacked Out Ecodes w/ 6000k Osram HiDs/Stealth Auto Bulbs Front and Back/Aero Wipers/RS4 Sway Bar/H+R Sport Springs/Bilstein Sport Shocks
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
The before shots are like looking at my interior minus 6 or 7 years, haha.
After the holiday season, I'm all over this in my car.
+thread added to favorites.
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
Very nice! I painted over my brushed aluminum trim to a gloss black color. That was when i had beige interior...so now that i am doing a black interior swap, I shall return to the brushed look, lol ..... it never ends
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
thanx alot alexza4... make me salivate even more. i already want that knob, but can't muster up the $$ to get it at this time.. i'll go wallow in my own pity now.. thx... lol
Re: Would You Like To Take A Look At My DIY Brushed Aluminum Trim?
Originally Posted by absolutegtr
Very nice! I painted over my brushed aluminum trim to a gloss black color. That was when i had beige interior...so now that i am doing a black interior swap, I shall return to the brushed look, lol ..... it never ends
u got pics of that gloss black on the beige? is beige = platinum, or is it diff?
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by IVRINGS
Bookmarks