Do Not Sell My Personal Information Jump to content


Autoleads Facia


Recommended Posts

Hi all,

I am about to install a double din headunit, This one, Kenwood DNX8220BT

I have ordered the autoleads Facia Fp-25-00.

and the amp by pass lead.

My question is this, I want to wet/dry the facia as per DJ Wozza's walkthrough, But unsure as to what grade sandpaper i need to use? The walkthrough is excellent by the way!

I have read nearly every single topic on this subject, Please can someone detail for me how much i need to sand, how many coats of the primer and how many coats of the satin black? ( I do tend to get carried away)

I have also read somewhere that that bar in the middle of the facia needs to be cut for the double din, how do i go about doing this without snapping it in half?

I have spent a lot of money on this system and intend to get it looking just right!

I want the facia to match the OEM dash as much as possible...

I will get the H/U installed professionally, as i can't risk mucking about with it myself.

Has anyone experimented with another type of black,(Not the satin black from Halfords) although i think this is the closest match?

and i will post pics once it is all done.

all input greatly appreciated

Any comments on the Headunit also appreciated.... (concerns/advice)

Thanks

Manny. :winky:

Link to comment
Share on other sites


hi there mate,

i ordered a double din the other day so should here tommarow.

i bought the kit and sand it with p400 or p600 sand paper cant remember which one. you sand it till your happy mate. you just cut the bar with a knife well thats what i done and sand the inside bit till a smooth finish. i done one coat of primer and one coat of black. i was very happy with the finish. very easy to do mate.

i would post some pics up when i have installed my head unit

thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cut the middle bar with a pair of clippers (side cutters), and then filed and sanded down the remainder to get rid of any trace of it.

As for how much to sand it down, well, that's up to you. What I did was sand it down then prime it and check how it looked. I found it much easier to see how it looked when it was primed as opposed to when I had just sanded it. What happened was then I sanded it down some more, primed again, checked it again, still wasn't happy to sanded some more, etc, etc ! :lol:

So the grade of paper (use wet and dry, not sandpaper) isn't critical, a coarser grade will sand it more quickly and remove more at once. Use a relatively fine grade before you paint to get a nice finish.

If you still feel nervous about it, you can always have a bit of a practice on one of the pieces that you aren't going to use for a double-DIN unit, and see how that looks.

I presume your unit has a screen that tilts. You need to carefully check how the fascia will fit on that. There might be problems with the bottom of the screen tilting out when it has to get by the fascia, it could get caught on it. So try fitting the fascia on and see if there's enough clearance. This could be tricky though without powering up the head unit to actually get the screen to move. It's possible you'll need to cut away some of the bottom of the fascia.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used wet sand paper on mine p400 and p600. I believe wet sanding leaves less scratches and in the end gives a better result. I even tried sanding the painted fashia with p2500 and p1200 to get it more like the OEM dash (less shiney). I found that the surface of the OEM dash is quite rough and the sanding to make the fashia "less shiney" didn't make it look closer to the OEM style.

If you use wet paper you can start sanding it sooner after painting, on dry paper the soft paint will stick to the paper and also leave bigger scratches.

I used satin black and it is pretty close but as I mentioned the surface of the painted fashia and the OEM dash doesn't match therefor it wont be 100% exact.

Good luck! I'm gonna install my new HU on saturday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I cut the middle bar with a pair of clippers (side cutters), and then filed and sanded down the remainder to get rid of any trace of it.

As for how much to sand it down, well, that's up to you. What I did was sand it down then prime it and check how it looked. I found it much easier to see how it looked when it was primed as opposed to when I had just sanded it. What happened was then I sanded it down some more, primed again, checked it again, still wasn't happy to sanded some more, etc, etc ! :lol:

So the grade of paper (use wet and dry, not sandpaper) isn't critical, a coarser grade will sand it more quickly and remove more at once. Use a relatively fine grade before you paint to get a nice finish.

If you still feel nervous about it, you can always have a bit of a practice on one of the pieces that you aren't going to use for a double-DIN unit, and see how that looks.

I presume your unit has a screen that tilts. You need to carefully check how the fascia will fit on that. There might be problems with the bottom of the screen tilting out when it has to get by the fascia, it could get caught on it. So try fitting the fascia on and see if there's enough clearance. This could be tricky though without powering up the head unit to actually get the screen to move. It's possible you'll need to cut away some of the bottom of the fascia.

Dont like the sound of that, Cutting anything is not one of my specialty. Mine is the one with the tilting screen.....

I was thinking i would do the facia and let the electrician do the rest,What do you think?

Any comments on the Headunit?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dont like the sound of that, Cutting anything is not one of my specialty. Mine is the one with the tilting screen.....

I was thinking i would do the facia and let the electrician do the rest,What do you think?

Any comments on the Headunit?

Mine doesn't have a tilting screen, so there's not a lot I can say, since I didn't have that problem. I did help out another member who had a tilting screen, and that certainly had problems with it fouling the bottom of the fascia. There must be other members who have come up against this themselves though, and perhaps comment further ?

The trouble is that it's all a combined job really. You'll need to power the head unit to see how it goes with the fascia (fouling etc), and to power it you'll have to have it wired in (though not necessarily physically installed in there).

It's really not that hard, I know it might sound hard, but honestly, I'm kinda rubbish at this sort of thing but I did it fine. You can use a walkthrough to get things removed, connect up the new wiring (easy) and try the screen mechanism with the fascia test-fitted on. Then you can see what might need filing/cutting, if anything. Then you can sort out the fascia, fit it properly, and get everything put back in.

Another alternative that I can think of is to get someone to install it for you, but leave off the fascia completely. Then you won't have any issues with the screen, but you will be left with an ugly gap around the head unit. Although you can always plan to get that sorted later ?

You really don't need to pay an auto electrician, he'll be earning that money for doing pretty much nothing really.

I would offer to help you myself but Yorkshire is a little bit far from me. I wonder if anyone who is in your neck of the woods might be able to help you out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great choice in HU!! best on the market in my opinion. where you getting it from and how much?

i have the same.. not a lot of room behind for fitting but it just fits?? are you using it with a video ipod? it works fantastic!!

here are some images of it installed..

250220091502.jpg

250220091500.jpg

250220091501.jpg

you will need a craft knife to trim the middle bar out. i then used some superglue to fix the surround to trim and filled in the gaps with filler.

you will need to use a dremel to trim the bottom of the facia trim or it wont tilt properly,it does need quite a bit removeing.

then,fill, sand, primer, until your happy with the finish..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dont like the sound of that, Cutting anything is not one of my specialty. Mine is the one with the tilting screen.....

I was thinking i would do the facia and let the electrician do the rest,What do you think?

Any comments on the Headunit?

Mine doesn't have a tilting screen, so there's not a lot I can say, since I didn't have that problem. I did help out another member who had a tilting screen, and that certainly had problems with it fouling the bottom of the fascia. There must be other members who have come up against this themselves though, and perhaps comment further ?

The trouble is that it's all a combined job really. You'll need to power the head unit to see how it goes with the fascia (fouling etc), and to power it you'll have to have it wired in (though not necessarily physically installed in there).

It's really not that hard, I know it might sound hard, but honestly, I'm kinda rubbish at this sort of thing but I did it fine. You can use a walkthrough to get things removed, connect up the new wiring (easy) and try the screen mechanism with the fascia test-fitted on. Then you can see what might need filing/cutting, if anything. Then you can sort out the fascia, fit it properly, and get everything put back in.

Another alternative that I can think of is to get someone to install it for you, but leave off the fascia completely. Then you won't have any issues with the screen, but you will be left with an ugly gap around the head unit. Although you can always plan to get that sorted later ?

You really don't need to pay an auto electrician, he'll be earning that money for doing pretty much nothing really.

I would offer to help you myself but Yorkshire is a little bit far from me. I wonder if anyone who is in your neck of the woods might be able to help you out.

Thanks mate, i wonder if there is someone around this sides???

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Great choice in HU!! best on the market in my opinion. where you getting it from and how much?

i have the same.. not a lot of room behind for fitting but it just fits?? are you using it with a video ipod? it works fantastic!!

here are some images of it installed..

250220091502.jpg

250220091500.jpg

250220091501.jpg

you will need a craft knife to trim the middle bar out. i then used some superglue to fix the surround to trim and filled in the gaps with filler.

you will need to use a dremel to trim the bottom of the facia trim or it wont tilt properly,it does need quite a bit removeing.

then,fill, sand, primer, until your happy with the finish..

That really does look the mutts nuts me old mate. I spent alot of time deciding which H/U to go for, Opted for this one as it had everything.

Any chance in helping A fellow lexus owner do the same in his ride mate???

Of course I am willing to compensate.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it works very well.. i would have changed it if i wasnt happy!!

would recommend getting the steering wheel remote.. have you bought it yet?

where abouts are you based?? i may be able tohelp with the fitting..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it works very well.. i would have changed it if i wasnt happy!!

would recommend getting the steering wheel remote.. have you bought it yet?

where abouts are you based?? i may be able tohelp with the fitting..

steering wheel remote? no mate any good? :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The photos in Wozza's tutorial are of my Autoleads Facia surround, and I can confirm that I used 400, 600 and 1200 grade Wet & Dry. Joints were glued and then filled with P38 body filler, paint was Halfords Plastic Primer & Satin Black.

The finish obviously isn't a perfect match to the OEM dash, but its pretty good. You don't have to sand that much or that hard to get the textured plastic smooth, take your time.

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share



×
×
  • Create New...