Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

[beason]

I have a 05 220 ssi, and as some of you know, chaparral installed the woodgrain wrapped aluminum panels with steel screws, which causes corrosion to build under the "wood".

Ive taken one panel off, and sanded it down to bare aluminum, with the plan to get it hydro dipped.

Now, here is the question. What design should i do? go back with another wood grain? Carbon Fiber? brushed aluminum? the problem is, my interior is the white, tan and brown option.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

Hi there, Just a thought but if you go to a different color dash, are you going to do or worry about anything with your steering wheel?

 

[beason]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

That is kind of the problem. If iI did go a different color it would not be wood grain at all. Trying to figure out what would match.

 

[pckeen]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

I would go original, otherwise there will be too much that doesn't match. Are you going to do this yourself, or shop it out?

 

[beason]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

im doing the prep work on the panels myself. sanding and cleanup. If i do vinyl, ill do it myself. if i go hydro dip, ill have to shop it out.

 

[jkust]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

I've got the 190SSi so the same dash as all the chaps were the same back then but there was a non wood look option as well. I would continue with the same bezel scheme.

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

I'll provide a contrary vote, wood grain makes me think of a 1970s domestic car with tacky fake wood grain and gathered leather upholstery. UGLY. I would vote for anything but wood grain. A couple of options worth thinking about:

Wrap it. 3M makes what I'm told is a very high quality wrap intended for automotive applications. Because it is for automotive it should hold up well to heat and UV. All you need is a smooth panel, so it simplifies prep. They sell small rolls for interior all the way up to big ones to wrap an entire car. Hundreds of styles and colors, for an interior you could go with a complimentary color, carbon fiber, aluminum, or even another wood grain if you really dig the wood. Lots of choices on Ebay, but avoid the generic stuff.

Paint it. Sand it smooth and paint it with multiple coats, following with a clear. You could get reasonable results with an automotive type spray can and clear, or have a body shop do it for a few hundred.

Wheelskin the wheel. They make top notch custom leather covers that are popular in Porsche/BMW/Audi/etc world. Lots of color choices, and it covers the ugly wood. https://www.wheelskins.com/

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

Carbon fiber gets my vote. It's a 21st century look.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

All my boat dashboards are plain white fiberglass gelcoat. Works great, looks great, cleans up easy, doesn't fade bubble rust corrode warp or need covering.

Except my '63 whaler--solid mahogoney, varnished. Works just as well.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

Starboard is the material of choice for new instrument clusters...available in white, brown and tan

 

[beason]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

i have gotten quie a bit farther with this, so i should update.

I pulled the panels, sanded, and cleaned them up, the shot them with building primer and wet sanded to cover the pitting from the corrosion.

I called up a couple of hydro dip places, and they want $150-$200 just to dip them. I tried a sign shop that could "print" any thing i wanted on vinyl and install, but that was still over $100.

I have ordered 3 sample vinyls to have a look at. 2 wood grain, and 1 brown carbon fiber.

i will post up when i decide.

 

[beason]

Re: Fising dash on chaparral 220 ssi. opinions wanted.

I'll provide a contrary vote, wood grain makes me think of a 1970s domestic car with tacky fake wood grain and gathered leather upholstery. UGLY. I would vote for anything but wood grain. A couple of options worth thinking about:

Wrap it. 3M makes what I'm told is a very high quality wrap intended for automotive applications. Because it is for automotive it should hold up well to heat and UV. All you need is a smooth panel, so it simplifies prep. They sell small rolls for interior all the way up to big ones to wrap an entire car. Hundreds of styles and colors, for an interior you could go with a complimentary color, carbon fiber, aluminum, or even another wood grain if you really dig the wood. Lots of choices on Ebay, but avoid the generic stuff.

Paint it. Sand it smooth and paint it with multiple coats, following with a clear. You could get reasonable results with an automotive type spray can and clear, or have a body shop do it for a few hundred.

Wheelskin the wheel. They make top notch custom leather covers that are popular in Porsche/BMW/Audi/etc world. Lots of color choices, and it covers the ugly wood. https://www.wheelskins.com/

I like the wood, on a boat. i agree with you on cars though. Vinyl is the path i am going. I just have to find the right one.

Carbon fiber gets my vote. It's a 21st century look.

I agree, it does look nice, and if my interior was the grey color scheme i would already be done. But i have the brown scheme and black/silver CF would be out of place. I have however requested a sample of brown CF to see what that looks like.

Starboard is the material of choice for new instrument clusters...available in white, brown and tan

the panels are aluminum and fine. its just what color i want them to be.