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I have been enjoying my new-to-me XJL S/C for the last couple months, especially the beautiful interior. However sometimes it is too stunning for my mere mortal eyes. At certain times in the day the metallic plastic on the center console reflects sunlight straight into my eyes with the efficiency of a parabolic mirror. So I decided to vinyl wrap it with a carbon fiber print to reduce the intensity of the reflections. Here are my results, before and after. Blinding reflections are now gone.
Before wrapping. Note this photo was taken at night and still very shiny.
That does look good with the black leather. That reflection is pretty ridiculous. I was contemplating doing mine in gloss black, but Im not sure its going to match the rest of the gloss sorta-black on the console.
That does look good with the black leather. That reflection is pretty ridiculous. I was contemplating doing mine in gloss black, but Im not sure its going to match the rest of the gloss sorta-black on the console.
Good job.
I actually bought two vinyls to see what matched best before installing. I bought gloss black (to try and match the rest of center console) and the dry carbon fiber I ended up installing. The gloss black from VVivid (part # XPO1p47FTGlossBlack) indeed is a poor match as it is too dark of a black. Also I understand it may show fine scratches over time because of the gloss finish.
The carbon fiber vinyl I installed (XPO1p47FTCarbonBlack) is a dry carbon fiber, that looks and feels pretty authentic. I was tempted to also buy some of the gloss carbon fiber stuff too, but ultimately decided against gloss as I was trying to minimize reflections.
Last edited by Nedoerr; Nov 28, 2018 at 12:00 PM.
Reason: Typo
That looks great! That is the ONLY thing in mine that I'm not wild about. Usually keep my right arm over the shiny bits as it gets blinding at times but I like driving with both hands on the wheel. Where did you get the carbon fibre wrap?
That looks great! That is the ONLY thing in mine that I'm not wild about. Usually keep my right arm over the shiny bits as it gets blinding at times but I like driving with both hands on the wheel. Where did you get the carbon fibre wrap?
I feel your pain. I bought it off amazon, ASIN# B00YLFUFLY.
FYI, it is definitely recommended to remove the center paneling to do the job well. I used a hair dryer set to high heat to install the vinyl wrap instead of a heat gun. First I put the wrap on cold and positioned it where I wanted it. Then I trimmed away the excess with an exacto knife. Then I heated it up with the hair dryer while I pressed it down some more, pushing it down into the seams with a credit card. Then I trimmed between the seams (i.e. to separate the center console button...etc from the rest of the panel) with an exacto knife. Note that the vinyl wrap was a lot more pliable/ sticky after heating it up.
Only thing I did differently is that I used an old credit card and held it against the leather trim to protect it as I used a flat head screw driver to pop the plastic trim out. I was concerned that a screwdriver pressed directly against the leather trim would damage it. The credit card trick left the leather perfectly intact. Once you have the plastic bits removed from the center console, the vinyl wrapping is easy and the results look professional.
Last edited by Nedoerr; May 3, 2019 at 11:59 AM.
Reason: misspelled members ID
Only thing I did differently is that I used an old credit card and held it against the leather trim to protect it as I used a flat head screw driver to pop the plastic trim out. I was concerned that a screwdriver pressed directly against the leather trim would damage it. The credit card trick left the leather perfectly intact. Once you have the plastic bits removed from the center console, the vinyl wrapping is easy and the results look professional.
Scroll down in that link to my Post #17 for photos and details of how I removed that console trim and replaced the cupholder. It's not difficult with the proper tools.
Do you think tinting the windshield and windows would reduce or eliminate the shine?
All my windows are tinted and it is still a problem. Tinting the windshield is illegal in California so I haven’t tried it. It might help, but don’t think it’s enough.
This looks great, I might have to do this some time. Not only does this panel reflect to much but mine also turned a little purple from fading.
dis you try to wrap the upper trim around the climate controls by any chance?
I didn’t try that though I’d be interested to see what it looks like. The metallic shiny plastic was the biggest affront to my senses so I only tackled that. It was the best bang per buck modification I’ve made this far.
Vinyl wrapping the overly shiny center console
