I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for the wood dash in these cars, and while I wouldn't go as far as Brian2000XKR (you wanna see wood, check out his album) I've always felt the center controls seemed incongruous since the console has wood and the dash has wood while the controls are an expanse of black plastic. I looked around a bit and found a 15 piece wood trim kit made by (B&I Trim Products) I really only wanted pieces 7, 8, and 9 though.


While B&I do not sell directly to the public there are many places that sell their products. Since they are made to order, I figured it wouldn't be a problem to purchase only part of their kit. After striking out repeatedly I contacted B&I directly. They put me in touch with one of their preferred sellers (http://www.trimstop.com) who agreed to sell me just the three pieces I wanted (pieces 7,8, and 9)

I'll give you my evaluation in a bit, but first some pictures



Ahhh, much better Now the console flows with the dash.

The B&I trim isn't wood (gasp!) but I figured for these small pieces that wouldn't matter and as a plus, they can match the factory wood closer than wood from another tree. They are made from a flexible urethane that is laser cut which should make them easier to install…except they aren't quite cut to fit perfectly. The holes around the climate control panel were a little large, while the holes for buttons just below them were a little small. There were similar problems with the other pieces. After a bit of finagling I manage to get a reasonable fit. The factory match (I sent a photo for reference) was very good and even the shine is a good match. It doesn't feel like wood, so I wouldn't have been happy with larger pieces, but for these small areas it isn't an issue. If you look carefully, you can see a little bit of color which is the adhesive tape used to hold them. You really have to be looking carefully to see it though. While the price of the entire kit is reasonable compared to some of the actual wood add on kits, I wouldn't recommend the entire kit as all of the small problems I had with these small pieces would be magnified. I'm also hesitant to recommend buying part of the kit like I did as you don't get that great of a deal either. (In fact, after I purchased, they reduced the price of the 15 piece kit to a little less than double what I paid for three small pieces)

I'll give the kit three out of five stars…and that's higher than I should give it simply because my pieces were small and I really wanted them.

Pros:
+Allows the dash to flow to the console and breaks up the sea of black plastic
+Buttons don't stick out quite as far (could be considered a con)
+Excellent match both wood grain and glossiness

Cons:
-Fitment isn't perfect
-Adhesive slightly noticeable
-Not actual wood (almost has a rubbery feel, if you push with a fingernail, not all that noticable)
-Price for individual pieces makes it not much of a better deal than a full kit

 

That actually looks pretty good. I'm not a fan of big wood, but the trim around the radio and stuff does look good. I think Brian's car is a little over the top.

I watched a show last night about the making of a Bentley. The wood was polished to a mirror finish. My wood is a little shiny, but I wonder if I could take it off and put it on a buffer to polish it.

 

Hey, I like it! I agree, the stack is lacking compared to the rest of the dash.

Sounds like they aren't the actual manufacturer, given the pricing. Wonder if there's a group deal in the making if we get enough peeps interested. Might even be able to get them to tighten up their template.

 

I apologize ahead of time!!

@ K. Westra:
Maybe a little Viagra will help you with that soft wood!

@ Rev Sam:
I thought you never ever, ever, ever polished your wood!

@ Beav:
So are you organizing a circle jerk??

I'm sooo sorry, I had a couple of beers and I just couldn't help it!!

 

Nice job!!!!!!!!!

 

hlgeorge--GOOD ONES!

Westra--I would love to get a set of these if you could help put together some group purchase. I also feel that wood inserts at the door handles would be nice (pieces 2 and 14 in the kit). Could you hook us up with the guys who sold you the pieces?



Thanks,

Doug

 

If I had XK I would do the same for sure . We have a member Brian2000 and I like his interior a lot , plenty of woods everywhere

 

I'd be interested too. I'd like the radio and climate pieces (I never thought of that and it looks great) and door panel pieces.
7-9,1,15

 

I would also be keen for the centre console and door handle pieces, if there is someone near the distributor who is keen to coordinate a group purchase.

 

I note on their website that they have listed a 7 piece kit.
I presume that this is the one we would be interested in ( although with a couple of extra pieces)
Major problem for me though is that they do not ship outside USA or Canada, so for that reason alone, I would be keen on joining in on somebody else's order..
Cheers, Phil (1999 XKR)

 

If someone wants to coordinate, the person I spoke to was Emily (sales@TrimStop.com) It would be nice to know what the 7 piece kit contains. I have a feeling that any group orders would have to be an entire kit, or at least a consensus of the same parts of a kit would need to be found. B & I is located in San Diego, I believe, and the pieces are shipped directly from them (not from TrimStop) I would also guess that they would want everyone to get the same finish (factory match light walnut [DKG]) I noticed they now no longer charge a premium for factory match light walnut, just dark walnut (previously both factory match options were $62 extra). So now, for a few bucks more I could have bought the 7 piece kit If a group buy happens, you guys are going to get a much better deal than I did. Oh well, someone had to be a pioneer It's amazing the price difference a month makes. I was buying parts while the Jag was still in winter hibernation.

If nobody else wants to run with this, I guess I can, but I'd need to know what sort of a kit would please everyone.

 

How did you know whether you had the light walnut or dark walnut? Is there some color code listed somewhere inside the car?

Thanks,

Doug

 

One of the websites had a decent sample picture of the factory match light walnut (the light is burled while the dark is not) The dark walnut doesn't match the interior of any XK I've seen (but they might exist) If I remember correctly, some special editions have a birds eye maple that is even lighter than the walnut and there is no factory match option for this.

There are several non-factory match options as well: click here

The color codes on their site are their own and do not correspond with any Jaguar codes. Their code for the factory match light walnut is DKG. Here is the sample image:

 

LOL! You are going to be in soooooo much trouble when Jim reads this thread.

 

Keith, I have a question... Is the material molded to the shape of the piece over which it is supposed to fit, or is it simply flexible enough to conform to the proper shape? If it isn't already molded, I wonder how the adhesive is going to hold up once the summer heat gets here. If you're stretching the material to make it fit, then that is going to leave stress in the material. Pressure-sensitive adhesives don't do well when they are continually stressed. Especially when they get really hot.

 

They are flat pieces that flex to fit. I thought they were molded to the shape but they are not. On the plus side, there is only a slight curve to the face of the center stack.

B&I have been in business for a while, so I'd guess they've worked out any adhesive issues (especially since some of their example pictures show curves that are much greater than the ones in our cars)

Here is the information they have on the adhesive and the actual material:
3M Premium Foam Adhesive with built-in promoter provides a secure and permanent bond without the need to tediously prep each part with messy promoter. You can even re-position parts for perfect fitting, unlike adhesives requiring promoter that bond on contact with no room for error.

GemFLEX II is a premium urethane clear coat with a brilliantly clear finish, incredible depth, an ultra-thin profile, great flexibility (for easier installation) and advanced inhibitors to prevent cracking and dis-coloration from prolonged exposure to harmful UV rays.

They also provide a 3 year warranty:
B&I Dash Kits are backed with a 3 year warranty against manufacturer defects in materials and workmanship under regular use. Valid with proof of purchase and valid to the owner of the vehicle in which the product was originally installed.

 

I just thought of something else. Rather than going through one of their preferred suppliers, it might be better to deal with B&I directly. If they decline, they would probably just refer you to TrimStop anyway.

 

I'd just like a piece to cover my existing J-gate surround. The existing wood in my car has a crack in it. Unfortunately it looks like the only piece they sell for the J-gate actually covers the plastic bit in the center.

It would be kinda cool to get a big chunk of the raw material and cut out a piece to the exact size and shape that I need.

 

I got in contact with trimstop about the parts listed in their 7 Piece kit. They sent me the parts list and a 5% off coupon.

 

I like that.

Wow, I see what you mean! First time I've ever seen a wooden armrest