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Side vent bezels blacked out

2K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  hairless_ape 
#1 · (Edited)
I always see a strong reflection of the chrome vent bezels in the side mirrors during the day. I decided they'd be much better matte black. I pulled on the passenger side bezel with a trim tool and the whole vent housing came out with very little effort. From there I see the bezel is attached with 6 tabs that are extremely thin. Difficult to take off pushing and pulling all tabs in baby steps, I broke 2 tabs in the process.

Apparently the passenger side housing was not clipped in and came right out barely pulling on it. The driver side I thought would be the same but didn't budge so I pulled harder and harder until the chrome bezel snapped off but not the housing. Now there was no way to put the bezel back on unless I got the housing out. That took me about 45 minutes of struggling with every slim tool in the book. There are 4 clips that can only be released from inside the dash. I found a combination of plastic spatulas and cake icing spreaders did the trick after many, many tries.

I sprayed the bezels with 4 coats of plasti-dip which turned out to be a near match to the dash. I let it dry over night then used gorilla super glue to securely mount the bezels back on the housings to compensate for the bent and broken bezel tabs.

I would discourage anyone from trying this unless your a masochist.
 

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#4 ·
Wish it wasn't so difficult because I like the end result and I intensely dislike the chrome reflection on the driver's side. For a moment I thought you were speaking my language with your talk of spatulas and frosting spreaders. Alas, I'm too chicken, and not a masochist, so my tools will remain in the kitchen and I'll tolerate the reflection for a bit longer.

Lead on Vertrkr, you glutton for punishment. Your project results thus far are pretty impressive.
 
#5 ·
Nice job!

You are braver than I...I just know if I attempt this then at some point when I hear a dashboard rattle I'll be cursing myself out. I've always been leery of pulling even part of the dash apart.

Of course...while I'm impressed with the mod...I'm also cursing all you early owners out at the same time since now I'll be looking for the reflections off the bezels now! :fryingpan:
 
#6 · (Edited)
The best alternative is to vinyl wrap it if it bugs you to no end. Buy some 3M di-noc or rvinyl flat/matte black and bring it to a pro or do it yourself if experienced. I'd guess that would cost about $100. A pro should have the material on hand if you don't want to pinch pennies buying the material before hand.
 
#8 ·
Looks Great! Smooth paint job. Great thing is, you can remove it if you ever decide to sell and have chrome that has never been touched...

You also wouldn't have to take the car apart again to do it...
 
#9 ·
Looks awesome - like it came from the factory.

Given your experience I know I won't be attempting this. If it were my D and I had a ton of time/patience, but since its the wife's it isn't a good idea to fiddle that much.

I like the 3M vinyl idea. If its really bothersome I can suggest we find someone who would do it.

:thumbsup: on the modification.
 
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