Hey guys, if you've seen my post in the "New Owners" section you'll see that I recently purchased a convertible 5AT 2006 350Z.

I'm loving the car so far, but my OCD has been going crazy over the interior of the car. As most of you already know, the Z's interior isn't exactly meant to last a lifetime. The scratches/dings that occur over time are something all Z owners have seen at one point or another.

So I decided before I apply any sort of performance mods, I want to make the car look perfect inside/out.

Exterior detailing is fairly self-explanatory so I'm not too worried about that. However, interior detailing has way too many routes I can go on, so I figured I'd ask the Z community what they thought.

My budget as of right now for detailing is $2000. I figure I'll spend $1000-$1500 on the exterior alone (this includes cleaning up scuffs on the rims). Then I'll have $500 left.

What do y'all think is the best route to take in terms of getting the air vents/gauges/speedometer/center console/cubby replaced or cleaned up. There's just too many ways to do it. I want the final result to be a nice clean finish (black or carbon fiber preferred), as if I just bought the car brand new.

Here's a link I've been looking at for a while...

https://www.carid.com/2006-nissan-35...-17346340.html

... But it seems way too good to be true. Is this a reliable source as well? Please let me know what you all think! Any response is greatly appreciated, constructive criticism is more than welcome. The more advice/knowledge I can get, the better.

Thanks!

 

Congratz!
The hyperlink does not work, but I just removed damaged pieces. Wet sand and respray with a name brand.
The best $650 I spent was (on cosmetics) on my top from Topsonline.com and diy. The rips were killing me.
gl!

 

Good catch. Just fixed the hyperlink! Thanks!

Which brand did you use in particular? And do you have any pictures of the finished product?

 

PPG matte rattle with Krylon Crystal lite top coat (0 gloss/shine). I'm on the laptop now but no need for pics. Every bit as good as the upgraded replacement parts.

Later I'll ck my phone for pics.

 

Link doesn't work for me, but ANY stick-on dash kit will look like @ss. Repaint, hydrodip, vinyl wrap, or CF wrap.

 

Finally got the link to work.. my apologies.

 

On some cars, where the edges of the stickers are recessed between panels, like on my wife's Acura TL-S, that might not look bad. But on the Z, all the edges are exposed, and it just looks like crap. Consider the alternatives I mentioned. I hydrodipped mine:











If you choose this option, find a good LOCAL shop whose work can see first.

 

Wow! That looks like very clean work. Did you order those new or did you just take out the ones you had in your car and give them to a local shop? Also, how much did it cost you roughly?

 

First time, I used a site vendor, JM Auto Racing, and they crewed my parts up horribly. Had to get the mods and my credit card company involved to force a refund. Second time I sent them here: http://www.shawnaughtydesignz.com/design.html

Shawn did a great job, and I think it was all maybe $350. I'd recommend a local shop now because there are so many more around, and you really do want to see their work first.

EDIT: I had a spare set of dash pieces I sent to have done, but not the door parts or the rear strut bar cover.

 

Way back I sent my door switch panels and shifter surround to tonester. He used to be a sponsor here I think
Great work but thought I could save money learning to do it myself. It paid off. I have since done other pieces myself and came out looking excellent. If you have the time just watch a few youtube videos and try them on some abs pieces you might have around. In my opinion carbon fiber looks better on little accent pieces rather than large pieces.

 

I completely agree w/ that. I think I'm just going to get the air vents/partial steering wheel/window control areas wrapped in carbon fiber. The rest I'll keep black as it is. I'll go ahead and binge-watch some YouTube videos and see if this whole project can be a DIY for me. Thanks for your response!

 

I had mine interior pieces hydrodipped with a CF look as well a while ago and it's held up pretty well. But I'm teaching myself to do a CF look with spraypaint for something I'm working on. Duplicolor actually sells a kit you can buy to DIY your pieces on your own. Like others have said, there's a bunch of instructional vids on YT right now.