Any tips on creating a new center column?

[jayjay99]

Does anyone have any tips on making your own dash? Well, the center column bit with the stereo and a/c etc? I saw one that n13l pm is doing in this (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21573)thread, I wanna do that kind of thing but not sure which is the best way to approach it. I had an attempt at using fiber-glass when I was doing my gauges and found the only thing that I achieved was a new vocabulary of swear words I didn't know I had! /Grrr Any tips or directions would be gratefully recieved.

[Nutter_John]

Send a PM to hedgepig to try and get some piccy's of his center dash , it looks the dogs .....

Black alcantara with the Apexi's mounted at the bottom with 3 gauges mid line with a stereo top side

[jayjay99]

ah ok, cool I'll do that. Cheers.

[ralliart-type-s]

The easiest way to get a smooth finish is by cutting out the main part of the middle of the console, cover it in fine mesh(like you get for bodywork) cut the holes in it where/how you want them and cover the whole thing in cloth(an old t-shirt will do). Trim it so you have plenty of overlap and glue the edges on reverse side. Then cover the whole lot in f/glass resin, soak it. Leave over nite and voila, a hard shell. All you need to do now is coat the front of it in body filler, just a little at a time and sand each layer until smooth, prime it and paint in colour of your choice.

[n13l pm]

I didnt use fiber-glass, i used something called Milliput. Iv never used fiber glass and therefore wasnt too sure on using it. I noticed a lot of people in the US used moulding materials like liquid plasitc and types of fillers. I had used Milliput before around the house, and it seemed like it will do the job, and i can confirm it does. The main reason I wanted to use milliput was because when its soft and kinda wet you can mould in to anything you like, than within 24 hours it will turn in to a solid material, which is sandable and printable. At the time I didnt fancy messing around with fiberglass as I was a newbie to it. Here are some pics i took when i was creating the screen area.. (I have since got the console sprayed and it looks the job! but have not taken any photos of it yet)

What I started off with:
uploaded/2949/1173744817.jpg

I used a drill with a sanding bit to sand away unwaited areas: This is the Milliput:
uploaded/2949/1173744882.jpg uploaded/2949/1173744904.jpg

The Milliput moulded on.. then sanded (P160 to P1200):
uploaded/2949/1173744955.jpg uploaded/2949/1173744975.jpg

Filler primer and more sanding (up to P1500):
uploaded/2949/1173744998.jpg

[jayjay99]

That does look sweet, what about where the sunglasses holder and ashtray were, did you just put something behind and then just filled the hole with that milliput stuff? How many tubes did you use in total? You'll have to post a pic of it finished when you have one, looks like it'll turn out excellent! Good job!

[n13l pm]

That does look sweet, what about where the sunglasses holder and ashtray were, did you just put something behind and then just filled the hole with that milliput stuff? How many tubes did you use in total?

Yeah thats what I did, just filled the area for the sunglasses holder and ashtray with the milliput stuff. The packs of milliput is small, I used 4 packs, its epoxy putty so you get two parts, once mixed you apply. I used four because the sunglasses holder and ashtray took a fair amount to fill, but its cheap anyways. I got them off ebay for about £1.75 a pack or sumthing.

[jayjay99]

Ah cool, deffinatly looks the way to go, I was hopeing to avoid fiber-glass, it's hell, well for a first timer it was, you need like 50 brushes cos they keep turning rock solid on you!!! Then you have to pull yourself off the cealing afterwards cos you're so high!! When you did the sanding on the putty after it hardened did you use sandpaper or an electric sander of some sort? I know with the fiber-glass it was a bi**h to sand by hand!

[n13l pm]

I used sand paper mate. It was quite easy as long as you got a range of papers. I used a P60 in areas which needed a lot taken off, and the sand paper just eats the milliput. I quickly moved on to P140..P240.. and soo on up to P1200. Its not really hard to sand it, it sands a bit like hard clay, ideal for the job i reckon.

[jayjay99]

Ah cool, I don't mind sanding, as loong as it's doing something. Think I'll have to have a go at that then! :2thumbsup

[n13l pm]

I had to sand some of the centre console down because my screen was bigger then the space for the double din, now that was a mission!! hence i ended up using a drill.

[jayjay99]

I had to sand some of the centre console down because my screen was bigger then the space for the double din, now that was a mission!! hence i ended up using a drill.

Oh yeah, I can imagine! I'm not sure what I'm gonna put there yet, I want somewhere to mount gauges, profec and maybe a icpc. The only down side to using a pc for all your incar music and radio is having to wait for it to boot up, it's windows so it'll probably be crashing etc. How do you find yours is in day to day use?

[n13l pm]

day to day use the PC hasnt crashed on me. I even have it connected to the wireless internet via usb in my house so that I can keep windows updated and it all works without problems. I did have a few issues at the start when I first installed windows because i didnt have service pack 2 but that was all.

As for the start up time, I dont think it takes any longer then a 1 min. Cant really complain about that!

As for gauges, it would look really kool if you could mount and mould them on the bottom half of the console, sticking them out and pointing upwards, if you know what I mean.

[jayjay99]

day to day use the PC hasnt crashed on me. I even have it connected to the wireless internet via usb in my house so that I can keep windows updated and it all works without problems. I did have a few issues at the start when I first installed windows because i didnt have service pack 2 but that was all.

As for the start up time, I dont think it takes any longer then a 1 min. Cant really complain about that!

As for gauges, it would look really kool if you could mount and mould them on the bottom half of the console, sticking them out and pointing upwards, if you know what I mean.


Yeah, that's what I was thinking, point them up to the right and mount the profec screen downthere somewhere. What software do you use on the pc, anything special or just go through the standard windows menus to the programs you want?

[n13l pm]

At the moment im just running windows. But I will be using some software at a later stage with a ease of use interface, theres a few softwares out for free download which do the job. I remember a member on here actually made some software have a, read here. (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21573&page=2&highlight=icpc)

[jayjay99]

Yeah, I did see that before, that pointed me to that mp3car forum and I spelt ages on there, I'd love to make my own stuff, dunno how difficult it is. I'll have to look into it.

[jayjay99]

Just seen there's meant to be a windows automotive coming out in autumn, wonder if that'll be any good.

[n13l pm]

Yeah mp3car is the daddy for this stuff. Loads of members on the site, with loads of details and ideas on icpc. Thats where I learnt more about it. There are some UK based forums Kustoms pc (http://forums.kustompcs.co.uk/) and for parts you will find everything you need at linitx.com.

Its a very time consuming project for a working person otherwise its not really hard. Feel free to run by any questions or ideas you may have mate.

[jayjay99]

Yeah mp3car is the daddy for this stuff. Loads of members on the site, with loads of details and ideas on icpc. Thats where I learnt more about it. There are some UK based forums Kustoms pc (http://forums.kustompcs.co.uk/)and for parts you will find everything you need at linitx.com.

Its a very time consuming project for a working person otherwise its not really hard. Feel free to run by any questions or ideas you may have mate.

Cool, cheers. I'm gonna install that Delphi, see if it's something I could get my head around, if so maybe have a go at writing my own.