well, first off, let me tell how this all happen... i put in a single din head unit.. so i wanted to make the hole from the old radio a bit smaller so it would look like it was supposed to be there.. so i tried to use bondo on it... i mean i'm sure you get the idea, but i'll go on... so i put like 6 coats of it, covering the whole thing, cut out the hole for the radio and put it on.. welll, it reason, and then it started chipping for whatever reason, then one day i went in there and the whole thing was fallen off, and the bondo, for whatever reason decayed the plastics, i'm guessing the heat turned it into something not-bondo... so if anyone knows where i can get that center console piece that holds the radio/AC/defroster/emergency lights/2 center AC things, that'd be awesome if i could buy it, it's for the XA, at this point, price is no object.
561-248-6801

also, does anyone know if the echo center console would work? i looked at one yesterday, and it looks very similar.

 

sounds like a mess...should have used fiberglass to do that

 

Did you mix in enough hardener? You might be able to rescue the part with fiberglass and I would talk to a professional shop to get their opinion.

 

First off, Bondo is meant for the Outside of your car, not the inside; but I'm sure you have learned that now so I won't give you a real hard time for it. Next time though, if you have to DIY, use some kind of plastic, either something you can cut to fit (like a plastic bowl or cooking container, as ghetto as it sounds, if you paint it right, it can look really good) or a moldable plastic resin that you can shape and then heat to make it solid.

Now to help you fix what you already did, outside of finding someone who has taken thier dash out and wants to sell it, your best bet is to go to the dealership and see if they will order the part for you. I talked to the parts guys here and they said the part is available to them but if a consumer tries to buy it, a lot of parts departments will tell you that you need to buy the entire assembly (new climate control module, wire harnesses, *****, etc.) which is not true (they gotta make that $$$). But check your dealership and see what they say, its probably your best bet. If that busts, check out ebay and see if someone is either selling one or has a wrecked xA that they might sell parts out of. Good luck man!

 

I have an xA and I could possibly have the piece you are talking about. I don't have it available right now, but hopefully in about a month or so my new setup will be working and I won't need the stock center part you are talking about.

Just to be clear, you are talking about this part, right:




From above the easy bake oven to the top of the radio. I don't know if you want to wait that long though. Plus, I have to look more at the wiring. I might have to completely dis-assemble the stock part in order for the new part to work.

Short of waiting for me (or maybe someone else), your best bet is to go to a dealership and have them price out the part for you.

Good Luck.

 

think of it this way, "it's ruined". So, there's no harm in trying to rescue it with some fiber-glass work. It's worth a shot and you'd get practice on glass, even if it didn't turn out, maybe the NEXT one will

 

Wow, so I really screwed up when I used Bondo to do this:




Or this:





Or even when Denny and I did this:



There are some How-to Tips on my site if you are interested: www.cmcworld.net

 

really nice work! and yes, bondo is a plastic filler and can be used just about anywhere for the non-believers.

 

looks to me like you used fiberglass and then just used the bondo to get everything smooth which is the correct way to do it...i believe that what this guy did was just build the whole thing outta bondo which will not hold up without reinforcment...maybe if he used this stuff i found (cant remember the name offhand but will post it when i get home to look at it) which is basically bondo with fiberglass...same thing as why you have to weld in holes then bondo when doing body work...it just cracks and breaks away from the hole...its made for filling hence the name "body filler" it isnt made for building

 

You are referring to "Kitty Hair" or "Mar Glass".

Actually the correct way to do what he did is shown on my site in the "Head Unit" section. My reply was to the guy who said Bondo is not for use inside the car. I was not implying that only using Bondo is correct.

The correct way is as follows:

1. Glue an ABS trim ring in place using CA glue.
2. sand
3. Use Bondo (body filler) to smooth out the panel.
4. Sand
5. Paint with high build poly-primer.
6. Sand
7. Paint (final color)

 

Wow, I stand corrected, that looks great. So let me re-phrase that, don't use bondo inside your car unless you know what you're doing, and really don't do anything that serious unless you know what you're doing.

And Oon2oO, nice setup man, how much of that last pic was bondo, did you use any kind of a frame underneath it for support?

 

BCS! i think it was, i'll buy and ship that center piece from you if you dont need it for your install, then take it to a customs shop to have them do it for me.. i'm electrical enginneer, i'll leave the shaping and such to the professionals of that field, please! send me a reply on it, on how much you want, and, glad to say, all my climate control stuff is okay, the radio is okay, i just need the center piece and the AC vent pieces, and that'd be Great, amazing installs with your bondo, i wish i had those skills : ) the speaker pods you made look really great too, i tried fiberglass, it sucked bad for me, and that was the beginning of the downfall, i'll stick to amps and wires from now on : )

thanks again for everyone elses advice, i'll check the dealership if BCS doesn't end up selling the piece.

 

Wow, I guess I'll reply.


Ummm....like I said, I need to keep the stock one for now until I get the new setup working. I don't know how long that is going to take though. I would say to check a dealership and see what they will charge you and if you can get just that one piece. We can go from there. If it is completely outrageous, then we can talk. Maybe I'll be a little further on this. Hopefully it won't take me too much longer, because I want to get this working.

 

Why not use a peice of 1/2 inch MDF and fit it in to the opening. For there you can fill in what is nessesary to smooth the look.

 

hey Oon2oO,

i saw your set up in person at the mission viejo meet....much props to you

 

they want 295 dollars for just the plastic piece, and 495 for the climate controls and all that junk, i'll pay you the same price.. or well, what are you getting to replace it? got pictures? i'm up for anything at this point.

i tried originally to put a 1/4 inch piece of wood in the opening and bondo over that, then smooth it out, but i then had to keep bondo'n more and more. and well, yeah.

 

I am doing a JDM Ist FL Auto climate control conversion. There are a couple parts that I need to get to make it fully work. Basically, when I am done, my center console will have these *****...




I'm closer to getting it working. It doesn't just plug & play. I need a few more things from the Ist in order to make it work. I just don't know what those things are yet.

 

that looks great! and that the exact piece i need, i'll give you 100 bucks for it, including shipping, let me know.

 

Actually you saw my xB at MV meet.... OoN2oO helped me out a lot on the install... His is the Xterra.

 

bcs? anything new on that center piece? let me know.
thanks