Done by Suite E grafX using immersion graphics this is a carbon fiber print applied to all surfaces to give a molded appearance. We do many show cars this way.
Pricing is not set yet, though. We can do many additional pieces. We can do a wide variety of color combinations. Any woodgrain you can conceive can be done this way also. It is an OEM approved method, and is widely used by them to this day. We take it a step further by using 3 coats of urethane (PPG) and polishing it to a wet look shine. We think there are enough Mini's out there now to justify exploring this market and focusing our efforts on it the way we did with theNissan 350Z. http://www.elegantwooddesign.com/350zphoto.htm We feel this car is a wonderful canvas and await your feedback.

 

It looks fantastic, I would be interested in pricing on this.

 

It should be in the $500.00 range. It is labor intensive, and done 100% in the states so labor and everything else we do costs more. And since the pattern must run coherently across the dash, and any odd orientation will show up right away, there are do-overs, especially with the bolder patterns as pictured below. Plus I think woodgrains would look nice in this car, too.

 

Just so everyone knows, Suite E has been contacted about becoming an advertiser if a product comes to fruition. For now we'll leave this in I&E to help them gage interest.

Dave

 

I researched alot of forums and this one seems busiest and very easy to use. We are approved vendors on www.my350z.com and if you go there you can read our history and feedback page which is all thumbs up, Literally 100%. We have been there almost 2 years now, or right after the new Z showed up. I chose to post on a Friday hoping lots of people are sitting in front of their computers all weekend (course I prayed for rain to help assure this) at this page.
Thank you again Dave for bringing this thread back from the dead!
Rich

 

I think this looks great. One question: Does this involve sending you my dash pieces and having them finished, or would you sell these as refinished new pieces?

 

No offense to anyone. But, there is nothing worse than carbon fiber printed on something. It will never look real. You lose the three dimensional effect with it printed. Not to mention the whole purpose of weight and stiffness. I have not yet seen one that could be mistaken for real carbon fiber.

 

I would do this in a second for $500. It looks fantastic.

David

 

I think the wood grain would look great in a BRG MINI. . . i'd love to see how real this stuff looks when finished

 

I'm interested in the wood grain as well. But concerned about the installation.

 

And the price should be a lot cheaper

 

We can do solid colors, sure. But alot cheaper than what?


Installation is easy enough, and your dealer can do it. I would recommend the dealer as they have had to remove those pieces before most likely. There is nothing worse than 'investigative installations'.

 

Alot cheaper than $500.00!

 

Well yes it would be cheaper. Maybe 20%. There is preparation of the parts which we have rules about and do not deviate from. We regard painting as more of an art form and use only professional products. I do not know yet what the finish is from the factory and in order to offer a product with any kind of warranty, any interaction of components must be neutralized, and the parts must be as virgin to our process as possible. I know it seems I am overcomplicating, or trying to cast this magical aura over what we do to make it easier to charge more. Not the case though. We are not Krylon wizards that have escaped from some Pep Boys back room. We take our work quite seriously. It will be noticably better than what the factory provides I assure you. And if you visit the GUT website of Japan mentioned in a post elsewhere, please be aware that is not real wood nor is it real CF adhering to those interior trim parts. And if you do the currency conversions you will find the prices are very high. As though they are the only show in town. We know we have competition. Our prices will be at least half of theirs for the same work. And shipping of course is a bargain here in the states. Please don't read the above and think I am ranting, or took your question the wrong way. I love any opportunity to explain our products, but sometimes wallow in excruciating detail.
Rich

 

Rich,
Thank you for not being afraid to explain your products in detail, that's why I will continue to follow the development of this product.
Any idea on when your graphics will be available? It appears that you are currently in development right now. While it appears that there is some interest in your product, I suspect that many members are tempering their enthusiasm. Those who have been on NAM for the past 18 months or more have seen many venders announce that they have started developing products, but nothing is actually available for sale for many months after the initial annoucement. And on occasion seen some announcements turn into vaporware...

 

i would love a wood look in my brg cooper.

 

Well actually we can do this right now. Anybody can bring any part to us and they do. There are no molds to create, it is just applied to the factory parts. Any factory part as long as it is under 60" in length. That's the size of our large tank. We can do the CF as shown, or the light colored burl as in the Ford Expedition above. If anyone is daring enough they may send parts right now. I will be ordering at least as many parts as the GUT people have and will offer certain combinations of parts as a package. I think the whole shifter console would look great done, not just the shifter ring.
In addition, if the factory parts are cheap enough for us to purchase then we may just offer the kit with no core charge. That is you won't need to send back your parts to us to be readied for a new customer. That is how we do it for other cars. The main reason is the airbag cover. We did the car in the picture for a Mini dealer near us. The tech removed the airbag cover, damaging the break-a-way tabs. No safety issue really, just the thought of putting all that work into a piece just to have it rejected by a customer is something we want to avoid proactively. It is probably the most expensive part on the dash anyway. Basically we do not want your parts back because there will be many rejects. But we still brainstorm it.

 

I think www.woodtrim.com is going to have real CF stick-on versions soon
going at about $400 or so.. if yours is just a simulated decal, $500
is kinda pricy imho.

ofcourse, I was never a real fan of those bubbly CF kits...

 

If fact the first owner Mike used to buy from me back in 1996. I helped him get off the ground actually.
We do the flat kits. We have a laser and can cut whatever you guys want. It's just that for the Mini, as with the 350Z, the flat kits look a bit out of place. They never seem to lose the 'added on' look. I think our approach is much more flattering. We can do the flat kits cheaply, plus the dealer is already selling them for what, $150.00? Besides the flat kits are not very exclusive. They are everywhere and you can even find them on Ebay. Our work (and work of this nature) will probably never be found on Ebay. But to each his own. If everybody was so easy to please all cars would be one color, right?

 

This is great! I love the factory $1600 CF dash but I am not about to spend that much on a $20,000 car. Maybe on a BMW (a real one).

If it looks as good in person as it does in the picture than I feel certain many will buy it.

 

i am not interested in the oem kit made from the world's most expensive carbon fiber but....if you bring this kit in under $500, i am in for one. if you need beta testers let me know

 

Yah, I think they buy it from someone in Florida. JoshuaTree asked me to
return a kit for my rex a long time ago to Florida because it looked real
bad and the cutout was completely off.. plus about 2mm off the radius.
wat a waste of time that was.

Would you be able to sell just the center piece around the speedo?
I would like to do that and the round trim around the shifter if that's
also going to be available.