Newbie question. Ever heard of switching out dashboards? I hate the brushed aluminum whatever you call it finish on my 04 MCS and want the BRG one to match the finish or plain silver. Can that be done? I guess there's an airbag involved somehow. Right?

 

Sure it's been done. I've seen repainted dashes aplenty, even leather covered ones and carbon fiber ones. One of our folks even has a yummy chrome aftermarket dash. How to do it? No clue, but you're on the right track!!

 

On the 04 and older models, the 5-piece dash panels can be removed with a proper torx screw driver (T25 or T30 I believe). The only thing you have to be cautious is the airbag panel, which requires removal of the top dash. To do so, first pop out the plastic panel on each side when the doors are open, remove the screws on both sides, and then slide out the top dash. After the top is removed, the screws holding the airbag panel are visible. Remove them carefully.

Since the door ring has the same finish as the dash, it might be a good idea to paint them as well. Good luck! :smile:

 

I have read (here on NAM) that the alloy patina finish does not take paint very well. Perhaps someone who has painted (or attempted to paint) the alloy patina dash and door panels can comment on that.

 

When I painted the aero kit, the interior dash and the door panels were painted at the same time. The original color was patina and now it's Indi Blue. A year and a half later, the paint is still perfect as new. :smile:

 

I'm interested in going to BRG to match my car and getting rid of the alloy patina. How did you get a good paint match and who did it? My color is a metallic and may be more difficult. I was thinking if I could find a brg mini with brg dash in a junk yard.

 

Any competent body shop will have the skill to paint the panels. Indy Blue on mine is metallic like BRG. Prior to 2005, painted dash wasn't available. On the 05 models, the dash panel is a 3-piece design rather than 5-piece for the pre-05 models. Furthermore, the 05 frontal airbag for the passenger side deploys from the top portion of the dash, whereas the pre-04 deploys from the panel that's marked "airbag." Hence, custom paint is the only alternative.