Some of the knobs and switches on my car are showing their age in terms of the little white graphics. I ran across a kit on eBay to update the graphics and will be giving it a try over the next few days. I started with the cigarette lighter, since it was easy to remove and work on at the bench. The kit comes with the transfer graphics, all of which look 'accurate' and just like the originals. The kit comes with brush on clear coat to go over the graphics once installed. I'll try that more tomorrow, but my initial tests with it weren't as smooth/invisible as I'd like. Could be user error, but I may switch to a clear spray. The kit's not cheap at ~$50, but a heck of a lot cheaper than buying all new knobs and switches. And, as a guy who makes and sells little one-off things like this, I'm sure it's still a labor of love even at $50, after factoring in all the time and effort necessary to produce the kit in the first place. Anyway, more on the results as they come in, but the graphics themselves look promising.
Knob and switch graphics....
- Tom
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Very interesting. I'd love to see how they turn out for you, as I am in dire need of restoring mine as well!
1984 VW Rabbit Pick-up - Not stock
1988 944 Turbo S - Really not stock (Chris White special)
2012 VW Tiguan - Kinda stock
2013 Cayenne Base - 6 Speed! Tastefully modified, mostly stock
1988 944 Turbo S - Really not stock (Chris White special)
2012 VW Tiguan - Kinda stock
2013 Cayenne Base - 6 Speed! Tastefully modified, mostly stock
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Cyberpunky
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Joaquin has done a great job on these and I'll be having a crack at them when I get my car back in a few months. Looks very promising but like Tom I haven't attempted using them yet but can't see any reason they wont make switches etc look brand new again
Bruce
- Tom
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So I 'restored' the lighter today. Bottom line, these little graphics are great and are the key to making things look new again. That said, I wasn't a fan of sanding off the old graphics and using the nail polish brush to apply the clear. It wasn't terrible, but the clear looked a bit blotchy and brushed on after drying, and the sand marks were still visible. Probably user error, but I tried my best... I'm also hyper picky at times...
So, what I ended up doing was lightly sandblasting the plastic to get rid of all the old graphics and give it a uniform texture. I then applied the graphics from the kit, which went on with no problem at all, and then sprayed the whole things with Rustoleum satin clear. The graphics seem to do well with the clear, but Joaquin may tell us otherwise, I dunno. I have to say overall it looked better than I had hoped -- like a new part! I didn't place the graphics in exactly the same spot as the original, so next time might make little templates. If you want to make your parts look new again, these graphics are the only way to go!
After sand blasting.
After applying the graphic and a coat of satin clear.
After sand blasting.
After applying the graphic and a coat of satin clear.
- Tom
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/324733070423?h ... SwNxlhAw1M
Looks like he lowered the price since I got mine, and added a volume discount. The seller is here on carpokes, so maybe he'd do a little group buy
Looks like he lowered the price since I got mine, and added a volume discount. The seller is here on carpokes, so maybe he'd do a little group buy
- chris white
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should be a little skull and cross bones instead of a cigarette!
- Tom
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He's never posted, but I'm 99% sure it is @j.samper. If he doesn't respond here, he sells them on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224922590559?_ ... BM3qjOwJFg
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224922590559?_ ... BM3qjOwJFg
Hi, yes this is me.
Sorry, ebay sometimes just deletes our listings so I had not sold these for a while since I did not notice they did that.
The price has always been the same, except for int'l shipping which is of course more.
If you guys would like to make a group buy, I would order more stock, as I believe I only have 5 or 6 kits left, and of course I would give you a better price.
For anyone interested, here are the installation instructions.
Sorry, ebay sometimes just deletes our listings so I had not sold these for a while since I did not notice they did that.
The price has always been the same, except for int'l shipping which is of course more.
If you guys would like to make a group buy, I would order more stock, as I believe I only have 5 or 6 kits left, and of course I would give you a better price.
For anyone interested, here are the installation instructions.
