the_tool_man
Full Access Member
I don't think it's possible to do with one piece; certainly not for me. I wrapped one long piece around all four vertical sides, putting the seam in the back where the cupholder hides it. This piece, alone, took about two hours to put on. It took a lot of stretching to get it to conform to the tapered sides without wrinkles or bubbles. Then I had to work it a lot around the cupholder tabs. I finally just gave up and cut the film away from the tabs altogether. It looks fine that way, as the black plastic blends with the CF. It'll be rare that I'll remove the cupholder anyway.Did you use 1 large piece of CF? I don't see any seams. Nice job.
The top surface is the second piece, and was comparatively easy. I cut one large rectangle, laid it face-down on the table, and placed the bin on top to position the film. The rest was just heat, pressure and patience. I was able to save the big piece I cut from the center, and stick it back on its backing to use elsewhere. I did trim away about 1/8" of the molded ribs on the underside of the bin so I'd have a flat surface to wrap the film onto when I did the edges. This probably helped some.
I tried a few ideas for hiding the seam. Once the sides were wrapped, I used a new X-acto knife blade to trim the top flush, angling it to slice the film with a bevel. This eliminates the ridge where the two pieces of film would overlap. The second piece just laps over by about 1/8". With the two surfaces reflecting light at different angles, and the CF pattern being so busy, the seam is pretty hard to see.
I have to say there were a few moments when I thought about wadding it up and starting over. But I found that the wrap is very forgiving. Unless you physically tear it or scratch it, you can peel it off and add a little heat to take it back to square one. Having said that, there are some scuffs that are visible if you look really closely. But I figure it'll get scuffed in use anyway. And with a black interior, you need a flashlight to see them. All-in-all, I'm really happy with how it turned out.
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