- Joined
- Feb 8, 2004
- Messages
- 1,102
- Location
- Southeast, PA
- Corvette
- 2003 50th Annversary Red coupe, beautiful !




PS: if you don't like it, please keep your own opinions to yourself , I have depression and that doesn't help ! Thank you.

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View attachment 15317View attachment 15318View attachment 15319View attachment 15320 With great thanks to Foggy47, I got the last part of my console refinished, I shouldn't of waited for that past year the finish is hard to matched. Just like trying to mix new paint to match old paint as it's a tad darker, but I think it looks great, which is the most important thing.
PS: if you don't like it, please keep your own opinions to yourself , I have depression and that doesn't help ! Thank you.![]()
Looks good. You have to look really hard to see any color difference (I only looked because you mentioned it), if you don't tell anyone I would bet no one will find it. I have a wood/leather steering wheel and inside door pull surrounds that I really like.
Who did you have install the wood grain on your parts?
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A small custom shop in Texas. The mismatched parts are really my fault. This kind of finish only works on my color interior as noted above. Initially I only wanted a little bit of something of a change, so I did the door handle surrounds, then I decided a bit more and I did the rear console and the center switch panel. I rode around with that for a year and it kept looking out of place, so that's when I bought another front console and I sent the 1 year old rear console for them to match, but doing this refinishing of plastic parts is tricky and trying to replicate a finish is tough to do. It very much like do a carbon fiber finish. If your going to do it, send in all the parts so get treated all at the same time.
And fortunately the difference is minor and doing the whole console I didn't think I wanted all that much of a burl wood finish. But time made me rethink my choice and second guessing myself proved a little foolish. I saved all the original parts if ever another owner want to put it back to 'shale'. Shale isn't really a color, some of it looks a little bluish and some is just gray, yet the seats and carpets are damn near a off-white color. I tried changing the door grab handles, the shifter and E-brake boots, but it still wasn't right, I looked at carbon fiber choices, but then it would look like my bathroom. So I went with the wood finish. I did all of the work by myself and getting the switch panel was the biggest challenge as I had to remove all the electric's out of it and send it with the rear console. Once I got it back I had to reinstall the switches, and then the traction control rubber depress switch wasn't working as the new finish had made the opening for the detent button too tight. So I used some 1000 grit wet sand paper and I slowly worked on the opening till the button now is very easy to operate.
Hay, It's a Corvette, the whole thing is made of plastic. So do your own thing ! Right ? But I didn't want to go overboard. Tell me what you think ??? To me, it's a lot better than gray/ shale or whatever the color combo is called. But what I did won't work on most Corvettes. Anytime you do this kind of thing you take a risk. Thank you ! And a big thank you to foggy47 !![]()
I had mine done also, a tad bit darker. I think it goes best with the light oak interior.
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Junkman drives an auto? Where's that "Marines, we do it the hard way" attitude???
Just kidding of course. Gorgeous woodgrain on the interior pieces. Even your carpet looks OEM new. You do indeed take excellent care of your vehicle.....
:L
If I was 25 years younger and wasn't so busy playing with the thighs and legs in the passenger's seat, I'd have a manual!
I had mine done also, a tad bit darker. I think it goes best with the light oak interior.
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Hay Junkman, your the one who influenced me to do mine !!!!! ;worship I picked a shade lighter, but to he who likes it or not. I did mine in phases, but after I did the door handles surrounds I did the rear console and the traction control & Magnetic ride control switch panel. So this is as far as I plan on taking it. But a few years ago I installed a "Cyberdine" silicone 3D graphics 50th. Anniversary 4 package kit. and I haven't been doing anything else. Last year I bought a 1990 Chevrolet 1500 Silverado pickup and it's just about done now. I included a shot of it as it was in August 2011 in a field and as it is now in my driveway. I have a feeling that I love to work on these cars more than driving them, but that's going to change this spring, the Corvette is heading down the blue ridge parkway and "Tail of the dragon" trip. And you know, I have bought two front bras for the Corvette, But I think what I'm going to do is mask off the leading front half of the Corvette and use that new 3M "Paint Defender" product on it and the mirrors and splash guards to try to keep the road stone chips down. But I'm done, fixing and mods, now we drive !oot:
Thank you to all of my friends who have helped me over the years, especially Hib Halverson for all of his technical guidance.
You have been tinkering quite a bit! Nice.
One thing to note. Don't bother with that 3M Paint Defender. It will turn out like crap. Just use painter's tape or get some mirror bras. You'll be glad that you did.