Custom wood trim modifications

[StirlingM5]

My 1992 B10 BiTurbo door panels (black vinyl, no wood trim) have become very unglued and basically unfixable. I've located a set of 1995 panels in excellent condition but they have the wood trim which looks nice but doesn't suit the car.

So I'm looking for suggestions has to how to customize the wood trim pieces to better suit the interior. My interior looks pretty much like this, except for the automatic transmission (and the still-perfect door panels):



Any ideas guys?

[M60B40Bimmer]

I'd get the graphit trim, which is a shiny black. Or carbon wrap the trim you have. You can always paint your trim just like anything else. But graphit would look cool.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...od-trim-thread

Also, if you're going from a NON trim interior to a TRIM interior, I believe the glove box wont fit until you install the glove box mounting bracket associated with the glove box that you want to install. It looks like a black plate with the two rods on the back to mount the hinge for the glove box. I believe its 3 or 5 bolts and a number of screws. I also think you need the plastic glovebox "roof" or whatever (goes in between the glove box and the bracket in the dash) as they differ depending on interior.

[Kingpin025]

You could wrap the trim in vinyl. Here's some pics of mine wrapped with 3M textured matte carbon fiber.

[ShapeShifter]

On my last 540, I did all of the trim in suede. Color choice up to you.

[BlackSpeed66]

Some of the carbon fiber or aluminum trims would look out of place on my parchment/wood interior, and rehabbing the cracked wood trim would have likely tested my patience I opted for the 3M Di-Noc "Mahogany". I'd say it turned out pretty well. Think it was under $100 for the material and supplies. I think the texture and the matte finish gives it a slightly more modern feel.

[fo3]

Bumping this thread because my 1990 is a non woody ultramarine. The previous owner put beige dash, console and seats in which I'm slowly replacing, redying or painting. I came across a wood trimmed drivers side glovebox panel. Too good to refuse! But that leaves me with the problem of the wood trim panel insert.
The rest of the panel is grey so I have to recolour it ultramarine anyway, not sure if just to colour/wrap the wood, or just paint blue over the trim with the rest of the panel (or black)

Any ideas? I really want the extra little glovebox. The other side and centre will not have the trim parts (couldn't get the matching regular glovebox (already sold) and going to pass on the matching wood trimmed main front gear shifter/ dash console (bmw terminology main storage partition) because freight would cost too much.
E: Besides, my door cards are non wood trimmed anyway.
Just don't know how to trim the top of this part (and is it driver side glovebox for RHD E34?):rhs glove.PNG

[moroza]

That is indeed the RHD driver's glovebox, all of which - LHD and RHD - apparently had an indentation for wood trim. I would paint it.

Freight on the wood surround cost too much? Talk to a local woodworker or DIY. Mine cost ~$40 in materials, half of which was a fancy schmancy (and horrifically stinky) 2-part clearcoat. IMO, having just the shifter surround be wood would look ok, and brown goes well with blue (I'd advise a less-red finish for your Ultramarine).

[Mless5]

Would clear polyurethane work instead?

That is indeed the RHD driver's glovebox, all of which - LHD and RHD - apparently had an indentation for wood trim. I would paint it.

Freight on the wood surround cost too much? Talk to a local woodworker or DIY. Mine cost ~$40 in materials, half of which was a fancy schmancy (and horrifically stinky) 2-part clearcoat. IMO, having just the shifter surround be wood would look ok, and brown goes well with blue (I'd advise a less-red finish for your Ultramarine).

[fo3]

That is indeed the RHD driver's glovebox, all of which - LHD and RHD - apparently had an indentation for wood trim. I would paint it.

Freight on the wood surround cost too much?

I meant freight on the main storage partition, ie the whole main shifter console from IHKR to window switches cost too much. And kind of pointless because they sold the other glovebox lid. So plains of recolouring the wood trim from left door edge to right door edge in a uniform fashion can't be done.

The only panel I'll grab with the wood trim is the drivers glovebox, the rest will be my salvaged non wood trim main shifter console and glovebox (after I remove the glued on ill fitting wood, repair, sand and paint.)

Does the drivers gloveside box have something behind the lid, like a cubby or drawer? Because from that photo it looks pretty flat like there's nothing behind the door. Is there something from the car I need to get like hinges/cubby?

[moroza]

Polyurethane would work, but it wouldn't serve the purpose of covering up the wood. As for its durability compared to clearcoat, I don't know; I'm a newbie with woodworking.

The walls of the storage compartment itself is part of the trim piece, not a separate item. It's not very big, presumably to be able to clear the facebomb control module.

Did Oz cars come with a foam knee pad? On LHD cars, there are three different setups:

1. Driver's side glovebox, mandatory wood trim (or at least the cutouts therefor), no knee pad, long steeringcolumn lower trim panel that extends to the above-pedals panel, flatter steering column telescoping release lever, separate inboard lower dash trim panel.
2. No driver's glovebox, no wood trim, no knee pad, same long steeringcolumn lower trim panel, inboard lower dash trim panel integrated with the forward center console, no wood trim. For US cars, a very few early 525i without facebombs came with this setup. AFAIK none of them had telescoping steering columns.
3. No driver's glovebox, wood trim optional, knee pad, short steeringcolumn lower trim panel that doesn't extend to the above-pedals panel (and that panel is different from the first two), more angled telescoping release lever (if equipped with an adjustable column), single driver's side lower dash panel from the radio/heater/OBC area to the door. Most US cars had this setup.

[fo3]

HaHa, took me a second to work out what facebomb meant. Mines 1990 so would have been #2 and I've only looked at similar cars that were all the same (pre 92 525, 520 and 535). They had telescopic steering though.

So I've never seen an airbag car or kneepad car as I'm not into V8s. Most late model cars here are mostly 530s with a few 540s

I haven't seen a late model 525i with wood trim since 2018 around here either. I had to buy this late model drivers glovebox from the other side of the country as most here in the west are the older models pre airbag (besides the odd 530 and 540s). But even this later airbag/ews 525i I got the drivers glovebox from have the same main centre one piece console/lower dash side main section one piece like my 1990 did, which was strange. From what I've seen in the USA and on realoem it should have been 2 piece like you said for #1 and separate. But I could have used this 94 airbag one if freight was worthwhile (condition was no better than my current one)


E: Before I found out the PO glued on some wood trim in my car I thought it was a wood trim fit out they did. But no, it was a beige non woody dash they used for parts then must have pulled the fake wood strips of a 530 or something to rudely glue onto a spare set of older non wood trim panels anyway.

All the m20s are gone, most of the vanos m50s are gone; it's mostly 530, 540, 535 and m50NV still going locally. So if not V8, then likely they're like mine, #2 with telescoping steering column and no facebomb. Most people oon the aussie FB group have a 520, 535, 530 or 540. (or M5, ones got an alpina, ones got a Ac schnitzer) But none of them local so I've never looked at them IRL.
The only people with 525s are the ones that keep junking them They're going the way of the M20 ones I think.