Worn Stereo Fascia On Sc430 . . . How To Fix?

[MBoom]

I'm a complete noob, and this is a pretty trivial first post, but here goes . . .

I just bought a 2002 SC430. Mechanically, it's perfect. Cosmetically, it's in near-perfect shape, but there's one thing that's nagging at me. The previous owner must have fiddled with the volume control constantly, because the metallic finish around the volume knob is nearly worn off in one area, revealing the black plastic underneath.

Now, this is hardly the end of the world, but I have a sickness. Things like that bore a hole through my psyche and I must find a way to fix it. I checked with my dealer's parts department and, as I suspected, the fascia is not sold separately; it's part of the stereo head unit. I've searched for dash kits, thinking an aluminized or carbon fiber piece cut to fit would look nice, but, alas, none of the kits I've found include that piece.

Can anyone recommend a way to address this horrific situation? :cries: I'd like to restore it to a factory-new appearance. However, failing that, a laser-cut overlay (as found in dashboard kits) would be fine. Thanks.

[LC6529]

>

Now, this is hardly the end of the world, but I have a sickness. Things like that bore a hole through my psyche and I must find a way to fix it.

>

And here I thought I was the only one in the world like that! Man, the previous owner must have REALLY been changing stations a lot! I can imagine him driving down the road, top down, left hand on wheel, right hand on tuner knob..

Sorry I don't have a solution, but I was glad to see I am not the only one driven batty by an issue like that.

[MBoom]

And here I thought I was the only one in the world like that! Man, the previous owner must have REALLY been changing stations a lot! I can imagine him driving down the road, top down, left hand on wheel, right hand on tuner knob..

Sorry I don't have a solution, but I was glad to see I am not the only one driven batty by an issue like that.

Well, it's good to know that there's at least one person out there who understands my despair. :cries:

As of this morning, I've located one company, a place in NJ, that has committed to having their designer look at an SC and see if they can do a custom job. I'm sure that means it will be somewhat pricey, but we'll see. I've also located several sources of adhesive-backed carbon fiber film that I think would look good. The problem is that any overlay would have an inordinate number of cutouts and I'd have to get it "just right" or it would look like crap. I don't want to screw up a nice car with a tacky piece of work. So, right now I'm on hold.

[Micah]

I had this problem on my 1996 Sc, and I repainted the whole piece. It wasn't very hard. Removed it, sanded it, and spay painted it with interior paint from the local automotive paint store. Looked almost perfect and only cost me 10 dollars for the paint (and I coated it like 3 times to make it look nice). The only suggestion is that if I were to do it again I would paint over it with a protectant like a flat (non-shiny) clear coat so that this wouldn't happen again.

[hawaiilex]

Oh-oh, now I have to remember to use the volume knob on the steering wheel so I don't wear out my fascia! Geez, you can run the whole thing from the steering wheel!-Previous owner may not have known, or just had to fiddle... Good luck finding a solution (it would drive me nuts, too) :P

[MBoom]

Well, I think we're getting closer to a solution. I've been working on a template and a friend of mine (an LS430 owner who is also mentally ill) has been scouring the local hardware and hobby stores for a material that will work. I've got some thin (.015") adhesive-backed carbon fiber sheet on the way, but in the meanwhile the best solution may be to cut some thin plastic, then coat it with a plastic-friendly spray paint that's a close match to the factory fascia.

I want to end up with something that is up to the aesthetic standard of the rest of the interior (other than this, everything else is perfect), and I have to keep the overlay thin enough that it won't interfere with the retracting cover panel. Once I hit on a final solution, I'll post the info here.

[MBoom]

Well, I think we're getting closer to a solution . . . Once I hit on a final solution, I'll post the info here.

This project consumed hours and I don't have the final version done, but I've got an interim fascia cover that looks pretty good to me. This is a camera phone photo, so the quality isn't the greatest:

The size and placement of the cutouts around the knobs isn't quite as good as I'd like, but everything else fits perfectly. In a nutshell, this is what I did:

1. I took a photo of the factory fascia, then cropped and resized the photo to the exact size of the actual fascia.

2. I pasted the photo into SmartDraw, a drafting program, then using the software's tools I drew the appropriate shapes over the corresponding openings (buttons, display, CD slot, etc.). I deleted the photo from the resulting diagram and had a pretty close actual-size diagram to create a template. Because of the parallax error that resulted from taking the photo so close to the fascia, the size and placement of some of the openings wasn't quite right. I did some measuring and adjusted these.

3. I printed the template to actual size, then taping the template to a piece of .015" thick, adhesive-backed carbon fiber, I etched the outline of the openings with an X-acto knife.

4. I then cut out the openings in the carbon fiber sheet with the X-acto knife. This took forever.

5. Comparing the cut-to-measure sheet with the actual radio, I then adjusted the size of the openings with a Dremel Moto-Tool with a shaping attachment. When I created the template in SmartDraw, I had made the openings as close to the actual dimensions of the buttons as I could, so the fit around some of them was a little too tight initially. I figured it would be easier to expand some of the openings if it was necessary, than to try to make the radio look good with too-big openings in the carbon fiber fascia cover. It was really easy to adjust the openings' size with the Dremel.

5. Once I had the openings sized to my satisfaction, I used some rub-on Datamark letters for the POWER/VOLUME, AUDIO/TUNE and PUSH/MODE letters. These were sprayed with Datakote spray.

6. Once everything was dry, I slapped that puppy in place.

Eventually I will . . . at my leisure . . . work on a piece that's perfect. This one is about an 8 or 9 on a scale of 10, and it's a vast improvement over the worn fascia.

I probably spent 30 or 40 hours on this, though someone who's not a complete ham-fisted knucklehead could do it a lot faster. Much of that time was spent researching materials, buying supplies, and creating the template. The cutting of the carbon fiber sheet was tedious, but not all that difficult.

Thanks again to Howard, my LS-driving pal, who helped a lot. I probably would have given up on this had he not put so much time and effort into this himself.

I do like the look of the carbon fiber. It's dark gray in color (described as graphite) and adds a not-too-flashy bit of a high-tech look to the dash. Since I've got some left over, I've been thinking about adding a bit here and there to dress up other interior bits and pieces. However, I'm mindful of the fact that it's but a small step from "tasteful accent" to "wretched excess," so I'm trying to exercise some self-control. ;)

[Z-Roc]

just painted or you can maybe buy the piece from the dealer

[LC6529]

That looks VERY good! You could start a business selling those!

[MBoom]

That looks VERY good! You could start a business selling those!

Thanks, but given the amount of time this ate up, I'd have to charge about a thousand bucks a copy. I can appreciate now how much time the design and tooling of those aftermarket wood/carbon fiber dash kits entails. One would think that it's not that big a deal to create a template, but just this one little piece required 19 cutouts, which have to be very accurately placed to make the finished product look right. It's a pain in the neck.

[lweisenb]

I have no idea how the facia is attached on the lexus, but typically they are attached to the base radio unit with 4-6 plastic tabs and can be removed as a whole. I've repainted a few differant ones from various ford, gm, and others.

[Verysage]

I'd call someone at Mark Levinson and see if you can sweet talk them into a free facia. I did this with my Treo and it worked. of course, they will tell you the warranty is void, but sounds like it expired already? Good luck

[DArustik]

I'd call someone at Mark Levinson and see if you can sweet talk them into a free facia. I did this with my Treo and it worked. of course, they will tell you the warranty is void, but sounds like it expired already? Good luck

haha what a good and simple idea..good luck with that

[xl8rguy]

Ok, so I am just as particular as the other guy when it comes to scratches and worn out radio fascia.

The dealer does not sell this as a separate part so it looks like removing it and repainting it would be the most cost-effective solution.

Now for the million dollar question: How do you remove the fascia/bezel part from an 02 SC430 radio? I remember the old time radios had two nuts holding it in place when you took off the knobs. But I haven't tried this yet. And I'm scared... :(

Anyone know? Anyone? Anyone?