Pics of a handful of DIY mods
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 6,573
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From: Kansas City
Pics of a handful of DIY mods
In an effort to achieve my own style with my G35, I've done a handful of simple DIY mods over the past few months. My goal is to mod exterior/interior with mods that enhance the quality/look of the car while trying to make the mod look OEM. Most importantly, it gives my car it's own personality without looking ricey or over the top.
I never liked the black gap between the middle of the dash on my 03 so I tried to emmulate the newer dash look and added some trim. 1/4" round stock aluminum gave me the look I wanted. I painted the trim a soft aluminum color to closely match the shifter trim. It came out far better than expected and gives the interior a little more class. It's probably not for everyone. I also added 350Z pedals including the clutch pedal cover for the E-brake.
Before:
After:
Here are the 05 reverse tail lights matched with the regular brake lights. IMO, it's a more clean look.
Definitely my favorite exterior mod, black painted grille. It cleans up the front end so much. Not a single chip after 2.5 months use. It takes a lot of prep work, but it's relatively easy to do.
This mod was an experiment and I'm going to leave it. I just wanted to see what the car would look like with body colored door handles so I grabbed some electrical tape and covered the handles. It's still on there
The tape has been on there for 1.5 months and hasn't shown the slightest desire to come off. Even after heavy rain, multiple washings, and daily use. The tape is the highest grade all weather electrical tape ($6 roll) you can get. That might be the reason why it's holding so well. Not a bad mod for 5 minutes worth of work and $.50 in materials. Definitely not a mod for everyone because some people couldn't fathom using tape to black out trim work 
I never liked the black gap between the middle of the dash on my 03 so I tried to emmulate the newer dash look and added some trim. 1/4" round stock aluminum gave me the look I wanted. I painted the trim a soft aluminum color to closely match the shifter trim. It came out far better than expected and gives the interior a little more class. It's probably not for everyone. I also added 350Z pedals including the clutch pedal cover for the E-brake.
Before:
After:
Here are the 05 reverse tail lights matched with the regular brake lights. IMO, it's a more clean look.
Definitely my favorite exterior mod, black painted grille. It cleans up the front end so much. Not a single chip after 2.5 months use. It takes a lot of prep work, but it's relatively easy to do.
This mod was an experiment and I'm going to leave it. I just wanted to see what the car would look like with body colored door handles so I grabbed some electrical tape and covered the handles. It's still on there
The tape has been on there for 1.5 months and hasn't shown the slightest desire to come off. Even after heavy rain, multiple washings, and daily use. The tape is the highest grade all weather electrical tape ($6 roll) you can get. That might be the reason why it's holding so well. Not a bad mod for 5 minutes worth of work and $.50 in materials. Definitely not a mod for everyone because some people couldn't fathom using tape to black out trim work
Last edited by DaveB; Sep 5, 2005 at 12:23 AM.
Can you explain how you did the grill. Thanks.
Originally Posted by DaveB
In an effort to achieve my own style with my G35, I've done a handful of simple DIY mods over the past few months. My goal is to mod exterior/interior with mods that enhance the quality/look of the car while trying to make the mod look OEM. Most importantly, it gives my car it's own personality without looking ricey or over the top.
I never liked the black gap between the middle of the dash on my 03 so I tried to emmulate the newer dash look and added some trim. 1/4" round stock aluminum gave me the look I wanted. I painted the trim a soft aluminum color to closely match the shifter trim. It came out far better than expected and gives the interior a little more class. It's probably not for everyone. I also added 350Z pedals including the clutch pedal cover for the E-brake.
Before:
After:
Here are the 05 reverse tail lights matched with the regular brake lights. IMO, it's a more clean look.
Definitely my favorite exterior mod, black painted grille. It cleans up the front end so much. Not a single chip after 2.5 months use. It takes a lot of prep work, but it's relatively easy to do.
This mod was an experiment and I'm going to leave it. I just wanted to see what the car would look like with body colored door handles so I grabbed some electrical tape and covered the handles. It's still on there The tape has been on there for 1.5 months and hasn't shown the slightest desire to come off. Even after heavy rain, multiple washings, and daily use. The tape is the highest grade all weather electrical tape ($6 roll) you can get. That might be the reason why it's holding so well. Not a bad mod for 5 minutes worth of work and $.50 in materials. Definitely not a mod for everyone because some people couldn't fathom using tape to black out trim work
I never liked the black gap between the middle of the dash on my 03 so I tried to emmulate the newer dash look and added some trim. 1/4" round stock aluminum gave me the look I wanted. I painted the trim a soft aluminum color to closely match the shifter trim. It came out far better than expected and gives the interior a little more class. It's probably not for everyone. I also added 350Z pedals including the clutch pedal cover for the E-brake.
Before:
After:
Here are the 05 reverse tail lights matched with the regular brake lights. IMO, it's a more clean look.
Definitely my favorite exterior mod, black painted grille. It cleans up the front end so much. Not a single chip after 2.5 months use. It takes a lot of prep work, but it's relatively easy to do.
This mod was an experiment and I'm going to leave it. I just wanted to see what the car would look like with body colored door handles so I grabbed some electrical tape and covered the handles. It's still on there
The tape has been on there for 1.5 months and hasn't shown the slightest desire to come off. Even after heavy rain, multiple washings, and daily use. The tape is the highest grade all weather electrical tape ($6 roll) you can get. That might be the reason why it's holding so well. Not a bad mod for 5 minutes worth of work and $.50 in materials. Definitely not a mod for everyone because some people couldn't fathom using tape to black out trim work 
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Originally Posted by DaveB
I never liked the black gap between the middle of the dash on my 03 so I tried to emmulate the newer dash look and added some trim. 1/4" round stock aluminum gave me the look I wanted. I painted the trim a soft aluminum color to closely match the shifter trim. It came out far better than expected and gives the interior a little more class. It's probably not for everyone.
Dude, looks good. I love the pedals, and the interior dash-gap-trim is a nice touch. I personally love the front grill, but I'm wondering about the door handles. Can you take a closer picture? In the pictures you've posted, I like the look, but I'd like to see how well the tape wraps the handles, and the finish of the tape. Any problems with air bubbles in the tape?
Funny thing, kind of related. A while back I was curious what white wheels would look like on my IP. I've decided not to try it. However, this morning I used this Meguiars tire cleaner foam on my tires. Completely whited them out for a few seconds. They kind of looked like large whitewalls; completely white-out rubber. While I would never dare to have whitewalls on the g, it was an interesting look.
Funny thing, kind of related. A while back I was curious what white wheels would look like on my IP. I've decided not to try it. However, this morning I used this Meguiars tire cleaner foam on my tires. Completely whited them out for a few seconds. They kind of looked like large whitewalls; completely white-out rubber. While I would never dare to have whitewalls on the g, it was an interesting look.
Originally Posted by blacksheep
Nice, DaveB. Could you point out in the 1st pic where you did this? I am afraid I cannot spot it in the pic...Sorry!
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 6,573
Likes: 72
From: Kansas City
Originally Posted by trey.hutcheson
but I'm wondering about the door handles. Can you take a closer picture? In the pictures you've posted, I like the look, but I'd like to see how well the tape wraps the handles, and the finish of the tape. Any problems with air bubbles in the tape?
The quality of my photos always sucks. I clearly need to learn how to manually set up the camera. Here's a better pic of the handle. I just took this in the garage so the lighting and quality isn't great. The tape I got doesn't buddle at all. When I first tried this with regular $1.50 electrical tape, I did get some bubbles. You can get the higher quality tape at Home Depot. It comes in a plastic container to keep it fresh. 
A steady hand and a razor blade is all it takes. I wrapped the tape around the handle about 1/8" and trimmed where needed. The finish of the tape is obviously flatter than the finish of the car. From 10 feet you wouldn't know. Even when you're right up on it, it doesn't look bad at all. You'd never know it was tape.
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 6,573
Likes: 72
From: Kansas City
All the credit for the grill work goes to "Constjs". He was the one I got the idea from and used his directions.
1) Remove the grill
2) Pop out the emblem (simply snaps out)
3) Sand the chrome grill a medium grain sandpaper. Make sure all the chrome gets scuffed. The go back over it with a fine grain sand paper. You don't have to take it to the plastic base. Just make sure ALL the chrome is scuffed.
4) Meticously clean the grill and make sure to remove all debris. Rubbing alcohol is good as a final step in this task.
5) Prime the grill with a primer made for adhering to plastic. This is probably the most important step. Do 3-4 light coats. I got the primer from your run of the mill auto parts store. The primer I used was clear color.
6) Paint the grill with the desired color. I used about 6 light coats of standard automotive gloss black.
7) Spray on 3-4 light coats of clear.
Done.
It's a long process, but it's well worth the effort. Even if you don't have black, you can do this mod easily. Your dealership should have available spray cans of all the OEM colors.
1) Remove the grill
2) Pop out the emblem (simply snaps out)
3) Sand the chrome grill a medium grain sandpaper. Make sure all the chrome gets scuffed. The go back over it with a fine grain sand paper. You don't have to take it to the plastic base. Just make sure ALL the chrome is scuffed.
4) Meticously clean the grill and make sure to remove all debris. Rubbing alcohol is good as a final step in this task.
5) Prime the grill with a primer made for adhering to plastic. This is probably the most important step. Do 3-4 light coats. I got the primer from your run of the mill auto parts store. The primer I used was clear color.
6) Paint the grill with the desired color. I used about 6 light coats of standard automotive gloss black.
7) Spray on 3-4 light coats of clear.
Done.
It's a long process, but it's well worth the effort. Even if you don't have black, you can do this mod easily. Your dealership should have available spray cans of all the OEM colors.
Originally Posted by DaveB
I'll be the first one to admit my photo skills = suckage The quality of my photos always sucks. I clearly need to learn how to manually set up the camera. Here's a better pic of the handle. I just took this in the garage so the lighting and quality isn't great. The tape I got doesn't buddle at all. When I first tried this with regular $1.50 electrical tape, I did get some bubbles. You can get the higher quality tape at Home Depot. It comes in a plastic container to keep it fresh.
The quality of my photos always sucks. I clearly need to learn how to manually set up the camera. Here's a better pic of the handle. I just took this in the garage so the lighting and quality isn't great. The tape I got doesn't buddle at all. When I first tried this with regular $1.50 electrical tape, I did get some bubbles. You can get the higher quality tape at Home Depot. It comes in a plastic container to keep it fresh.
I like your style, dude. The black grill looks really good on a black car. I would of thought blacking out the door handles was stupid but it looks really good as well. Nice idea using electrical tape. Do they sell diamond graphite electrical tape? lol
DaveB looks awesome. I had the same exterior stuff done at a bodyshop. I was 1000% precent pleased. Looking at yours just confirms that this is the way infiniti should have optioned the G.
The interior of your car looks spotless. The trim and pedals look flawless. Great job on the improvising.
The interior of your car looks spotless. The trim and pedals look flawless. Great job on the improvising.
