John W

OK, so it pales in comparison to the news on Bluetooth, but here's an easy DIY.

I noticed that the wood on the console around the iDrive knob has been starting to show scratches, curved around the outside of the knob. Not sure if it's my wife's fingernails or the guys at the carwash, but the car's only 3 months old, so I wanted to stop the damage.

I cut a template for the area surrounding the knob, cut it out of 3M clear bra material, and placed it. It's barely noticeable, and should stop the wood from being damaged.

Here's the template


Here it is after installation


Cost almost nothing but a half hour of effort.

PNice972

looks good. good idea.

alpineweiss

Very smart idea..definately worth thinking about! Where'd you get the clear bra material?

John W

Thanks - You can get it at www.xpel.com

I was ordering the headlight protection kit - worth the $$ and effort in my opinion, so I threw a 12" piece of the 8 mil product in the cart. It was $6.50 and is way too much material. You could order a smaller piece for about $4.

Blackonblackonblack

John,

thanks for the great idea...I had posted my issue with these minor scratches myself a few weeks back. I can't handle the clear bra on the paint, but around the i-drive, I think I can handle.

Iceman

A good idea!

andy545

Nice idea!
Just checked out their site...they will ship to Europe as well!! I'm thinking as well
buying the hood/mirror and front bumper pre-cut kit ( $350 ) for the 545i.
Had seen it on JDN's car - I would have not noticed if he had not told me about it!! Front section looked impeccable.
On my ex E46 328i after 5 years that front part had taken a beating - the paint
touch-ups for the chip marks were getting too many...maybe it's worth this investment for the 545i.

Just not sure about the installation. If I screw up, these people aren't just around the corner and for this money you want to get it right the first time...

Anyone know anything about this product/dealer/installation in Europe?

TIA

alohalc

john w, nice job . so you just need to yank the knob out? have you removed the sticker between the knob and menu button ?

Rudy

Good idea -- would it be even "cleaner" if the entire wood piece was covered? It's not too tough to remove the gear shift, etc. so I'm wondering if it would be worth it to do it all at once?

JDN

Andy, there is a learning curve to applying this film. It takes a bit of stretching. My installer had only installed a few before mine so I looked at some of his work first. I would be hesitant to try a DIY.