[Bishop]

** ALL WORK PERFORMED ON 07 STI **
(The shift boot, E-brake boot, and console cover are all from Auger Resources. Good company, good product for the $$)
Alright, i decided to throw this How-To together because i got a few compliments from some local suby guys about how my interior is progressing, along with some inquiries on how i did what i did etc. from some members here on IWSTI.

**THIS IS MY 1ST HOW TO, IF IM MISSING ANYTHING OR DIDNT COVER SOMETHING, PLEASE CHIME IN SO I CAN ADJUST THE POSTS**

At the moment, i have installed the HVAC overlays from GraphicSTi (link below for the product), i painted the silver trim around the shifter, around the radio / HVAC controls, and around the hazard button. I also just completed the A pillars a few nights ago... B pillars, C pillars, Vent rings, miscellaneous interior pieces and hopefully headliner to come pending suggestions and tips and such.

Alright, i'll start by posting that this simple $12 mod triggered all of this. Please contact GraphicSTi to be directed to the proper thread or to purchase direct from him. I tried attacking a link and apparently the URL wasn't being found

This first post will be dedicated to doing this:

**********************************************
First off, i apologise for not having pics of these first few pics in their original color, i snapped these pics quick after they had been painted and installed....

Tools Needed for removal of pictured trim and tools needed to prep for paint:
- 8mm closed end / open end wrench or socket driver (socket driver would have worked better, i didnt have one)
-3mm allen wrench
-phillips head screw driver
-Flat Black Plasti-Dip rattle can (suggest purchasing 2 - 3 cans just to be 100% you have enough to do the job)
-I just cracked my 2nd can open to start the A pillars... read back of can and buy accordingly
** I chose plasti-dip because GraphicSTi suggested it, and now i highly do as well. It gives a rubbery coating that can be PEELED off if need be, and is very resistant to scratches and scuffs... the only downside i have noticed is it gathers a little bit of dust, which to me wasnt a problem.. dust is everywhere, and its easily removed with a simple wipe down **



Start by removing the trim piece around the shifter assembly along with the boot
To remove, pull straight back on the back of the trim and it simply pops out


Then depending on your year and / or aftermarket shift boot (like the one pictured) there will be a snap you can simply undo to slide the boot over the top of the knob and everything. Red arrows marking the direction to pull, its pretty simple though.



If you do not have a boot with a snap, you can simply unscrew the OEM knob and pull the boot over the reverse lockout and such.
The red circle is for the snap, the green arrow is for the knob that can be removed by simply turning in a counter-clockwise motion.
**If you have to unscrew the knob to get the boot off, hold off until your done unhooking the cig lighter and aux port, directions below**

Now that you have the boot loose and are able to slide it over the knob, pull the assembly out enough allowing you to gain access to the connections going to the Aux port and cig lighter.



The connections circled in red connect what i assumed to be the Aux port and cig lighter. The connections cirlced in green are for the aux port as well? (not too sure, it doesnt really matter). I have the far left green connection unhooked from the back of the OEM headunit because I previously installed a Kenwood touchscreen, i left it connected to make sure i wouldnt lose the jumper in the future.
Once the connections have been seperated (simple clip, push down and they will release and pull out) you can pull the whole trim assembly off and away from the shift lever and dash. (If you didnt have the snap on the boot, now that the connections are free you can remove the trim assembly and pull the boot over the lever.) Set the assembly aside, i'll go over the removal of the boot and such when its time to paint.....

Now, its time to move up the dash to the trim surrounding the radio and HVAC controls.
Take your phillips head screw driver and unscrew and SAVE in a safe spot such as a cupholder, the 2 screws at the bottom of the trim piece. The screws that need to be removed are circled in red, dont mistake them for the 2 right below, those are for removing the center console assembly, DCCD, cupholders, etc.



You can also see pretty well in this pic the badass overlays i got from GraphicSTi... its just a simple sticker

Anyway, removing the trim around the radio can be a little nerve racking, mostly because you will probably think your going to break it if this is your first time removing it....
After removing the 2 screws on the bottom of the trim, the bottom will simply pop out an inch or so.... This is where there are 2 methods.... MY METHOD: I slide my hand up behind the trim to about halfway w/ the radio... its a bit of a pinch, but WAY safer than the next method.... where the red box is, and on the opposite side of the trim, is a very obnoxious clip. i'm not really sure how to explain it, but if you simply slide your hand up, and pull straight out (using both hands if need be, DO NOT PULL THE BOTTOM OUT AND UP TOWARD THE HEADLINER) the side should pop right out... when you get one side, the other side is quite simple and pops out.
Congratulations, thats the most daunting (IMO) part of the removal...

Now, theres a few options, if your doing the overlays or any type of mod to the faces of the controls, i suggest removing the 2 clips and the hose attached to the back of the control box. I highlighted the 2 clips in green (push on the release and slide out again), and the hose is in yellow.... After being pretty careful with the hose, not knowing how to remove, i simply pulled and it popped off... give it a little force, but it pops over the little hump and comes right out.... Now, to remove the HVAC cluster, take your phillips and remove the 4 screws holding the knobs in ( i did this, along w/ the boot removal, and the hazard switch / vent guides, inside my kitchen so i wouldnt lose anything) You should be rewarded with just the trim



And



Now, just onto the final top piece of the trim that houses what i'll refer to the guides / fins to direct airflow, and the hazard button.... Now that the middle trim piece is off, you gain access to 3 screws holding this last piece in place. theyre smaller than the previous phillips head screw, so be careful not to drop anything down behind the radio or anything, it would suck Press and release clip connected to the back of the Hazard button, remove no problem.



Once you remove these 3 screws, simply pull up the bottom of the last piece of trim and it should pop right out....
Congratulations, the hard part IMO is done, now onto prep and paint.

Starting with the shift boot, you'll need your 3mm allen wrench, and the 8mm socket driver -or- open ended / close ended wrench.
Insert allen into the top side of the shifter trim screw, and use the wrench or socket driver to unscrew the nut at the bottom. There are 8, circled in red. Once you get the nuts off, you can just push the screws out (they arent threaded) and the silver trim around the boot should just come loose and fall off. Now, the harder part is removing the boot from the trim assembly. There are 4 "clip" type things holding the boot in place (the boot is glued to a plastic plate, the clips are retaining the plate in place) just do your best to remove the plate / boot by pushing the clip back, sliding out the piece, etc... it can kinda be a pain. Once you get this out, you should have an empty hole in the trim piece w/ the cig lighter and aux port stuff attached at the rear (no need to remove this stuff) the cig assembly along w/ the connectors in the back of the shifter trim are easy to mask off, just put a piece of painters tape along the top of the trim, or directly on the assembly in the back, and overlap to create a guard from the paint....


**** WARNING **** I had to repaint some pieces because i wasnt careful w/ my masking. I found out the hard way that the paint peels off, and when i tried peeling off the masking job i had done originally (w/out removing boot and trim) it pulled the paint up, so remove everything, and be careful how you mask the back off.... you just gotta cover the connectors and such in the back.



Now, remove the HVAC controls if you havent already done so via the 4 circled screws in the pic above. Thats all that needs to be done to the middle piece of trim, no masking or anything. Now, you gotta remove the vent fins and the hazard switch. To do the fins, just simply work around the retaining clips and they come right out, its pretty simple. As for the hazard button, there a clip on top holding the button assembly in. Push it up i believe, and the button slides out the FRONT of the trim.
Once you have everything down to the bare bones trim pieces, simply set up a painting area (i had a nice day, set up a table covered in old newspaper in the middle of my backyard and used it as my "spray booth." Read the directions on the back of the can and paint away.... one thing i did was paint in direct sunlight, and the can says not to do so.... i didnt notice a difference, but better do what the can says.

*** PAINTING TIPS ***
For the 1st coat, just do a light coating, just a little peppering of the paint to give the more solid coats something to adhere better to... be sure to clean the surfaces as well, simple wipe down would do. Some people, i heard, sanded down the trim, i think its unnecessary.
Spray on in gradually thicker coats, letting dry at least 30 minutes between the coats (yes, it matters).
I layed on probably 3-4 coats to get a good solid covering and a solid base. Once i had let it dry for a while, i just did a few lighter coats... be careful to avoid the paint running, take your time, it will save you time in the long run.
When you've laid down your final coat, let the trim pieces sit for at least 4 hours (can's instructions) before doing anything. I would say let sit longer just to be sure, but you really dont wanna mess up the paint.

*** STi RED IN SHIFTER TRIM ***
While the paint was drying between coats I got the notion to give a little emphasis on the STi engraved in the silver trim.... I stole a bottle of red nail polish from my sister, and had some q-tips and napkins at hand, along w/ some rubbing alcohol. i globbed the nail polish in there, dipped the napkin in the rubbing alcohol, pressed out the excess alcohol so the napkin was just damp, and ran it over the top of the lettering. I did this a few times and it cleaned it up pretty good, just gotta be careful and all, not to mess up the trim, or the paint in the letter. Dipped a q tip in the alcohol, pressed out the excess again, and did a little more intricate cleaning between the lettering.... after i painted it i forgot about it and set it next to the boot to dry. it should be dry by the time comes to reassemble everything

When it comes time to reassemble everything you should be smiling and thinkin "damn that looks good." If your not thinking that, you failed, start over. just kiddin

Reassemble everything in reverse order in the trim.... push the hazard button back, pop in the vent fins. screw the HVAC knobs back in. line up everything w/ the boot (some bending or pulling of the trim may be required to get the boot / plate back in place) line up the holes, slide in the screws into the trim etc.... its pretty simple... everything goes back in the opposite it came out.....
Once everything is in, sit back, think damn its nice again, take a pic and feel free to post a pic of your project on here...

PLEASE AGAIN POST TIPS IF I FORGOT ANYTHING, OR THERE IS SOMETHING YOU FEEL REQUIRES EXTRA ATTENTION. I'LL GLADLY ADJUST THE THREAD ACCORDINGLY

For under probably $20-25 bucks, i think its a very stylish and nice DIY... happy paintin

Again, a final product w/ the STi red letter in the shifter trim... all in all, a great success



Also as a final note, after reinstalling everything into the dash, the hazard button must have been rubbing because it was sticking... i managed to pull it back out... i pressed it on and off like 20 times and now it doesn't stick anymore. I know the hazards dont get used alot, but i figured i would post a lil warning for those who might encounter it

[Bishop]

This post is reserved for doing the vent rings. However, i havent done them yet because im still struggling / trying to figure out how to get the damn buggers out w/out breaking anything.... any tips appreciated and they will be followed by another write up

[Bishop]

The A Pillars were pretty easy once i figured out how to remove them. If you read the post above, good, if not, i HIGHLY recommend reading at least the painting tips if not the whole thing...
Anyway, i didnt get a GREAT pic of the pillars, but trust me, they go GREAT w/ the black dash and center console / dash trim pieces in black

Start by getting your fingers up near the glass, between the trim and pulling it toward the CENTER of the WINDSHIELD, NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT the center of the car as some people told me. There are 3 x-mas tree clips in the pillar and once you get the top, its pretty easy to remove.
Pic of trim etc, arrow shows toward center of windshield. Red circle is about where you wanna work in your fingers to pull.



Once you get the top popped off, you can look down and see the 3 clips (2 white, 1 orange)... at the very bottom of the piece of trim is a tab that goes into a hole as well.... reinstalling the passenger side was kinda a pain, but the driver side slid right in

Red circles are the clips, top right red circle is one of the bases the clips go into



Read above post for painting info..... no need to mask anything, you can leave the clips in..... I suggest however, trying to mount each pillar to the edges arent touching a surface... You have to paint the whole outside surface, and i didnt want to risk the paint peeling off if it were attached at the seam and the table or whatever your painting surface is.

Again, do a minor base coat, then a few thicker coats.... some cover coats, let sit a while.... these i would suggest over night... i tried installing mine after about 5 hours and the paint got a little finger printy... i threw some rubber gloves on for the passenger side, but still a little smudge here and there..... wiped away simply w/ a microfiber cloth, but i shoulda just waited to install em

After they're painted and dry, just gotta line everything back up and push the clips back in... install is pretty simple, just gotta make sure everything lines up... i did run into 1 minor set back, i took a picture to try and help.



I have circled in red, where the pillar was not seated behind the weather stripping. Its not a big deal, but can cause some confusion as to why the pillar isnt seating properly..... just run your finger along the seam to make sure the pillar is fully behind the trim, and you're money

Enjoy another simple DIY, and again i urge pics if anyone else tries these

[Bishop]

Reserved for B pillars.... requires (from what i can tell), removal of seat belts, and i dont have the time during the week to attempt this....i'll be trying to do the B and C pillars (which require seat belt removal as well) one of these upcoming weekends so STAY TUNED

[Bishop]

Reserved for C pillars

See post #4

[Bishop]

reserved for miscellaneous trim

[Bishop]

Reserved again just in case

[Bishop]

One last post reserved

Enjoy

[gosu]

neat write up

How much "layers" of plastidip did you use for the center? how easy is it to peel off?

[STI-DMNHNTR]

applause very well done i cant wait to see you tackle those damn rings very well done any thoughts on doing the roof i guess you would call ceiling fabric?

overall bad ass


oh yes and how did you get your hvac control knobs black as well very nice touch?

btw got the same year STI but no BLACK Hvac control knobs i will post pics as is i will be doing this mod on thursday fingers crossed

[STI_Mike]

i've done the same thing to my car and it looks great!

[howboutthemapplz]

they have some kind of spray on dye. I have though numerous times about taking on the task you are doing, but or some reason i havent done it.

good write up though, coming along nicely!!

thanks for the contribution

[STiLLsLow]

awesome write up! i ve been trying to do this for months now and have everything i need just lacking the cojones lol its also cuz i want to swap out radios and do the HVAV red light mod while i have everything apart but this will def help a lot, Thanks!

[fourseasonsandles]

I have also been thinking about doing my pillars after seeing Kirs car. Nice write up. Keep it coming!

[Bishop]

Thanks all for the positive feedback! Hopefully this is actually useful to some people and they post up their interiors once finished.

Gosu - It says in post 1 my painting tips etc. I used 1 very light coat as a base, then 2 - 3 thicker coats on top of that as a more solid base. Then just did a few more coats to blend it all together and thats it... It doesnt really matter if you lay it on uneven, it seems to dry the same color every time which was a plus. Its also pretty easy to peel off, just gotta work an edge up, then after that its simple. Kinda hard to describe, but if you needed to return to stock, or didnt like the black, it would be easy to convert back.

DMNHNTR - I can wait to do the rings as well, its the only silver pieces on the dash now and they kinda stick out Once i find out how to safely remove them without damaging the dash or the rings themselves, i'll post a write up As for the ceiling fabric, im open to suggestions? not sure what to do. And the black HVAC knobs are actually just a sticker that goes over the face of the knob. Contact GraphicSTi for the HVAC overlays and he can take care of ya. $12 for the stickers and they dont look half bad.

Applz - If you have more info on the dye im all ears, and you should start the project. Its simple to do in stages instead of all at once, just kinda time consuming once you start cause you gotta let the paint sit for at least 4 hours after the final coat is sprayed on. Thanks for the feedback

STiLLsLow - It seems daunting, but its actually pretty easy. Dont be afraid to tackle this project. I'll be doing the red light mod as well, but it wasn't top priority at the time and i didnt have the bulb condoms on hand, so i'll just have to do some other time.

Sandles - The pillars are awesome. They look so great, MUCH better than the tan that doesn't really go with the dash... with the black pillars it seems to flow better and be easier on the eyes I'm lovin the project so far since its an OBP sti and im now converting the interior to match