[bmwenjoyer]

Hey y'all, I just ordered some genuine black alcantara fabric and fabric adhesive - I'm going for the M-Performance F30 Alcantara interior look, but without the carbon fiber and the M-Performance logo.

My plan is to just cut the material into the correct shape, apply the adhesive, and fold it behind the back of the panels.

Anyone here with experience doing anything similar? I plan on posting the results after everything comes in the mail next week.

This is one of the pieces I'm going to wrap in alcantara. I'm also going to do the iDrive surrounding trim and door handles.

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by bmwenjoyer

Hey y'all, I just ordered some genuine black alcantara fabric and fabric adhesive - I'm going for the M-Performance F30 Alcantara interior look, but without the carbon fiber and the M-Performance logo.

My plan is to just cut the material into the correct shape, apply the adhesive, and fold it behind the back of the panels.

Anyone here with experience doing anything similar? I plan on posting the results after everything comes in the mail next week.

This is one of the pieces I'm going to wrap in alcantara. I'm also going to do the iDrive surrounding trim and door handles.

You want to separate the entire trim, this will allow you to wrap around the main trim before piecing it back together. Cutting it to shape on the trim will be a nightmare, it'll also show an overhang on the bottom as you won't have been able to wrap it under.

I have done a fair few GTS style dash trims now - you just need to drill out the plastic welds and pry it apart, you can rebuild it then using screws and epoxy.

[bmwenjoyer]

Originally Posted by fortythirtyfive

You want to separate the entire trim, this will allow you to wrap around the main trim before piecing it back together. Cutting it to shape on the trim will be a nightmare, it'll also show an overhang on the bottom as you won't have been able to wrap it under.

I have done a fair few GTS style dash trims now - you just need to drill out the plastic welds and pry it apart, you can rebuild it then using screws and epoxy.

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking about how I'm going to completely separate the wood from the aluminum trim on the center trim piece. Do you have any recommendations for epoxy?

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by bmwenjoyer

Thanks for the advice, I was thinking about how I'm going to completely separate the wood from the aluminum trim on the center trim piece. Do you have any recommendations for epoxy?

I don't currently have any photos to hand, however everything is held on using plastic spot welds. You'll spot them all instantly, there's maybe 3 or 4 tiny guide clips however you won't see these until you have removed the welds and begun prying.

My advice would be to find a drill bit the same size as the plastic welds and slowly drill away at them, only do it until you hear a click or you see the top half of the weld shatter, if you go any further you'll remove the little stubs underneath which are key to re-gluing it all. Essentially you just want to remove the top side of the plastic weld.

When fixing it all back together I'd suggest something like jb weld or araldite, any other strong 2 part glue should do the trick though. Just make sure you're 100% done with all your work before gluing them as it'll be harder to rebuild if you have to drill them again, you're relying on the little stubs (found under the plastic welds) still being present to poke through the frame holes and glue onto.

[bmwenjoyer]

Originally Posted by fortythirtyfive

I don't currently have any photos to hand, however everything is held on using plastic spot welds. You'll spot them all instantly, there's maybe 3 or 4 tiny guide clips however you won't see these until you have removed the welds and begun prying.

My advice would be to find a drill bit the same size as the plastic welds and slowly drill away at them, only do it until you hear a click or you see the top half of the weld shatter, if you go any further you'll remove the little stubs underneath which are key to re-gluing it all. Essentially you just want to remove the top side of the plastic weld.

When fixing it all back together I'd suggest something like jb weld or araldite, any other strong 2 part glue should do the trick though. Just make sure you're 100% done with all your work before gluing them as it'll be harder to rebuild if you have to drill them again, you're relying on the little stubs (found under the plastic welds) still being present to poke through the frame holes and glue onto.

Sheeeeesh okay, thanks for taking the time to give me that valuable advice. I have bad OCD and it affects my car as well, so I need this to be absolutely 100% perfect with no flaws. I'm going to have to take my time and really make sure it's done right.

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by bmwenjoyer

Sheeeeesh okay, thanks for taking the time to give me that valuable advice. I have bad OCD and it affects my car as well, so I need this to be absolutely 100% perfect with no flaws. I'm going to have to take my time and really make sure it's done right.

The good thing is you can always pickup a new trim for around £40-50 max haha, the older our cars get the cheaper most interior parts become! It's not a super hard job to be fair, you just need a little bit of time and patience so you don't rush it.

[fortythirtyfive]

I just updated my dash trim last night, hopefully this helps.. where the screws are is where you'll need to drill the plastic welds out. I back filled them with epoxy glue and then used some tiny self tappers to draw it in tight.

[bmwenjoyer]

Originally Posted by fortythirtyfive

I just updated my dash trim last night, hopefully this helps.. where the screws are is where you'll need to drill the plastic welds out. I back filled them with epoxy glue and then used some tiny self tappers to draw it in tight.

Yep can totally see that. What dimensions are the self tappers you got? Gonna go pick some up today.

[Billfitz]

In the past I used a hot melt glue gun to reattach trim pieces where I drilled out the plastic rivets. I've switched to UV glue, like this, which cures in thirty seconds under UV light. It works a treat for all sorts of glue jobs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by bmwenjoyer

Yep can totally see that. What dimensions are the self tappers you got? Gonna go pick some up today.

They were labelled SE8X3/8K - I used a bunch of M5 washers with them.

Originally Posted by Billfitz

In the past I used a hot melt glue gun to reattach trim pieces where I drilled out the plastic rivets. I've switched to UV glue, like this, which cures in thirty seconds under UV light. It works a treat for all sorts of glue jobs.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

Yeah that works too, any hard curing epoxy should be fine. Typically I use JB Weld for this sort of stuff as it dries incredibly hard and strong, it's also more of a paste which is better for filling gaps. The main reason I used self tappers too is that the passenger side tip of the flat piece didn't sit flush after being wrapped, using self tappers allowed me to draw it in even further.

[bmwenjoyer]

So I started on this today and quickly realized how fucking bad I am at this kind of thing. I completely overestimated my arts and crafts skills and had to employ the help of my partner who conveniently is a resident plastic surgeon so she is really good at arts and crafts.

Anyways here is what we were able to do today. The door handles are fairly easy, and the middle trim i-drive trim was pretty tough, but she killed it. The issue with that part was getting the i-drive controller back into the trim with the reduce opening size due to the thickness of the alcantara that was not there before. When I finally got it in, it pushed up some of the material and made somewhat of a crease surrounding the edges of it. I'll upload a pic tomorrow in the daylight.

Separating the silver plastic piece from the wood trim wasn't bad, but I'm just not able to screw in the self-tappers into the plastic rivet pieces. I'm going to get some jb-weld tomorrow pinch it together but I don't have high hopes honestly. Kind of looking grim but tomorrow is a new day.

Worst case scenario I just buy alcantara middle trim pieces and wrap the door handles myself. Not feeling great about this so far but the door handles are pretty slick and I'm grateful for my partner being willing to help my dumb ass.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by fortythirtyfive

any hard curing epoxy should be fine.

The cure time is way too long. With UV glue you use one hand to hold the pieces together with sufficient pressure that there's no gap between them, while you zap it with UV with the other. 30 seconds later go to the next tack point. You can do a dozen tack points in as many minutes. Using epoxy you'd need to clamp the pieces together at multiple points to hold it all secure while the epoxy sets. How many clamps? Murphy's Law dictates at least one more than you have.

[WagonHo]

I've been doing the same project at the same time you have been. I had all the bits, but had hesitated to get started. Your thread motivated me to get it done this weekend.

I also found that reinserting the iDrive controller was tricky due to the added thickness from the alcantara wrap, but a little patience and slow pressure got it there without introducing any wrinkels or buckles.

On the center dash piece, I found that the self-tapping screws were difficult to impossible. Definitely try the JB Weld or some other epoxy. I used a UV epoxy and about three spring clamps that I had handy for the far right edge. Like you, I wanted to draw it down tight, but the screws stripped every time. Clamps, good epoxy to fill the hole, and patience got me there. Good luck with the rest of the project - the look is definitely worth the time and effort.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...7#post29950807

Originally Posted by bmwenjoyer

So I started on this today and quickly realized how fucking bad I am at this kind of thing. I completely overestimated my arts and crafts skills and had to employ the help of my partner who conveniently is a resident plastic surgeon so she is really good at arts and crafts.

Anyways here is what we were able to do today. The door handles are fairly easy, and the middle trim i-drive trim was pretty tough, but she killed it. The issue with that part was getting the i-drive controller back into the trim with the reduce opening size due to the thickness of the alcantara that was not there before. When I finally got it in, it pushed up some of the material and made somewhat of a crease surrounding the edges of it. I'll upload a pic tomorrow in the daylight.

Separating the silver plastic piece from the wood trim wasn't bad, but I'm just not able to screw in the self-tappers into the plastic rivet pieces. I'm going to get some jb-weld tomorrow pinch it together but I don't have high hopes honestly. Kind of looking grim but tomorrow is a new day.

Worst case scenario I just buy alcantara middle trim pieces and wrap the door handles myself. Not feeling great about this so far but the door handles are pretty slick and I'm grateful for my partner being willing to help my dumb ass.

[bmwenjoyer]

Originally Posted by WagonHo

I've been doing the same project at the same time you have been. I had all the bits, but had hesitated to get started. Your thread motivated me to get it done this weekend.

I also found that reinserting the iDrive controller was tricky due to the added thickness from the alcantara wrap, but a little patience and slow pressure got it there without introducing any wrinkels or buckles.

On the center dash piece, I found that the self-tapping screws were difficult to impossible. Definitely try the JB Weld or some other epoxy. I used a UV epoxy and about three spring clamps that I had handy for the far right edge. Like you, I wanted to draw it down tight, but the screws stripped every time. Clamps, good epoxy to fill the hole, and patience got me there. Good luck with the rest of the project - the look is definitely worth the time and effort.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...7#post29950807

Thank you for the words of encouragement. The door handles are all finished but I completely botched the center I-Drive trim piece. My partner got it all cut up beautifully but I was struggling with getting the controller in place without wrinkling the alcantara surrounding it. I tried trimming it down and well....not good.

I just ordered the center trim piece, I-Drive trim piece, and left driver side vent trim piece from an aftermarket seller. I'm going to keep the door handles that I did.

Pain...but with enough time, patience, ingenuity and money, anything is possible.

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The cure time is way too long. With UV glue you use one hand to hold the pieces together with sufficient pressure that there's no gap between them, while you zap it with UV with the other. 30 seconds later go to the next tack point. You can do a dozen tack points in as many minutes. Using epoxy you'd need to clamp the pieces together at multiple points to hold it all secure while the epoxy sets. How many clamps? Murphy's Law dictates at least one more than you have.

Two part epoxy glue can get to a holding point within 5 minutes, generally speaking I often mix some up and wait until it thickens a little. JB Weld will do the same you just want to be making sure you’re keying the backing plate too, without doing so it’ll spring off the plastic eventually.

The trouble with relying on glues is you don’t have drawing forces, this will lead to creaking on trims that are plastic welded such as doorcard trims. The dash trim may not be as bad as it has a carrier plate, however anything that see’s flex I gasket with hot glue to act as a cushion, then I epoxy glue and drill self tappers.

Originally Posted by WagonHo

I've been doing the same project at the same time you have been. I had all the bits, but had hesitated to get started. Your thread motivated me to get it done this weekend.

I also found that reinserting the iDrive controller was tricky due to the added thickness from the alcantara wrap, but a little patience and slow pressure got it there without introducing any wrinkels or buckles.

On the center dash piece, I found that the self-tapping screws were difficult to impossible. Definitely try the JB Weld or some other epoxy. I used a UV epoxy and about three spring clamps that I had handy for the far right edge. Like you, I wanted to draw it down tight, but the screws stripped every time. Clamps, good epoxy to fill the hole, and patience got me there. Good luck with the rest of the project - the look is definitely worth the time and effort.

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...7#post29950807

What you guys are struggling with is the cotton/scrim backing. Next time you source your Alcantara look for panel. This is non backed Alcantara and is generally speaking thin enough to wrap most trims in. The only time you want a scrim backing is for anything that requires padding out such as arm rests and seats. At best (if it really is required) you want nothing more than a high density but thin foam. The oem Alcantara trims all use panel with no backing so you’ll be fine without it.

One solution if you don’t fancy undoing all your work is to peel back your tabs, release enough fabric around the controller trim edge and pull away as much backing as possible, then resecure it down. Just be aware you can’t do this with panel Alcantara.. the contact adhesive left behind when lifting will show through the fabric due to it being so thin, it’s a one attempt job with it before having to sand everything flat again.

FTR this is how my idrive controller looks with panel Alcantara

[WagonHo]

No cotton/scrim on my alcantara, but it does indeed add thickness and a bit more than the tolerance built into the trims. Not a lot, but some. There's a number of ways to correct it - hand file or dremel to remove a very small amount of plastic, or simply patience and force. I managed it with a little time, and with no wrinkles, creases, or puckering.

@bmwenjoyer - if your does have backing, that may be the source of your frustration. It might be possible to cut the backing and peel it, at least where it wraps through the opening for the iDrive controller. If you can get the backing off and secure it to the underside, that may solve your problem.

I haven't had any issues with the adhesive showing through the un-backed alcantara at all.

[QUOTE=fortythirtyfive;29951198]Two part epoxy glue can get to a holding point within 5 minutes, generally speaking I often mix some up and wait until it thickens a little. JB Weld will do the same you just want to be making sure you’re keying the backing plate too, without doing so it’ll spring off the plastic eventually.

The trouble with relying on glues is you don’t have drawing forces, this will lead to creaking on trims that are plastic welded such as doorcard trims. The dash trim may not be as bad as it has a carrier plate, however anything that see’s flex I gasket with hot glue to act as a cushion, then I epoxy glue and drill self tappers.

What you guys are struggling with is the cotton/scrim backing. Next time you source your Alcantara look for panel. This is non backed Alcantara and is generally speaking thin enough to wrap most trims in. The only time you want a scrim backing is for anything that requires padding out such as arm rests and seats. At best (if it really is required) you want nothing more than a high density but thin foam. The oem Alcantara trims all use panel with no backing so you’ll be fine without it.

One solution if you don’t fancy undoing all your work is to peel back your tabs, release enough fabric around the controller trim edge and pull away as much backing as possible, then resecure it down. Just be aware you can’t do this with panel Alcantara.. the contact adhesive left behind when lifting will show through the fabric due to it being so thin, it’s a one attempt job with it before having to sand everything flat again.

FTR this is how my idrive controller looks with panel Alcantara

[fortythirtyfive]

Originally Posted by WagonHo

No cotton/scrim on my alcantara, but it does indeed add thickness and a bit more than the tolerance built into the trims. Not a lot, but some. There's a number of ways to correct it - hand file or dremel to remove a very small amount of plastic, or simply patience and force. I managed it with a little time, and with no wrinkles, creases, or puckering.

@bmwenjoyer - if your does have backing, that may be the source of your frustration. It might be possible to cut the backing and peel it, at least where it wraps through the opening for the iDrive controller. If you can get the backing off and secure it to the underside, that may solve your problem.

I haven't had any issues with the adhesive showing through the un-backed alcantara at all.

That's super weird, then again I do find even though genuine; Alcantara can often differ slightly in each country. My source in the UK imports directly from Alcantara themselves in Italy and supplies OEM's like Rolls Royce and Aston Martin, yet someone I was speaking to in Florida had a genuine stamped roll of Alcantara and it was sort of different in terms of appearance and the backing.

I guess every country have different regs? When I buy a roll of Alcantara I have the option of straight up panel or panel FR which has a fine foam-like backing that makes the product fire resistant, personally I buy this as it helps smooth out any surface imperfections but also the overall fabric has a silkier feel to it.

If you really are stuck with a thicker variant of the fabric shaving the trim down is a good shout. I have just covered my centre console top piece, the gear surround wouldn't fit back in without the same work due to the plastic edges being flush against each other - I just used a sanding block until it fitted again, the only downside is I had to ruin the piece I had just wrapped haha.

[bmwenjoyer]

Update time - I got everything back together but I totally FUBAR'd the I-Drive trim and the center vent trim. I just ordered some custom trim pieces because I would have to replace them anyways.

The door handles look and fit fricken' perfect though!

I also attached the new pieces I just ordered with the tri-color stitching which I love. It's not too flashy, kinda subtle but really nice since my car is an M-Sport. I really don't like the "M-Performance" logo on the OEM trim set.

Anyways, I suck at arts and crafts. Everything is put back together for now and will be fine until the new pieces come in. I'll update once everything is 100% nice again with the new pieces.

[bmwenjoyer]

Last update on this thread:

I got the new alcantara trim pieces with the tricolor stitching in the mail yesterday and they're amazing quality. The alcantara material matches the door handles that we did ourselves perfectly - I can't tell a difference between the color or texture. Everything fit perfectly without hassle. The aftermarket trim was a bit expensive, but after messing up my stock ones, I had to replace them anyways and these weren't THAT much more expensive. All in all, I'm loving this upgrade and this is way better than the dark wood that came with my car.

Here are some pics. Apology for the quality, I'm a horrible photographist

[nicrom72]

Did you install the steering wheel and if so where did you get it ?
I like that.

[Billfitz]

That looks like a MeWant wheel cover, or something similar.

[DadBodF31]

kudos on the attempt! the door handles really came out great!