Anyone color matched or altered the color of their vents in the dash? I have the tan interior and the vents are black. I was thinking about painting the vents to blend in more with the dash. Ideally it would be nice if I could get the vents in the burrelesque (sp?) wood, but I am sure that it would be nothing short of a small fortune for something like that. Let alone getting something that would match.

I already have some light tan that matches the plastic pieces and will seen be painting the chrome door handles and the security light/"coin holder" piece to blend them in with the surrounding pieces. More than likely do the window buttons too (just need to figure out how to keep the window image so they light up at night). I will probably also do the buttons on the overhead console too.

If you have pics, I would be interested in seeing them.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and K'Re Ann, the 03 X

 

I was thinking the same thing. My vents are very light (almost white) with a tan dash.
I think something like a MinWax wood stain wiped on would darken mine to somewhat match the wood trim. Finished with a coat of clear.
For black vents? I don't know. Sanding, priming and a matching spray paint should do it.

 

If you do paint them post some pics so the others can get a glimpse of the look. I'd say the wood would probably suck because of the change in climates coming from the vents. I wonder how the wood would hold up?

 

If you don't sand them and prep them correctly, 9 out of 10 come out looking gettoish

use caution

 

That and the right paint...getting too much in a hurry...putting too much on...i hate painting (unless it's a house) I'm too meticulous![:-]

 

I'm not worried about painting. I've done a lot of interior painting. The big question is what shade of brown to paint the parts. There is the light tan/cream, the brown from the top of the dash or to attempt to match the light brown from the wood grain. I don't think the tan would look right in that spot, so, really it is down to the brown from the top of the dash (can be seen on the steering wheel in the below picture) or the wood grain. The issue I have with the brown from the woodgrain is most people would be expecting the wood grain to follow through. So, kinda a toss up at the moment. What are other people's view of the color I should use. Color matching is not an issue. So, if you have any ideas, toss them my way.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and K'Re Ann, the 03 X

[IMG]local://upfiles/4028/5EF44CAA8438460FB9E8EEE1B5D04A95.jpg[/IMG]

 

I'd say match the color of the wood grain as that would look best. It would add great contrast instead of blending with the light color of the dash. Either way I'm sure it'll look good. I know I can't handle painting stuff as nothing is ever good enough.

 

aquill, I hear you about matching the paint and getting things to look just so. I am a perfectionist like you. If I could find a good wood seller in the area, I could be tempted on getting a little bit of wood and seeing what I could do. I don't use the direction portion of the vents, so, I would probably make fixed vents. That should help with any weaknesses that could be introduced.

I will have to do some looking around.

Chris "Thermo" Coleman and K'Re Ann, the 03 X

 

That sounds like a project. Make sure you document it! I imagine you'll try to make something so you can turn the vent off though if you didn't want it on, right? Sounds like someone is gonna busy!