Write-Up: BD Trims and Sherwood Dash Kit Installation

Woot! Products!



I used Bondo marine epoxy to fill in the area behind the factory wood piece. The BD Trims piece extends out over this area. It didn't look like it would have much contact with the plastic just ahead of the console lid latch, if any. So I gave it something to attach to. If you were crazy you could sand down the ends and/or smooth them out with regular bondo. I figure they will be too well hidden inside the console though to go through that effort.



Here's the not-so-good part. Either due to heat/humidity, the SEM being past it's shelf life, both or something else, the paint came out looking like crap. It's disappointing to say the least. I've gotten amazing results out of SEM before, and really didn't think it could screw up.

You can see that the idea was sound anyway. The old wood now looks like any other piece of factory plastic. The BD Trims piece isn't attached yet, but you can see how the net result would be very close to a factory appearance.

AA wrote:

Awesome, Jack. Can you just keep tearing stuff apart, taking pics as you go? We could document disassembling the entire interior!

I'm going to come close - it'd be good to pull the swoopy pieces off the doors that the dash flows into and paint them to match the wood. The rear side panels will need to be removed and some painting done if I'm going to use those pieces of the kit. And then there's my favorite "I can't believe I'm crazy enough to be bothered by this-" removing the rear side windows, scraping off the old yellow oxidized glue and reinstalling with fresh glue.

Looks good in that pic. Did you clean the surfaces really well before painting? You don't want it peeling off once you have the wood installed.

I cleaned them with alcohol twice and sprayed them with the plastic prep twice.

I've got no peeling on the Charger panels I did 4 years ago.

Updated the review.

Came up with a better painting arrangement then sitting stuff on the ground out in the sun. I thought about the problem I was having on the console wood, and looked at the Charger panels I painted, and decided I was probably working outside the SEM's temperature range. If the ideal temp for SEM is 70 degrees, and it's 100 in the sun, and the surface is black . . . that could be 40-50 degrees above SEM's ideal temp.

I know SEM is a 100% product. If used right, it produces perfect results. So I painted in the shade this time, and earlier in the day. Lo and behold, perfect results again -



Thanks to the flash you can't tell how good this looks. The SEM went on flawlessly. It looks factory. It looks tight with the ebony zebra wood (which does not look that light). The only way this could look more factory is if the wood were molded around the cover.

Jack...In both pics I have no idea what it is I am looking at...

Quote :

Thanks to the flash you can't tell how good this looks

Have you tried turning your flash off?

Ha ha, the first pic is the console center trim panel hanging front end down. Everything is masked off except the lid over the cupholders. The last pic is a close up of the cupholder lid - the part that faces you, which doesn't get covered up by the dash kit and normally sticks out like a sore thumb.

My camera needs a tripod to take pictures without the flash, otherwise they come out blurry. Sad but true.

Making progress!



Painting done, masking removed. The paint liked to stick to the electrician's tape about as well as to the plastic, but using a probe to hold the edge of the paint down I managed to keep it in pretty good shape. I wonder if there's a masking material which paint won't stick too?

Here's a question for you other dask kit guys - were you able to reposition your pieces? How much time did you have? I experienced ZERO re-position-ability. Once that stuff was on, it was ON!!! Most of my pieces are very slightly misaligned. They could have been perfect, but I was careful and most are still pretty good. The piece around the cd tray turned into about as bad a nightmare as I'd feared, tearing up paint and not lining up as well as I'd liked. I think I can save it but it wouldn't have been a problem if the pieces had a few seconds to be repositioned in.

This is NOT for guys who like to slap things on!

But I have to say, if the paint doesn't flake off on me (I don't think it will), this will look totally and completely sick -



The trim around the gear shift looks stock now. It's no longer obvoious that the dash kit is a vinyl overlay. A car guy or a particularly observant person would spot the difference, but the average person is going to be overwhelmed by the slickness of the ebony zebra wood and the two-tone black/medium gray contrast.

I can't wait to get the remaining pieces in (but I have to wait for BD Trims to send my replacements). I'm also thinking about making more extensive color mods to the interior. Maybe have some of the leather sections of the seat dyed a dark grey color.

BTW, does anyone know where to get actual chrome rings (not make them out of 1/8" chrome stripping)? They might look awesome against this black. Right now I've got black and medium gray - I need a light accent to complete the tonal range.

Looks great Jack! Good think you didn't send that back. Can't wait to see the whole thing. Why are you waiting on pieces what happend?

I had no time to readjust anything either. Once it was on it was on. Kind of a pain and some pieces could be better but nobody realizes anything until i point it out. (Should just not point it out to anyone)

SpaceBar wrote:

Looks great Jack! Good think you didn't send that back. Can't wait to see the whole thing. Why are you waiting on pieces what happend?

All these pieces were scratched, dinged, or pitted -



A couple of these pieces, I can't believe BD Trims shipped them. The pitted arm rest especially - no way was that done in shipping.

I really wish that passenger dash piece hadn't been dinged - it's the only thing keeping me from pulling the dash and doing it.

I kinda scared to do the dash pieces. They're so big, and if the alignment is off, it's going to look bad. I bet 3M sells a curing inhibitor. I'm going to look into it.

SpaceBar wrote:

nobody realizes anything until i point it out. (Should just not point it out to anyone)

Yeah, I'm not telling anyone in real life either. I'll point it out here though so guys who are thinking of going the dash kit route know what they're getting into.

That's wierd...All my pieces arrived without a single blemish.
I installed the left dash piece first.
On the right side dash piece I started by lining up the Riviera emblem and with the kit piece that goes under the radio and worked my way up.
Saying that...I'm sure you'll do it differently...lol.

O.K. guys, check this out -




Link

I was thinking about a snap-on wood kit for the steering wheel, but a) I would never find one to match the BD Trims Ebony Zebra Wood and b) it might feel like crap. In this pic the leather overwrap is too large and doesn't fit around the spokes well, but digging into the Riv section I find -

Quote :

Many of these models come equipped with Factory-installed leather covered steering wheels. The Wheelskins size might vary depending upon whether or not the old leather covering is removed. If the Wheelskin is to be installed over the original factory cover, you might need a larger or special order size. Please measure.

So it sounds like you could get it where you clip off the old leather and put new leather in it's place. Or you could go to an auto upholsterer and have them do it, maybe cheaper? I think this would be a better option than wood. It'd be higher quality than any of the wood kits I've seen so far, it'd be sportier, it'd match the shift knob, and really if you've got a dash kit you've already got plenty of wood in your car


97Riv-Jon - Starting with the Riviera logo sounds like a good plan - I don't want to get that part messed up!!

97Riv-Jon wrote:

That's wierd...All my pieces arrived without a single blemish.
I installed the left dash piece first.
On the right side dash piece I started by lining up the Riviera emblem and with the kit piece that goes under the radio and worked my way up.
Saying that...I'm sure you'll do it differently...lol.

Mine came without a blemish too...once I got them all. :o

I put on the passenger side first and I lined up the Riviera emblem too. I didn't pull the entire backing off I pulled it off as I went so if I had to reposition something it was much easier ripping it off than some random piece getting stuck somewhere and screwing everything up.

I believe Jack is going to remove the dash which will make it MUCH easier.

One things for sure - it would be hella difficult to rattle-can the dash without removing it

I'm surprised your pieces were so clean. Maybe I got a dud.

Jack the R wrote:

One things for sure - it would be hella difficult to rattle-can the dash without removing it

I'm surprised your pieces were so clean. Maybe I got a dud.

Are you going to paint the dash the same color too? I thought you were only doing that because of the stock woodgrain?

Yeah, I'm planning to paint the dash too. Everywhere there's a gap between pieces, or between guages or vents and the dash kit, that medium gray leaps out. It's the nature of tonal values - put a light in the middle of two darks and your eye is going to go straight to the light. I don't want to look at the gaps, I want to look at the wood. I don't think this is as big a problem with other people's color combinations, but it is with mine.

I pointed out my console area to my mechanic yesterday, and he was like, "What did you do?" Just the reaction I want - nothing clued him in that it wasn't factory.

Looks like things have gone from bad to worse with BD Trims.

After I posted the initial review, I sent BD Trims an email and a link to this thread -

me wrote:

Subject: I reviewed your dash kit

Here's a link -

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/Other-Stuff-c3/Interior-f20/Product-Revi
ew-BD-Trims-Dash-Kit-p14273.htm#14273

Unfortunately, I can't say it's a good review. I found a couple high
points, and I really wanted to like it, but the fit ranges from almost
tolerable to downright awful. The fit is so bad on a couple of the
pieces,
that I would like for you to pay the cost of shipping when I return it.
Sorry, but it's that bad.
I don't feel like any consumer could reasonably expect it to be this
bad.

After a day or so though I decided I could work with the kit (by painting underlying interior pieces to make the poor fit less visible) and would keep it. As you all saw earlier in the thread. I emailed them again, telling them I would keep the kit but giving them a list of damaged pieces that needed to be replaced -



This stuff is hard to photograph - all but two of the reject pieces have this stuff, usually along the edges. It sort of looks like dust in the photo, but it is the same kind of plastic as the upper gloss film. It feels like it is sitting on top of the surface film. I don't think it was dropped or scraped, although I suppose I can't rule it out 100%. I feel 90% sure that it's a manufacturing blemish, not something done in shipping or packaging.

The other 2 damaged pieces are -

#2 (the part that curves from the dash into the door, passenger's side) - couple small scrapes. The scrapes match piece 16 well, which as you can see here -



arrived loose (it's the skinny rectangle) and near #2.

#4 (passenger side dash, the biggest piece) - a small ding above the Riviera logo. Looks like something, perhaps a tool, was dropped on it.



On Aug 10 I got a reply to the first email -

BD Trims wrote:

30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

Within 30 days after you received the product you may return it for a
refund. (SHIPPING IS NON-REFUNDABLE) All products must be in perfect
condition, in the original package, and 3M adhesive tape has not been
removed.

Once you received a product, you never contacted our company via e-mail
or
phone to discuss any of the problems. You went ahead and installed the
parts without pointing out your concerns and at this point what are we
supposed to do with this product?
At least if you would mention about OEM in your car, we would let you
know
that our material would not ever cover the existing wood and suggest
you to
get either factory match or look for a different company that sell
molded
parts.
Just to say, we never had complaints about this product. Here is some
pictures were sent to us by very happy customers, see attachment.
What can be done is, we can send you replacement parts.

Thank you,
BDTrims Group.

I emphasized the part about sending replacement parts - keep that factoid in mind.

At this time the issue about reimbursing shipping cost was moot since I wanted to keep the kit. However I would like to point out that, at this time, absolutely none of the dash kit pieces had been installed. I test fitted them for the review, which consisted of holding them up in place (or sitting them in place for stuff that went on the arm rests).

Here's a few pics, taken an hour ago:







As you can see, the majority of the dash kit is uninstalled with the adhesive backing in place and completely undisturbed.

I have, since receiving BD Trims reply, installed the pieces on the console. Remember this -

BD Trims wrote:

What can be done is, we can send you replacement parts.

Well, I figured, that'll work for me. I'll send them my list of damaged parts, they'll send me replacements, and while this isn't the most satisfactory buying experience I've had, all's well that ends well. So I sent another email saying I'd keep the kit and again gave them my list of damaged parts.

That was August 10. Here it is September 2. No parts. NO REPLY.

In the past it's taken them 3-4 days to reply (I also wrote them before deciding to purchase the kit). Now we're at 23 days and counting. I asked them if it would be possible to get custom pieces #5 and 6 with the arm rest control text printed on them for extra $ - maybe that is slowing them down. Or maybe they've decided I'm some sloppy sleazy guy who installed his dash kit before test fitting the parts and is trying to cheat them. Maybe they're thinking - this guy wants us to replace the pieces he installed, then he's going to send the kit back for refund. So here are the pics to show that the kit wasn't installed, if it wasn't clear enough in the initial review.

I'm going to email them again with a link to this post. I'll give them 2 weeks to reply, starting after labor day. They've shown they can reply in 3-4 days, so twice that seems fair. After that I'm going to take it that they're blowing me off. They're attitude wasn't exactly customer friendly and plenty of time has gone by.

I think they'll eventually get you the pieces you need, but keep on them about it. Don't expect to have any lettering applied to the arm pieces. That was never something they offered, was it? Sorry to hear about your experience, but I can understand their first response entirely. I just hope they uphold their end. Good luck.

With all the trouble Jack has been having with his BD Trims kit, and I was going through some stuff the other day, I found the kit I used in my '95 is a Sherwood Kit.
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/Interior-f20/95-Dash-Kit-t83.htm
The fit was almost perfect, slight imperfections around the gauges on the left side of the instrument panel. The packaging was perfect, packed in an egg crate looking stuff, like mattress pads are made of, not a mark on any of the pieces. The lettering matched the factory lettering perfectly. This kit was solid on the passenger side, I removed the "Riviera By Buick" emblem, installed the panel, and back drilled the holes and reinstalled the emblem.
Like I said in my post about mine the reason I got that particular kit was for the one piece across the dash, I didn't want the two side and the three pieces that joined them. I know on the '96 and newer there is not an option but that was what I looked for in the '95. I do wish it had the pieces that complete the console, the part around the vents and the piece under them, but anyway.
Here is the kit I got:



Not near as many pieces as Jack's but it was what was available at the time.

Good luck getting your's straightened out Jack, that color does look good in that interior. I hope it works out for you.

I like the way Sherwood made their kit. Not only did they put lettering on, but they also didn't try to use the stock emblem placement. I like the idea of covering it and remounting. Also, more pieces isn't necessarily better. Maybe they limited coverage for a reason.

AA wrote:

Don't expect to have any lettering applied to the arm pieces. That was never something they offered, was it?

Looking through their site again, I think you're right. I've conflated bdtrim and bitrim (doing custom work).

Well, if it can't be done, it can't be done. I bought the kit with the idea that I would leave off the pieces on the armrests and around the controls. In pictures it looks like the dash kit should end with the part that flows into the door. In pictures, the part over the armrest controls doesn't flow with the dash lines, but it's better in person. I was considering putting them on after all, but there are two issues -

1) Not having the lettering creates a negative interaction with the car. I don't know the armrest controls well enough to use them from memory, and random passengers aren't going to know them at all. Not having the lettering creates the "Wal-Mart Mod" feel that should be avoided at all costs.

2) The BD Trims pieces look good, but they aren't "touch" surfaces. That's why I left off the piece on the console lid button (leaving it off also creates an interesting negative space in the console piece). They have an oily feel that isn't quite pleasant, fingerprints and smudges are extremely visible, and I'm not sure there's any way to buff out scratches and scuffs. You're going to get scratches and scuffs on the armrests, so that's not a good place to put this material.

I paid for the pieces though, so I want them in case I should change my mind later

AA wrote:

Sorry to hear about your experience, but I can understand their first response entirely. I just hope they uphold their end. Good luck.

I've got 3 pics in my review that clearly show my hand holding pieces in place. I would think that, when it comes to customer service, a business should err on the side of caution and not be accusing customers of doing things - in case they actually didn't do them. If you're going to start levelling accusations, you'd better be right, and BD Trims wasn't.

I'll stand by my assertion that the pieces that cover the factory trim should either have full coverage, or if that is too difficult, be large enough to replace the factory pieces (that would work with the way their pieces are manufactured). The bottom line is, unless the kit is a close color match for what you already have, it's going to look like crap with the old pieces showing around the edges. That the kit has pieces that go over the factory pieces, and is advertised as having those pieces, indicates to me that it's not just for adding to your factory wood trim. It's also for changing to a different color. It's not like any Buick Rivieras ever came with factory carbon fiber or brushed aluminum, yet those options are there. If the kit is for changing to a different color, it's just logical that the factory pieces have to be fully covered or replaced.

Would you really feel good about giving this -



to a customer?

99Rivman - You've made good points which other members thinking of buying a dash kit should take heed of.

I was almost going to say that I have no issue with BD Trims packaging, but if you look here -



and here -



some of the pieces were packaged overlapping and the one was loose. I wonder if maybe that overlapping didn't contribute to the surface damage I found. The kit was outgassing mightily when I got it so perhaps the surfaces weren't cured when they were packed.

It looks like BD Trims should have used a 4th layer of cardboard to handle the extra pieces.

I found small imperfections around the edges too.

The BD Trims kit fits well around the Riv emblem, but I will likely end up having to pull the Riv emblem so I can paint that area. I think the solid design gives you a little more room for misalignment on install. I am really worried about messing up the alignment on the dash pieces.

The two console pieces you didn't get, I plan to leave off. The piece around the vents won't line up visually with the console, it is too wide (and can't be any other way). Since it won't flow vertically with the console, you're better off without it. That way you preserve the horizontal flow of the dash.

The small piece at the top of the console I may put on, but only because the surface film on the factory piece is peeling in the middle. I would rather leave it off though, it creates the same kind of negative space that leaving off the piece on the console lid button does. I like the way your dash looks without it (and the vent piece).

I really like that the Sherwood kit has the lettering on the armrest control pieces! BD Trims really ought to get the lettering on their pieces.

I noticed that the Sherwood control pieces have more rounded tips than the BD Trims pieces. I don't have a preference either way, just sayin'.

I'm not sure I would have used the control pieces without the armrest pieces too, which gets back to the "touch" quality issue. And the armrest pieces really do look "stuck on." I don't think there's a way I can fix that. Still, I wish my control pieces had the lettering so I had a better option for using them and the arm rest pieces. It's a shame to have them and not use them.

How does your kit feel to the touch?

Another thing I like about the Sherwood kit vs the BD Trims kit - you've got two pieces for the center console. The part that goes around the shifter, and a seperate piece directly behind the shifter, around the release button for the console lid. BD Trims does this with one piece, even though there is a step behind the shift surround wood. The BD Trims piece leaves a nasty empty space there. I thought all kinds of dust bunnies and filth would get under there and glued in place on the exposed 3M tape, so I filled in the area with epoxy putty. That's really not an option unless you're going to paint like me. Sherwood definitely came up with a better solution.

Check out the pick of the Sherwood kit on the Toyota -

Link

The Sherwood kit is an overlay like the BD Trims kit, but it appears to be going around complex curves worse than anything on the Riv. Look at the edges on the console pieces and the arm rest pieces - maybe the pic is fooling me but it sure looks like it could cover the factory wood trim on the Riv and the other gap areas around the guages and vents. Sherwood does't appear to have done a better job on the Riv than BD Trims, but looking at the Toyota it seems to be possible.

There are definitely things here I wish I'd known before purchasing the BD Trims kit. I'm not sure I would have bought a different kit, but I would have looked further first. Maybe none of them get it right, but BD Trims has room for improvement.

AA - I agree with the limited coverage too, but I think Sherwood should do the arm rests too if they're going to do the control area. The control text is awesome.

BTW 99Rivman, you're kit is the reason why I bought mine. You've got the best interior I've seen on a Riv, bar none. I don't think mine will be as good since my medium gray doesn't contrast as much with the dark ebony world.

I think if I were in your situation, I'd install the vent pieces only on the doors. Leave the control areas uncovered. This will flow well from the dash to the doors, imo. That way you still have printed controls, and they will be easier to use because you won't have to "dig" for them through the added thickness of the laminate.

I would also consider only doing the shifter piece, no cup holder, no CD storage, no ashtray, nor other small pieces. I agree the pic you posted of the loose gaps looks horrid. Of course, my advice depends on how many pieces of your interior have been painted already.

In the end, I think you'll have a good look going here.

Don't give them 2 weeks to reply. They have aweful customer service. They didn't even really start getting back to me until I started email them almost every day. So just start giving them emails every other day or so.

It took them a year to get all the pieces for me and probably 200 emails from me to them. So just start harassing.

Normally I wouldn't say to do that with any company but they just don't seem to care until their inbox is full of your emails.

Another problem I believe is that they don't have the same employees working or a huge turnover rate. I don't know how many times I had to reexplain my problem to them within a week of sending emails.

Just keep at them in the end they should help you out.

AA wrote:

I would also consider only doing the shifter piece, no cup holder, no CD storage, no ashtray, nor other small pieces. I agree the pic you posted of the loose gaps looks horrid. Of course, my advice depends on how many pieces of your interior have been painted already.

In the end, I think you'll have a good look going here.

Here's where it's at now -



Putting the extra pieces in did lose some of the contrast around the shifter knob that was there when only the console piece was in. Maybe I should have it re-wrapped with contrasting stitching . . .

I may do exactly like you say with the dash. That was my original plan. When you see this stuff in person though, and have a chance to try with/without, the without looks awfully plain. The with doesn't quite look factory, and there are areas where the arm rest trim looks tacked on, but it may still be a net gain. With the arm rest stuff gives a feel of being wrapped up in a tighter cockpit. It's not totally one-sided and negative, there are positives to the arm rest pieces.

SpaceBar - Brilliant. What a PITA this is proving to be. I wish I at least had #2 and #4 pieces in good shape so I could get the dash done. Or more of the adhesive sticks so I could do the radio/hvac piece and at least have all the factory trim covered. I don't want to be riding with a half-installed kit for the next year.