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Picked up these bars from Auto Anything for $181 shipped; sold OEM set for $150.00. Total cost $31.00! (YMMV). These are actually usable, unlike the OEM's.
Donzi22, I want to say thanks for idea. I ordered one from Amazon immediately. Only difference was I decided to buy the rechargeable one. Like you said all you have to do is open the lid and it comes on. I've had this type console for 10 years in 3 trucks. Been driving me nuts not having an automatic light. Great idea...Thanks.[/QUOTE]
Not sure who originally had this idea and posted the light but I also picked one up (battery operated) and it's almost as if it's made for out consoles!
I had been putting off running and tapping wires as I only need it every once in a while but this is the perfect solution! I didn't even know that it was magnet mounted which is a bonus as you can take it in and out easily!
Definitely ordering the console light! So many good ideas on this threasy. My current favorite cheap mod was the piano black door pillar covers. Makes a huge difference!
I'd be curious how it turns out. I should have bought some flat and done a test for sheen. I did about 5 or 6 light coats, but the more you spray the more you fill in those grille gaps/holes so for me it was a bit too late.
I couldn't get the chrome handle detached from the surround; though I did pull the handle from the cable, removed the spring and little metal bit held in with a torx screw. From there it's easy to pull the handle into an upright position and go to town. Then fold the handle back down and finish off the rest.
I used flat black and I like it. I originally tried it with semi-gloss black in and it was way overpowering (https://www.f150forum.com/f38/best-m...8/#post4476830). Looked like crap and I drove it all winter hating it lol - I had mismatching black paints on my door panel. The trim above the armrests were exactly how I wanted them, but the door handle stuck out like a sore thumb. Even now that I have the handle in flat black as well it still sticks out a bit because it's a different texture than the trim around it, but it looks good enough for me. Forgot to take pics today though.
Edit: sorry read it kind of quickly - looks like you're talking about the speaker grilles not the handle. My speaker grilles are still semi-gloss and match fine imo. Was considering re-doing them this spring but see no reason to.
Last edited by BostonBruins; 04-18-2016 at 10:13 PM.
I used flat black and I like it. I originally tried it with semi-gloss black in and it was way overpowering (https://www.f150forum.com/f38/best-m...8/#post4476830). Looked like crap and I drove it all winter hating it lol - I had mismatching black paints on my door panel. The trim above the armrests were exactly how I wanted them, but the door handle stuck out like a sore thumb. Even now that I have the handle in flat black as well it still sticks out a bit because it's a different texture than the trim around it, but it looks good enough for me. Forgot to take pics today though.
Edit: sorry read it kind of quickly - looks like you're talking about the speaker grilles not the handle. My speaker grilles are still semi-gloss and match fine imo. Was considering re-doing them this spring but see no reason to.
I think the Semi-Gloss worked out well on the speaker grilles also. The door it's self has a slight sheen, but I think flat would work also. I don't like a lot of shine.
Were you able to separate the chrome handle from the surround? Was your surround already painted? I used plastidip on the handle and surround and like it; has a bit of texture like the panels around it.
Yours ties in nicely together, though I do see what you mean about the semi-gloss handle. Is that what you've fixed with the matte?
Donzi22, I want to say thanks for idea. I ordered one from Amazon immediately. Only difference was I decided to buy the rechargeable one. Like you said all you have to do is open the lid and it comes on. I've had this type console for 10 years in 3 trucks. Been driving me nuts not having an automatic light. Great idea...Thanks.
Not sure who originally had this idea and posted the light but I also picked one up (battery operated) and it's almost as if it's made for out consoles!
I had been putting off running and tapping wires as I only need it every once in a while but this is the perfect solution! I didn't even know that it was magnet mounted which is a bonus as you can take it in and out easily!
[/QUOTE]
Doesn't it work just perfectly...!
Like you said; "It's like it was made for our consoles." Then only being attached by a magnet, is a huge bonus.
I used flat black and I like it. I originally tried it with semi-gloss black in and it was way overpowering (https://www.f150forum.com/f38/best-m...8/#post4476830). Looked like crap and I drove it all winter hating it lol - I had mismatching black paints on my door panel. The trim above the armrests were exactly how I wanted them, but the door handle stuck out like a sore thumb. Even now that I have the handle in flat black as well it still sticks out a bit because it's a different texture than the trim around it, but it looks good enough for me. Forgot to take pics today though.
Edit: sorry read it kind of quickly - looks like you're talking about the speaker grilles not the handle. My speaker grilles are still semi-gloss and match fine imo. Was considering re-doing them this spring but see no reason to.
I was starting to think you had moved on...good to see you're still around.
I think the Semi-Gloss worked out well on the speaker grilles also. The door it's self has a slight sheen, but I think flat would work also. I don't like a lot of shine.
Were you able to separate the chrome handle from the surround? Was your surround already painted? I used plastidip on the handle and surround and like it; has a bit of texture like the panels around it.
Yours ties in nicely together, though I do see what you mean about the semi-gloss handle. Is that what you've fixed with the matte?
For sure, since the grilles are down lower the light doesn't exactly hit it the way it was hitting the handles, so the semi-gloss works perfectly fine down there. The texture breaks it up enough as well so you get the black behind the grille so that also dims down the gloss.
I did go with matte this time around on the handle, finally had some warm weather so it's not as much of an eye sore!! After several months of driving with it and hating looking at my handles every day I finally got to fix it lol.
I didn't want to take the handle out of the bucket, I thought I could see how it kinda was in there but I didn't want to force it and break it. The bucket itself was black plastic, and the handle was chrome. I did the whole thing because I just wanted it all to match.
I didn't want to get any paint on the mechanism behind the handle (the spring and all that good stuff), so I just ripped a piece of cloth and looped it through the holes in the back of the bucket (pretending to open the door also helped give more space while fishing it through). Just covered the top and bottom part of the hinge, for lack of a better term... not sure what you'd call it... the stationary part that keeps it in the bucket. Basically I just left the cloth there, pulled both ends down so it would go down as far as possible so I could still get some paint in that gap and not have it look weird. Also stuffed a cloth down behind the bottom of the handle so it wouldn't get on the springs.
The matte still has a little sheen to it, not nearly as much as semi-gloss. Overall I'm happy with it - I'm no professional, but it's good enough for me. As you said, it's better than having all the different shades of gray in there. Designer must have been inspired by 50 Shades of Gray.
I'll try to snap some pics after my appointment later.
I was starting to think you had moved on...good to see you're still around.
I was too busy choking at the end of the season
Haha but nope, been dealing with a lot of medical stuff Hoping to be turning the corner there and hoping to get back to my ritual of coming on here so I can see what else I need to spend money on for my truck lol.
04-18-2016, 04:06 PM
Hoping to be turning the corner there and hoping to get back to my ritual of coming on here so I can see what else I need to spend money on for my truck lol.