# Almost finished interior work



## XtremeAaron (Jan 22, 2012)

That looks great! Really changes the look, I love it. Thinking it would look great with my red interior. Tell me how you did it!


----------



## Mick (Dec 31, 2011)

That looks really nice. Not sure if the the shift knob was chrome but I think chrome would complement it well.

Am I the only one that likes the silver lol


----------



## aciz (Jan 19, 2012)

the two large pieces around the center cluster just pop out. Once out, you will have to remove the air vents (clips) from the top piece, and the gear indicator and traction control switch (screws) from the bottom piece. I just used a small screw driver to start the removal, then took it from there by hand. The gear shift knob was the hardest part - I used two butter knifes to pry off and up from the bottom, working slowly and carefully. Once the larger top part is off, the clips holding the front plastic on are really easy to pop. To remove the steering wheel trim, you need to first remove the airbag - which I was REALLY hesitant to do. However, it turned out to be a LOT easier than I thought it would be. Once that is off, the silver trim just snaps out along with the cruise and stereo controls. Once I had all the pieces out, just sprayed them. I found an otc red that was ALMOST a perfect match to the body, and the cruise and stereo controls I just sprayed with a metallic semi gloss black. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. The next interior job will be the speaker rings, and then I will be completely rid of that god awful silver. They list it as metal look, but I find it just looks cheap. After the speaker rings, I'm going to tackle some interior lighting, mainly subtle illumination in the cup holders and door handles, MAYBE some footspace lighting as well.


----------



## SkullCruzeRS (Nov 3, 2011)

Any further instruction on removing the airbag? I plan on doing this but with plasti-dip. There is a youtube video showing how easy the shift knob just pulls off, I'll just tape around everything leaving only the silver trim. That's what I plan on doing with the steering wheel if I can't remove the airbag.

Also I believe it is possible to remove the speaker grills in the doors. When I had the panels off it looks like they were just clipped in similar to how the air vents are.


----------



## DamageCase (Jun 10, 2012)

wow!! That looks absolutely awesome! Love the fact that you didnt go all out and do every piece, compliments the rest of the interior perfectly.

Great job, These forums keep giving me more and more ideas


----------



## aciz (Jan 19, 2012)

SkullCruzeRS said:


> Any further instruction on removing the airbag? I plan on doing this but with plasti-dip. There is a youtube video showing how easy the shift knob just pulls off, I'll just tape around everything leaving only the silver trim. That's what I plan on doing with the steering wheel if I can't remove the airbag.
> 
> Also I believe it is possible to remove the speaker grills in the doors. When I had the panels off it looks like they were just clipped in similar to how the air vents are.


GM Cruze Leather Steering Wheel technical guide


----------



## gman19 (Apr 5, 2011)

Aciz...Awesome job, that looks incredible! 

:goodjob:


----------



## crzyfirefighter (Apr 19, 2012)

looks really good


----------



## Blues_Cruze (Jun 11, 2012)

looks really great sucks u beat me to this i did this to my last car (speed6) and everyone loved it def makes the inside way better great job


----------



## SkullCruzeRS (Nov 3, 2011)

aciz said:


> GM Cruze Leather Steering Wheel technical guide


Thanks a lot I will have to give this a try. I'm guessing the airbag just snaps back into place when putting back together?


----------



## aciz (Jan 19, 2012)

yup... really quite easy...


----------



## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

aciz said:


> the two large pieces around the center cluster just pop out. Once out, you will have to remove the air vents (clips) from the top piece, and the gear indicator and traction control switch (screws) from the bottom piece. I just used a small screw driver to start the removal, then took it from there by hand. The gear shift knob was the hardest part - I used two butter knifes to pry off and up from the bottom, working slowly and carefully. Once the larger top part is off, the clips holding the front plastic on are really easy to pop. To remove the steering wheel trim, you need to first remove the airbag - which I was REALLY hesitant to do. However, it turned out to be a LOT easier than I thought it would be. Once that is off, the silver trim just snaps out along with the cruise and stereo controls. Once I had all the pieces out, just sprayed them. I found an otc red that was ALMOST a perfect match to the body, and the cruise and stereo controls I just sprayed with a metallic semi gloss black. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. The next interior job will be the speaker rings, and then I will be completely rid of that god awful silver. They list it as metal look, but I find it just looks cheap. After the speaker rings, I'm going to tackle some interior lighting, mainly subtle illumination in the cup holders and door handles, MAYBE some footspace lighting as well.


One question; why did you paint them instead of just covering with vinyl? Were you specifically looking to get a color match to the exterior?

Before you put those speaker trim rings back in, dab a few dots of silicone sealant around. These like to buzz and vibrate on bass notes. Doing that now will prevent you from having to pull them to do it again later. 

Otherwise, looks very sharp, very professional, and works very nicely with your interior.


----------



## mido (Sep 28, 2011)

Looks great man..congrats 

Wht about scratches? U think it will be hard to take off paint?


----------



## aciz (Jan 19, 2012)

XtremeRevolution said:


> One question; why did you paint them instead of just covering with vinyl? Were you specifically looking to get a color match to the exterior?
> 
> Before you put those speaker trim rings back in, dab a few dots of silicone sealant around. These like to buzz and vibrate on bass notes. Doing that now will prevent you from having to pull them to do it again later.
> 
> Otherwise, looks very sharp, very professional, and works very nicely with your interior.


My original plan was to go with the actual body color, but the cost for a can to match was pretty high. I was able to find the color I used (which is actually a bit darker than it seems in the pics) which is as close to an exact match as I could get. You can only see the difference if I hold the plastic right against the body. Not only that, but I've never been a big fan of vinyl. As far as scratches go, I have about 5 coats of clearcoat over the plastic pieces, so that should help guard against that sort of thing. Worse case, I'll pull it all off and paint it again if I need to.

Thanks for the advice on the speaker rings! Definitely good to know...


----------



## aciz (Jan 19, 2012)

I should add too - this is honestly the first time I've ever tackled a project like this. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. 'Preciate all the good words people!


----------



## silverls (Nov 12, 2011)

Will be doing this soon

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using AutoGuide.Com Free App


----------



## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

aciz said:


> the two large pieces around the center cluster just pop out. Once out, you will have to remove the air vents (clips) from the top piece, and the gear indicator and traction control switch (screws) from the bottom piece. I just used a small screw driver to start the removal, then took it from there by hand. The gear shift knob was the hardest part - I used two butter knifes to pry off and up from the bottom, working slowly and carefully. Once the larger top part is off, the clips holding the front plastic on are really easy to pop. To remove the steering wheel trim, you need to first remove the airbag - which I was REALLY hesitant to do. However, it turned out to be a LOT easier than I thought it would be. Once that is off, the silver trim just snaps out along with the cruise and stereo controls. Once I had all the pieces out, just sprayed them. I found an otc red that was ALMOST a perfect match to the body, and the cruise and stereo controls I just sprayed with a metallic semi gloss black. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. The next interior job will be the speaker rings, and then I will be completely rid of that god awful silver. They list it as metal look, but I find it just looks cheap. After the speaker rings, I'm going to tackle some interior lighting, mainly subtle illumination in the cup holders and door handles, MAYBE some footspace lighting as well.





aciz said:


> I should add too - this is honestly the first time I've ever tackled a project like this. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. 'Preciate all the good words people!


You definitely can't tell its your first time! You should be proud of that work. 

The right vinyl will look quite good in fact...

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/15-chevrolet-cruze-videos/5604-boats4lifes-2011-cruze-eco.html


----------



## iKermit (Dec 13, 2010)

ME GUSTA! 

Awesome job, really detailed... I'd do this to mine, but the whole ALL black thing inside will make matters hot, (miami hot summer weather).

Looks beautiful though  Red being my favorite color and all..


----------



## aciz (Jan 19, 2012)

When I was looking at buying the car, I was actually in the market for the red on black cloth interior. Short of ordering it special from the factory, which I didn't necessarily want to do, I had to settle for the black on black. The car I bought was actually the only crystal red 2lt within 500 km of here, so as the only thing it lacked was the color scheme, I grabbed it. The black on black with the cheap looking silver just seemed too plain to me though, so started doing the painting last fall. I'm quite happy with the finished product, though I have had mixed reactions from friends. There's a bunch of other stuff I'm planning, but with an ex-wife, daughter, and life in general, I find myself either short on time or money, usually the latter. The next thing that I will tackle will be blacking out the bow ties and tinting the windows, followed by replacement of all of the bulbs with LED, and as mentioned before, the accent lighting for the interior as well. After that, money permitting, intake, tune, and more than likely, sway bars. A friend of mine is pretty good at fabricating that sort of stuff, so we're gonna get together and see what we can come up with.


----------



## AkotaHsky (Feb 11, 2012)

Niceee


----------



## Chevyderek72 (May 16, 2011)

Looks awesome, I will definitely be doing this, but in blue of course.


----------



## Hatje (Jun 23, 2011)

Looks good but not a fan of painted interiors I would've wrapped it with somthing!


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app


----------



## susan421 (Apr 17, 2012)

If u campare both i think should go for wrapping my interiors


----------



## coinneach (Apr 10, 2012)

Nice. I did the same with mine, Ice Blue. The Polar Silver (which is what Chevy calls it) trim doesn't really match any other color on the car, which I always thought was kind of odd.


----------



## XtremeAaron (Jan 22, 2012)

coinneach said:


> Nice. I did the same with mine, Ice Blue. The Polar Silver (which is what Chevy calls it) trim doesn't really match any other color on the car, which I always thought was kind of odd.


Have any pics? Interested to see how it looks.


----------



## Robafett (Apr 25, 2011)

Nice.... I prefer the silver though... sticks better with my color theme!


----------



## Trojahn (Mar 23, 2014)

Looks sick dude


----------

