Thread: HOWTO: Building a removable LCD screen bezel and mount

Unless you are building a trim piece for a BMW e46 with the exact parts I used, a bill of materials probably won't be directly applicable, but here goes. Prices are my 'best guess' of about what they ought to cost:

Materials:

1 Can expanding foam - $3

1 Small Can Bondo 'Glass' - fiberglass reinforced body filler - $15

1 Small Can Bondo Lightweight body filler - $12

1 Extra housing for your Lilliput/Xenarc monitor if you don't want to sacrifice your own - $20

1 Can SEM Texture paint - $8

1 Can Primer - $3

1 Can Paint that matches your interior - $3-7 probably

A couple of metal brackets to use as retainers, mounting clips, etc. I used some computer slot covers, but if you buy some metal strapping or something you will pay a couple of bucks for that too.

Sand Paper - You need everything from very coarse (for fiberglass bondo) to very fine 500-1000grit for sanding down the texture and the primer and for between coats, etc. This should run you less than $10 for all the kinds you need. There may be cheaper packs that come with a bunch of different papers.

Tools:

Respirator - NOT A DISPOSABLE DUST MASK. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ITEM AND EVEN THOUGH IT COSTS $30-$50 I AM VERY SPECIFICALLY SUGGESTING THAT EVERYONE WORKING WITH POLYESTER RESIN PRODUCTS USE ONE BOTH WHEN APPLYING MATERIAL AND WHEN SANDING, AND I AM NOT HAVING THE DEBATE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT IT IS NECESSARY WITH ANYONE. It's also a good idea to use it when painting; however, a lot of paints do not have organic vapors and there are plenty of other less expensive products that protect your lungs while painting, though a respirator is still superior. Personally, I use a quick release respirator that takes the less expensive screw-in can filters. It costs more initially but the filters are about 1/3 the price of the proprietary types that you have to use on cheaper respirators and they are also widely available when you need a replacement.

Hobby knives and blades -- You can buy an X-acto kit with various size knives and a bunch of replacement blades for about $10

Various files - you will probably have better luck filing down the fiberglass bondo than sanding to get it to shape. It goes faster. You also need something coarse that can carve the expanding foam. This should run you a couple of bucks per file.

Optional: A detail sander is a gret labor saver. I have a black and decker mouse and a dewalt handheld oscillating sander. The mouse is good for tight corners but you have to buy special papers for it that are way more expensive than standard sandpaper.

You might need some hot glue or tape or zipties depending on how you have to squeeze things into your dash. Every project is different, so different miscellaneous items will undoubtadely be needed. In this project for various little things I ended up using a hot glue gun, soldering iron, drill, some paperclips, a straightedge.

So all in all you will spend maybe 80 bucks on this project if you already have tools and a respirator. If you have absolutely nothing you need, you can't borrow any of it, and you go out and buy the best tools you can, you will spend a couple hundred bucks, but on the plus side, you'll get some nice tools. This is the same justification I use for home improvement projects, and I have ammassed quite a tool collection while saving money doing things myself.

Originally Posted by Lee_Davis

2004 330i performance package 6 spd manual.

What brand did you use for the following items:

1 Can expanding foam

I used Great Stuff from Lowes, but I have heard there is some foam that they sell that is a little more expensive and cures more evenly than Great Stuff. It's pretty much all the same, for this project though.

1 Small Can Bondo 'Glass' - fiberglass reinforced body filler
1 Small Can Bondo Lightweight body filler

Bondo brand, naturally.

1 Can SEM Texture paint

SEM is the only company I know that makes SEM Texture paint Shops that do bumper work usually keep it in stock. After that try body shop or automotive paint supply places.

1 Can Primer
1 Can Paint that matches your interior

I don't even know on the primer, actually.. A spray can of any aerosol primer should do fine. Make sure you get one that says it's sandable and make sure you can paint it on plastics and body filler. As far as the paint, anything will work if you prime your surface. For the paint, I used Krylon Ultra Flat Black and it looks very close to the stock 'rubbery' black BMW interior, so I would recommend it for your application also.

Where can I get on of these?

1 Extra housing for your Lilliput/Xenarc monitor if you don't want to sacrifice your own

I hope it's not against the forum rules here, but I believe the mp3car store sells replacements for at least the Xenarc monitors; I don't know about the Lilliput though. If mp3car doesn't have them, DigitalWW might.

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Would be nice to see a new bezel design for the e46, why not....otherwise
search for rich´s bezel design or take mine...prices are human i think

regards janus

Janus: You know of course that I built this way before you or rich started selling them, right? (Otherwise I probably would have bought one from you guys, honestly) Yes, the price to buy one is worth it considering the time it takes to make one from scratch but still, plenty of people want to learn to do it themselves or are not going for installs in an E46, so the techniques still apply.

JimboH: The slot covers that are embedded in the back at the four corners secure it into the dash. At the bottom edge, these two clip over a small lip of the dash that has a couple of screw points. Since I couldnt put screws in on the bottom edge, these are the next best thing:



At the top, there are two screw holes above the bezel that are hidden by the dash trim. The slot covers come up above the top of the bezel, so I can use screws for these. See here:



The E36 is going to be completely different of course, but I don't remember enough about what it looks like from when I had an E36 to suggest what you should do. You may have to build some kind of pressure mount clips or make places for a screw to go through your bezel then hide the screw head with a rubber plug or something. Unfortunately making an appropriate mounting for a removable bezel for any car is beyond the scope of this tutorial, but I'm sure you can think of something!