Covering the exposed aluminum on the floor... GASP... sacrilege!

[newman]

I've been toying with the idea of vinyl wrapping the exposed aluminum floor on my S240 w/ satin black vinyl, with a logo cutout of it that will still allow you to see the aluminum underneath... The vinyl will still allow the TEXTURE of the aluminum to be seen...

I think it looks pretty cool, just a quick photoshop...

What do you guys think? It's totally reversable, and cheap...

BEFORE:


AFTER

[twaszak1]

i like it

[MidasHands]

I'm curious how it will stand up to daily wear and tear? It looks great now but in a few months?

[Cegan09]

I think that looks really good. Looking forward to see the final product if you go through with it.

[newman]

I think it's actually a fairly low wear area. At least during my ingress/egress I don't come anywhere near it...

I also thought about just printing the logo on the vinyl in silver, as that will greatly increase it's longevity, but be a little less cool.

[newman]

Also available in ALL BLACK

[exarkun1178]

i like it with the cut out!

[Patricko]

If water gets under it you could get chassis corrosion. That happened on early S1 cars with rubber floor mats.

[LARRY]

One of the coolest parts of the Lotus is the aluminum showing in the driver's compartment.

Very rare.

I like it the way it is, but your idea is very nice.

[newman]

Originally Posted by Patricko

If water gets under it you could get chassis corrosion. That happened on early S1 cars with rubber floor mats.

Unlikely, the vinyl is actually bonded to the aluminum with adhesive.

[newman]

I used to have all sorts of hello kitty paraphernalia on my STi so someone made this image for me...

[xxguitarist]

If you never touch the area, it will be fine, and I think it looks nice.
A few scuffs, however, and it will be peeling back where the fine points end.
If you do it, don't skimp on the vinyl, use a good 8 year outdoor one.

[spectre]

A black matte maybe nice. I think the lotus sport is a bit over the top on it unless it is more subtle. Also, getting that vinyl to lay in there is going to be fun...I think in real application whatever image is on it will not look as good as your photoshop version due to depth.

I hope you can pull it off though as it's a neat idea.

[SweetDaddyD]

..... I "know a vinyl guy" if you decide to do it. Won't be the easiest installation but if you are meticulous and patient, it's possible. And if you screw it up- it's not like you'll be out much. I have the Lotus Sport logo on file, and matte black vinyl in stock. It would be easier to lay all black and then just do a metallic sliver logo over top of it. Without putting your eyeball to the floor the end result will look about 97% the same and probably come out a little cleaner.

You need to pull the side carpets out though. It just looks better to see that aluminum and if you do the black the contrast will highlight both parts. It will start to fall out on it's own after a while anyway. Just make sure you don't ask the dealer to take care of it while it's in there for whatever else or they might just squirt a bunch of superglue in behind like mine did- then when down the road you decide to pull it out anyway- you have a real mess on your hands. I've been half debating pulling out the carpet behind the seats as well, as my car is so loud I don't know if I'd hear much of a difference, and it does look better. The only thing is I often have something tossed behind the seat and it rattling around might bother me. Not a big deal. I could keep whatever in my "glovebox"

[newman]

I may need to stretch the image vertically a bit for it to look right.

Also, might simply go with something that just says S240

[codymac]

Originally Posted by newman

I think it's actually a fairly low wear area. At least during my ingress/egress I don't come anywhere near it...

I also thought about just printing the logo on the vinyl in silver, as that will greatly increase it's longevity, but be a little less cool.

Yeah - it'd definitely hold up better being printed. I sort of like it, and it's original, but I don't like it enough to be bothered to go through the trouble myself, if that makes sense.

But then, I've got a big factory Lotus Sport banner running across my windscreen.

Originally Posted by Patricko

If water gets under it you could get chassis corrosion. That happened on early S1 cars with rubber floor mats.

That would be my concern too, especially since I'd be using a slip solution to get the thing placed and it wouldn't be likely that I'd get all the slip out from under it the way those crevices in that panel are.

[newman]

I may need to stretch the image vertically a bit for it to look right.

Also, might simply go with something that just says S240.

SDD, I also have a "vinyl guy" who said he'd try it out for free (inc install) and if it worked he'd only charge me 20 bucks. Worth a shot. - think you're right about 2 layers, though. It would certainly be easier to install the black without worrying about alignment of any logo.

[xxguitarist]

Originally Posted by codymac

That would be my concern too, especially since I'd be using a slip solution to get the thing placed and it wouldn't be likely that I'd get all the slip out from under it the way those crevices in that panel are.

The 2nd stage slip solution is half rubbing alch, so it's quite volatile, and the vinyl won't even stick down until the slip is gone. I wouldn't worry about having fluid left under the vinyl.

[Monsi]

why is your passenger side door sill uncovered?

[codymac]

Originally Posted by xxguitarist

The 2nd stage slip solution is half rubbing alch, so it's quite volatile, and the vinyl won't even stick down until the slip is gone. I wouldn't worry about having fluid left under the vinyl.

It's a matter of the panel's shape:

2008 shifter differences? retrofitting?