Changing the Clock Color

[peters73]

Hey all,

I am in the process of changing my clock color. I have everything pulled out and my only problem is trying to get the right color that I want. I have tried some stencil with while and light blue. Craft stores suck. I want the color of the lettering of this stereo:

http://ourworld.cs.com/markjpeters73/cdx_ca700_x.jpg


It's like a white. How can I get this color? I want to change all of my lights to match this stereo. I am thinking about getting a alum. dash kit as well. I was looking at the cig. lighter and it's like a plastic piece over the light. How can I change this? Are the speedo and tach lights the same?

Right now, I just want to change the color of the clock.

Thanks.

[Just1PittFan]

The guy on this DIY post http://elantragtclub.com/index/id287.html had to use 4 layers of stencil film to get his to work to his liking.

I am guessing one way would be to mix and match 4 colors until you found a pattern that equaled your lettering. Only thing I thought of, maybe someone else has some insight.

[RonnieSan]

Yeah... you're not going to be able to get white. Since it's the clock that's emitting the light, you can't put something over it to change it to white. Go for the red or blue.

[peters73]

Yeah... you're not going to be able to get white. Since it's the clock that's emitting the light, you can't put something over it to change it to white. Go for the red or blue.

I took the green piece off. And the clock lettering is light green even without the plastic piece.

Can I match the blue lettering? The "CD" blue letters? What would I use? The craft stores don't have the stencil I need.

This is my stereo. Can I match the red lights as well?

[sed]

You mean sorta like this?

http://www.nitrousworld.com/pictures/clock1.jpg

or:

http://www.nitrousworld.com/pictures/clock2.jpg

Thats clear plastic with crayola blue marker colored in on both sides.... Gotta have imagination and inginutiy if ya wanna mod the car

shawn :)

[peters73]

You mean sorta like this?

http://www.nitrousworld.com/pictures/clock1.jpg

or:

http://www.nitrousworld.com/pictures/clock2.jpg

Thats clear plastic with crayola blue marker colored in on both sides.... Gotta have imagination and inginutiy if ya wanna mod the car

shawn :)

That's cool. Just never changed the color of a clock before. I need to know how to do it. I have modifed my car alot.

Thanks.

[sed]

take out the clock, then cut the little tabs of plastic glue off the green plastic in front of the clock. Then take a piece of clear plastic, color it blue (with sharpie or permanent marker) on both sides and replace the green with the blue. Now you have a blue clock.

have a nice day

shawn :)

[peters73]

take out the clock, then cut the little tabs of plastic glue off the green plastic in front of the clock. Then take a piece of clear plastic, color it blue (with sharpie or permanent marker) on both sides and replace the green with the blue. Now you have a blue clock.

have a nice day

shawn :)

I o'ready have the clock and the green plastic piece out. Just learning how to change the color and what to use.

Thanks.

[sed]

Ok bro:

Use CLEAR PLASTIC. And buy a pack of SHARPIE MARKERS. Color the plastic in with whatever color you want, replace it, plug it in and see how it looks. When you get a color you like, reinstall the dash. I already told you how to do it and took pics!

shawn :)

[EliteElantra02]

Hey, I did it too, the key is to find a piece of plastic that appears to be waaaay to dark, almost black looking. I used the plastic off a Dasani Water bottle, I just got off a portion w/o writing on it. Worked awesome!! As for the actual getting to the clock, ya just gotta be careful, and there's actually no need to take the entire dash off, just take out the screws, pop it out a little, and unscrew the clock, the connection cord should be long enough to access the LCD. On the 01-03 there is the green plastic melted on around the corners, use an exacto knife to get it off....just be careful!! I sliced my finger open!

[peters73]

Hey, I did it too, the key is to find a piece of plastic that appears to be waaaay to dark, almost black looking. I used the plastic off a Dasani Water bottle, I just got off a portion w/o writing on it. Worked awesome!! As for the actual getting to the clock, ya just gotta be careful, and there's actually no need to take the entire dash off, just take out the screws, pop it out a little, and unscrew the clock, the connection cord should be long enough to access the LCD. On the 01-03 there is the green plastic melted on around the corners, use an exacto knife to get it off....just be careful!! I sliced my finger open!

Cool. Thank you. I went ahead and took the dash out. I detailed everything.

When I started the treat, I had the clock out o'ready. I listed that in the 1st post. I am trying a few things now.

That's messed up with the finger. I want to have some white lettering, I guess I can't do that. :werd:

[yevRPS]

here's a few pics from when i did it...i never did a writeup cuz it's rather simple and has been covered a lot
http://photos.spcomp.com/thumbnails.php?album=36

EDIT: the blue vinyl is from JoAnn's fabrics and crafts store. i think i used 4 or 5 layers. the red is the leftover vinyl that i got from BlueGT to do my tails

[TBurton]

Acuras have white clocks. They use a piece of transparent plastic that is like smoky gray. Maybe a gray/smoke colored lens will eliminate the slight green glow you have from the clock.

[peters73]

The Dasani Water bottle plastic isn't dark enough or they have changed their plastic's. I have been to two different stores looking around for some colored plastic bottles and I had no luck.

I tried the coloring of the plastic and I don't like it. It doesn't match anything.

I am still looking into some stuff. Maybe a plexglass or the transparent plastic.

[black04gt]

go online to find a theater supply store, and look at the available gels they have for lighting. I think those will work well for you, as they are already colored, and some are thick enough for you.

[peters73]

here's a few pics from when i did it...i never did a writeup cuz it's rather simple and has been covered a lot
http://photos.spcomp.com/thumbnails.php?album=36

EDIT: the blue vinyl is from JoAnn's fabrics and crafts store. i think i used 4 or 5 layers. the red is the leftover vinyl that i got from BlueGT to do my tails

I didn't think about vinyl. You covered the green plastic piece in red vinyl?

I might go with the whole red look. It would match my stereo. I am going to go buy some vinyl. Would any type do?

[yevRPS]

no i didn't not cover the green piece with red vinyl. you can see in some of the pics that the green piece is not on the clock. i just used it to cut the right size piece. any transparant vinyl should do and you can use several layers to get the right shade of whatever color you're going after. as i said i just used the leftover vinyl i got from BlueGT for the taillights. 2 layers of that was enough.

[peters73]

no i didn't not cover the green piece with red vinyl. you can see in some of the pics that the green piece is not on the clock. i just used it to cut the right size piece. any transparant vinyl should do and you can use several layers to get the right shade of whatever color you're going after. as i said i just used the leftover vinyl i got from BlueGT for the taillights. 2 layers of that was enough.


Cool, I saw the blue pic's of your dash and they look good. I'll go pick some up. Changed my mind, I am going with a blue dash. I am going to change the colors of the cig ligher and other things that you have in your pics. Good pics, very helpful.

Thanks.

[HatchetMan]

here's a few pics from when i did it...i never did a writeup cuz it's rather simple and has been covered a lot
http://photos.spcomp.com/thumbnails.php?album=36

EDIT: the blue vinyl is from JoAnn's fabrics and crafts store. i think i used 4 or 5 layers. the red is the leftover vinyl that i got from BlueGT to do my tails
wow, all those red lights look killer, maybe I'll do that to my ride. At least it'll match that red light in the door. hope the vinyl works out peters73, keep us posted.

[peters73]

no i didn't not cover the green piece with red vinyl. you can see in some of the pics that the green piece is not on the clock. i just used it to cut the right size piece. any transparant vinyl should do and you can use several layers to get the right shade of whatever color you're going after. as i said i just used the leftover vinyl i got from BlueGT for the taillights. 2 layers of that was enough.

I got the same blue vinyl. I am using like 6 layers to get the look I want. On the center dash, I saw that you used it on 2 other spots. You are covering up a light hole and the cig. light cover.

When you layer the vinyl, piece on piece, it looks like you have air bubbles gaps.

When I bought the vinyl, it looks like a purple vinyl, but it turns blue.

How did you do the climate controls?

Thanks

[SilverWolf]

Ok bro:

Use CLEAR PLASTIC. And buy a pack of SHARPIE MARKERS. Color the plastic in with whatever color you want, replace it, plug it in and see how it looks. When you get a color you like, reinstall the dash. I already told you how to do it and took pics!

shawn :)

I doubted at first...but it works. Never thought I could get a even enough coat of color from a Sharpie on a piece of plastic to look good. I used the clear plastic from a CD case. Scored it with a razor blade to the size I needed it, then gently bend along the scores to make a clean, straight break. Took a blue Sharpie and colored both sides of the plastic. When installed behind the clock it looks damn near perfect.

[peters73]

Ok, I got the color I wanted. It's a nice blue and it matches my stereo. The vinyl works good.

Now I want to change the other lights to a blue. Any suggetions? Can use the vinyl? I did the bottom 2 lights of the center console with the vinyl, the cig light and the ash tray. But the lights are white. I might need to use some more vinyl or replace the bulbs all together.

There's a little blue cap on the light of the cig. lighter. Should I live it on?

Thank you for your help

[southpawboston]

take out the clock, then cut the little tabs of plastic glue off the green plastic in front of the clock. Then take a piece of clear plastic, color it blue (with sharpie or permanent marker) on both sides and replace the green with the blue. Now you have a blue clock.

have a nice day

shawn :)

only major problem with this method is that sharpie ink fades FAST. the blue is not as bad as red. the sharpie red ink will fade in no time, the blue may last a little longer.

[yevRPS]

ok here it goes:

i was trying to match all the lights to the GT guages that's why i went with red and not the blue. as you can see on the pics it didn't match perfectly that's why i picked red. i had the bubbles trapped too between the layers but with enough patience you can get them out. no big deal there. i did use vinyl to cover the light holes (not the bulbs themselves). ashrtray came out perfect but the ring around the lighter is not red enough...more orange i guess. i've just been lazy to do something about it. you could replace those two bulbs (ashtray and lighter) with colored ones for better effect. as for the other lights (i assume you mean HVAC) simple light replacement won't do you much good. the only way to get enough bright color is go with LEDs. search for HVAC threads in the archives. there were some details there. if you still have questions start a new thread and i'll share the knowledge. unfortunately i don't have any pics of the process for HVAC since i didn't have the camera around. i just have the finished product pics here http://photos.spcomp.com/thumbnails.php?album=47

EDIT looking at the HVAC pics i noticed that i have some spots that are brighter and soe that are dimmer.. now it's gonna bug me since i'm a such anal perefctionist