IMPORTANT: Remember modifying your vehicle may invalidate part of its warranty so be careful and check with Tesla if you’re unsure, also any modifications will most likely need to be OK’d with your car insurance company.
NOTE: To the best of our knowledge, these guides are correct and factual however we take no responsibility if something does go wrong. If you spot a mistake please ensure you alert us.
Tesla charge £250-£3K+ for a full carbon dash option, this budget method should set you back far less. If you want to discuss this article visit this page, massive thank you to Brian Hooper for this guide.
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If like me you didn’t like the wood effect panels on the interior of your Tesla then it’s not a problem, with a few tools and a bit of time you can wrap them in a vinyl of your choice. This guide shows you what tools you need, how to remove the panels so you can work on them, and how to wrap them.
Time to complete is 2-3 hours for the dash, and an hour each for the console and the yacht floor.
The best method of wrapping the Tesla is by removing each panel (this guide) you require to be wrapped and wrapping it outside the vehicle, however, it is possible to wrap without doing this if you don’t want to run the risk of breaking a clip etc (although this runs the risk of you damaging the interior of your car with a scalpel so isn’t recommended.
Tools needed
- 1 x T20 Torx screwdriver
- Plastic trim removal tools – Available on eBay
- Heat gun – Available on eBay or Amazon
- Scalpel
- Methylated spirits
- Microfibre cloth – Available on Amazon
- Vinyl Wrap – 600mm x 1500mm should be enough to do the 3 dash panels, console and yacht floor. 300mm x 1500 without the yacht floor – Available on eBay
Removing the dash panels
In order to be able to wrap the 3 dash panels easily it is best to get the panels out completely so you can work on them. Rather than trying to walk you through the steps I found a good guide on YouTube (below).
The only points I would add to this video is that you have to be quite forceful with some of the panels to pop them off, particularly the top of the dash. Don’t worry; you wont break anything as long as you have removed all the screws, but it can be unnerving the first time. Make sure you watch the video end-to-end a couple of times before starting.
Wrapping the panels
Once removed it is necessary to take off the air vents and then clean the surfaces with methylated spirits so the vinyl will stick well.
Lay the panel out on top of the vinyl, and then cut around the vinyl leaving about 20mm round the edge, this will be folded over the panel to hold it in place.
Once cut apply the vinyl in the middle of the panel and push it out to the edges with your fingers. There is no need for soapy water with small panels like this, I did it dry and the results were fine. Just heat the vinyl with the heat gun till bubbles appear and rub them gently with your finger till they go away. 3M is great to work with as it has little perforations to let the air escape
Trim the vinyl back and put slits every 50mm, then heat the vinyl till it goes elastic, work the vinyl into the edges so it takes the shape of the piece it is covering. These panels don’t have big contours so they are quite easy to do.
Once wrapped, refit the air vents and make sure the vinyl is applied properly.
You can then fit it back to the car doing the reverse of the video above.
Repeat the process for the other panels, if you are using carbon effect vinyl pay close attention to the direction of the weave otherwise it is easy to get them going in different directions and it looks wrong.
The centre console (cup holders)
I didn’t find a video for the centre console so this was trial and error, in the end it was quite easy but removing the arm rests involved plying them off. This will feel like you are breaking them as you have to use a fair amount of force to pop them off. Using the biggest plastic pry bar, lever the arm rest till it pops off its runner. And then the top panel simply pops of and is held by 6 clips. Very easy when you know how.
The silver cup surround is plastic welded on to the panel so you will have to work with that in place. Using a very sharp scalpel cut on the inside line round the silver edge
Refit everything in reverse. Carefully line up the runners of the arm rests and you have to force them down hard to get them back on.
The Yacht floor
The easiest of the panels to remove. First thing is to remove the storage/shelf (where I store my glasses) under the touchscreen, this comes off with a firm tug and is held on with 2 clips.
With that out the way you can then get your hand round the back to push the the yacht floor out and the whole thing simply comes out in one piece.
Take the whole unit out and clean it with methylated spirits to remove any dirt and grease. The rubber insert peels out, put that to one side.
Add the wrap, making note the weave pattern goes in the right direction with the rest of the car. Once applied run a scal
Put the floor back in the car, refit the storage and enjoy your ‘new’ old car.
To learn how to wrap the extra centre console that is found on facelift models click here.
