For X-mas I got my wife a new CX-9 as a replacement for her Maxima SE. It was just time for some more room and the CX-9 has been awesome so far.
The only down side is that I found out that there is no aftermarket dash kit for the radio! I didn't want to use the factory radio and wanted to upgrade her stereo system. So I started reading mp3car.com's fabrication section. A lot of people there create their own dash kits and it's a great place to learn about abs plastic fabrication. So I took the chance and I took out the original radio, cut up the face plate and created my own custom double din dash kit. It's not 100% finished at this point, but I think it's halway decent for a 3-4 days.
Original Radio
This was after I removed the buttons and cut the face out.
after cutting out the radio face
This was a test fit with the bezel that came with the DNX8120
Bezel inserted in cutout area
I used an ABS Cement / Plastic Weld that bonds the plastic together - basically melting the plastic and forming once piece.
Plastic Weld
I then used a Dynatron Flexible Bumper kit. It's a two part abs epoxy that, when dry, has the same strength and flex as the cars plastic. The epoxy dries in 15 minutes and is ready for sanding. The first time I let it cure for a full day to make sure that the holes it plugged were solid. The I had to apply the epoxy a couple of times to fix low spots. It took quite a bit of hand sanding and just touch and feel. The process took about 2 days to get it just right.
Epoxy to fill the holes and gaps
This was the first sanding. I used a 220 grit and just took my time not to over and and to remove any high spots.
First sanding of epoxy
This was after the first spray of primer. For this I used a 400grit, then a 600 grit wetsand.
After primer and sanding
This was the first time I painted it. I ended up using a textured paint on the primer that is a flat black. This needs to be redone to use a dark gray color that matches the dash, but I could not find any in my area. I'm going to order something from SEM that is an OEM color match and try to do it next weekend.
After a coat of paint
This is just a closeup of the texture. It matches the dash paint, which has a similar texture.
textured paint for plastic
This is a picture of it in the dash when I first installed it. That image is one that I custom created for her car. I also made a background for it when it's in use. It's really cool that Kenwood allows you to customize it.
Radio in the dash
I installed two Eclipse amps to power the system in a tray that is hidden in the trunk area.
Amps During Install
Amps Installed
Amps Hidden
These are all 3 monitors in the system. They are Alipine 7" LCDs that I placed in the headrest and I put a DVD player under the rear passenger seat. The Alpine unit has a processor unit that allows you to connect up to 3 sources. The monitors themselves have IR Wireless headphone output and the set came with (2) Alpine wireless headphones. AWESOME unit and I highly recommend it. I basically have the Kenwood DNX8120 feeding the first AV port and the second av port is supplied by the DVD player under the seat. The monitors can then choose which one of the 3 (or two in my case) inputs they want to watch and the headphones have switches where they select the channel to listen to. It's great because our 3 year old can watch toy story and our 11 year old can watch star wars or something older
All of the monitors
The sub enclosure is temporary until I can finsh a fiberglass one that is molded into the interior.
temporary sub
Fiberglass molded sub that I need to create
The system is
Kenwood DNX8120
JL Audio 3.5" in the dash
Diamond Audio 6.5" in all 4 doors w/ 1" tweeter
Kicker CompVR 10" Sub DVR
Eclipse EA4100 (75 watts per channel)
Eclipse XA1000 480 watts RMS x1 at 2ohm
The only down side is that I found out that there is no aftermarket dash kit for the radio! I didn't want to use the factory radio and wanted to upgrade her stereo system. So I started reading mp3car.com's fabrication section. A lot of people there create their own dash kits and it's a great place to learn about abs plastic fabrication. So I took the chance and I took out the original radio, cut up the face plate and created my own custom double din dash kit. It's not 100% finished at this point, but I think it's halway decent for a 3-4 days.
Original Radio
This was after I removed the buttons and cut the face out.
after cutting out the radio face
This was a test fit with the bezel that came with the DNX8120
Bezel inserted in cutout area
I used an ABS Cement / Plastic Weld that bonds the plastic together - basically melting the plastic and forming once piece.
Plastic Weld
I then used a Dynatron Flexible Bumper kit. It's a two part abs epoxy that, when dry, has the same strength and flex as the cars plastic. The epoxy dries in 15 minutes and is ready for sanding. The first time I let it cure for a full day to make sure that the holes it plugged were solid. The I had to apply the epoxy a couple of times to fix low spots. It took quite a bit of hand sanding and just touch and feel. The process took about 2 days to get it just right.
Epoxy to fill the holes and gaps
This was the first sanding. I used a 220 grit and just took my time not to over and and to remove any high spots.
First sanding of epoxy
This was after the first spray of primer. For this I used a 400grit, then a 600 grit wetsand.
After primer and sanding
This was the first time I painted it. I ended up using a textured paint on the primer that is a flat black. This needs to be redone to use a dark gray color that matches the dash, but I could not find any in my area. I'm going to order something from SEM that is an OEM color match and try to do it next weekend.
After a coat of paint
This is just a closeup of the texture. It matches the dash paint, which has a similar texture.
textured paint for plastic
This is a picture of it in the dash when I first installed it. That image is one that I custom created for her car. I also made a background for it when it's in use. It's really cool that Kenwood allows you to customize it.
Radio in the dash
I installed two Eclipse amps to power the system in a tray that is hidden in the trunk area.
Amps During Install
Amps Installed
Amps Hidden
These are all 3 monitors in the system. They are Alipine 7" LCDs that I placed in the headrest and I put a DVD player under the rear passenger seat. The Alpine unit has a processor unit that allows you to connect up to 3 sources. The monitors themselves have IR Wireless headphone output and the set came with (2) Alpine wireless headphones. AWESOME unit and I highly recommend it. I basically have the Kenwood DNX8120 feeding the first AV port and the second av port is supplied by the DVD player under the seat. The monitors can then choose which one of the 3 (or two in my case) inputs they want to watch and the headphones have switches where they select the channel to listen to. It's great because our 3 year old can watch toy story and our 11 year old can watch star wars or something older
All of the monitors
The sub enclosure is temporary until I can finsh a fiberglass one that is molded into the interior.
temporary sub
Fiberglass molded sub that I need to create
The system is
Kenwood DNX8120
JL Audio 3.5" in the dash
Diamond Audio 6.5" in all 4 doors w/ 1" tweeter
Kicker CompVR 10" Sub DVR
Eclipse EA4100 (75 watts per channel)
Eclipse XA1000 480 watts RMS x1 at 2ohm
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