I just refinished my Pettit radio ****.

Buffed to a shine to match my JDM illuminated shift **** and painted the surrounding area around the rotor black to blend in better with the stock faceplate.

Question I have and others may have is placement of the sticker.

There is no right or wrong so a poll would be good for this.

What do you guys or gals think?
______

1



______

2



______

3



______

4






For those that are looking to paint the surrounding area on this **** I recommend cleaning with alcohol first and priming before laying the black down.

I used clear scotch gift wrapping tape for taping off the rotor area. Make sure and tape over the back of the **** where the clear inserts are so that light can shine through when installed.

 

no 1 for sure

 

IMO it will look good if the RX-8 word illuminate too

 

I feel the same way the tough part is the **** mounts in the center so light doesn't get there. A person could drill a couple of windows through the inside of the **** so the light would effectively come through but it may not be evenly directed to the lettering area.

 

Here are a few more pics that give a truer look on how the surrounding black looks with a polished Pettit radio ****.

I used Rustoleum professional primer and Dupli-color High Heat with Ceramic spray paint color code is Black DH1602. It matches the buttons quite well and since it is not a high gloss it doesn't take away from the gloss of the buffed area.

For polishing I used Mothers billet polish the first time. This time I used English Custom Showman's Polish. Both worked well.

 

looks awesome i like it anyway, i don't know if is it a see through letter? if so,i would drill a hole behind and customize a lil bit with led

 

The stickers that are supplied are not see through because they have a silver foil and then the adhesive.

Mine is... when I heated and pulled the sticker off the foil did not come with it.

So I rubbed most of the simulated carbon fiber off the sticker from the back and hand brushed some flat black on the area which was now clear after taking the CF image off. The area that says RX8 is clear so I could do the LED on a later date.

For those that have had trouble taking the **** off. The easiest way is to pop the two panels that surround the numbers (above and below).

For the top panel: insert a small flat head screwdriver below the 2 and then below the 5 and pry gently, moving the screwdriver handle up. (Important to be gentle so as not to snap off the clips that hold the numbers in place)

For the top panel that says Push Power and VOL:

Pry from just above the 2 and 5, screwdriver handle going down. (again being gentle to not snap the clips for the numbers).

If you do snap one of the clips, don't give up, a little 5-minute epoxy does wonders if you don't lose the piece that broke off.

 

I like the first one.

 

After some thought, I would not use the lettering. The **** would look just as good without it.

 

I think I am leaning toward the first as well but have read of others doing the last one which is pointing up but hadn't posted pictures that I had seen.

Figured others would have the same decision and this could help them decide.

 

I was really close to rubbing all the lettering off the back side of the applique and painting it black.

(I used alcohol to help soften the simulated CF. It came off quite easily).

If I had done that I wouldn't have put this much thought into it either.


The area under the applique is not really finished off and having it black in the center gives it a classier look in my opinion.



I wish the center applique was black around the lettering instead of simulated CF.

Another thing I was really close to doing was hand painting the 6 speed gear pattern surrounded by black.

 

I like the first one - that's the way I mounted mine - I do really like the black that you painted - nice touch.

 

Thanks, I like how it excentuates the rotor shape and blends the circle that surrounds it into the radio.

 

Did you just mask off the rest of the ****? I see you used spray paint - any issues doing that or was that pretty easy? The finished black looks really nice in the pics - is it that smooth in real life, or does the color mask imperfections? I may just have to pull mine off and get some paint!

 

It is smooth but the color masks small imperfections since it is not a high gloss.

I polished the finish before painting.

If a person doesn't use primer it will most likely chip off easily like my first attempt.


For taping off the rotor area I used Scotch gift wrapping tape and was easier than electrical or painter's tape when I painted it the first time.

Not sure how much painting any of you have done but it is a good practice to remove the tape before the paint is fully cured so that it doesn't stick to it and mess up the paint when removed.

 

Mine is installed in the #1 configuration.

 

any pics without the sticker???

 

I like it....great job!

What did you use to polish the metal?


I have mine like pic 4.

 

 

4th one or 1st one

 

i voted for 2! haha

 

hmmm after seeing that, I would probably use the sticker.

 

It definitely needs something in that area. Another option would be a picture of the gearing and eccentric shaft on the internal of the rotor.

Here is a MS paint hacked pic to show an all black sticker (the easiest solution).

Placement wouldn't be an issue then.

 

4 years,

How did you polish it?



Thanks.

 

The first time I polished it with Mothers Billet polish the second time I used English Custom Showman's polish. Really any aluminum polish would be sufficient. Mothers also makes a Mag and Aluminum polish but I feel the Billet Polish does its job faster and easier.

They both worked quite well and I would be tough to tell the difference between them when completed. I just can't seem to find the tub of Mothers Billet polish and knew where the English Custom polish was since I keep them in one spot.