Suggestions To Eliminate Touchscreen Bezel Reflections

[Porpoise Hork]

If there's one thing that drives me nuts about the interior of the Lariat is the glossy trim bezels around the touchscreen and A/C registers. At certain times of the day when the sun is just at the right angle it reflects off the highly gloss bezel and trim rings and like a laser pointer hits me right in the eyes. Oh don't get me wrong I love the look of it it, but it's a borderline safety hazard at times. Other trim levels have a matte finish to the bezel and swapping the one from say an XLT From what I have seen is not an easy or cheap thing to do.

I have looked for vinyl kits but the only ones I have found so far only cover part of the bezel, leaving the angled portion untouched, so won't help. I want to keep the same color if possible, just get rid of the glossy finish. Does anyone know of a vinyl kit out there that will cover this, or is this something that a vinyl shop would be able to do?

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[Motorpsychology]

If there's one thing that drives me nuts about the interior of the Lariat is the glossy trim bezels around the touchscreen and A/C registers. At certain times of the day when the sun is just at the right angle it reflects off the highly gloss bezel and trim rings and like a laser pointer hits me right in the eyes. Oh don't get me wrong I love the look of it it, but it's a borderline safety hazard at times. Other trim levels have a matte finish to the bezel and swapping the one from say an XLT From what I have seen is not an easy or cheap thing to do.

I have looked for vinyl kits but the only ones I have found so far only cover part of the bezel, leaving the angled portion untouched, so won't help. I want to keep the same color if possible, just get rid of the glossy finish. Does anyone know of a vinyl kit out there that will cover this, or is this something that a vinyl shop would be able to do?

Maybe Velcro would work. Use only one side, either the fuzzy or even the hook side would be dull enough to cut down glare. Cheap, easy to trim.

 

[pull string get cookies]

If there's one thing that drives me nuts about the interior of the Lariat is the glossy trim bezels around the touchscreen and A/C registers. At certain times of the day when the sun is just at the right angle it reflects off the highly gloss bezel and trim rings and like a laser pointer hits me right in the eyes. Oh don't get me wrong I love the look of it it, but it's a borderline safety hazard at times. Other trim levels have a matte finish to the bezel and swapping the one from say an XLT From what I have seen is not an easy or cheap thing to do.

I have looked for vinyl kits but the only ones I have found so far only cover part of the bezel, leaving the angled portion untouched, so won't help. I want to keep the same color if possible, just get rid of the glossy finish. Does anyone know of a vinyl kit out there that will cover this, or is this something that a vinyl shop would be able to do?

Do you have or have you thought of window tint? Cut down on the light entering the cab in the first place.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

probably have better luck with a vinyl shop, they have more knowledge and better tools to carry it out.
vinyl likely is the only way to go.
im sure they have an opaque clear that will give you the relief you need and kind of maintain the original color

That's what I was leaning towards. Just looking to see if anyone had come across an alternate option.

Do you have or have you thought of window tint? Cut down on the light entering the cab in the first place.

Unfortunately the glare is from the windshield not the side windows. In Texas you can apply tint down to the AS-1 line legally and that wouldn't make any difference in this case.

 

[pull string get cookies]

That's what I was leaning towards. Just looking to see if anyone had come across an alternate option.



Unfortunately the glare is from the windshield not the side windows. In Texas you can apply tint down to the AS-1 line legally and that wouldn't make any difference in this case.

Understood. In that case, my vote goes to RANGER PRIDE's proposed solution. Best of luck.

 

[FoD]

If you've any rattle can skills, you could use a matte clear coat on them or lightly, LIGHTLY scuff with a 3m pad??

 

[treimche]

I was also thinking matte clear paint. Or if you want something reversible, grab yourself a can of matte clear Plasti Dip. Pop the trim pieces off and give them a few coats of matte clear Plasti Dip. They should stay the same color, but with a matte finish, plus you can peel it off if you don't like it.

 

[Fawnbuster]

Do you have or have you thought of window tint? Cut down on the light entering the cab in the first place.

My windows are tint matched and I have a 6 inch tint strip at the top of the windshield and I still get glare. I'm not a fan of reflective interiors. During the worst possible time of day for glare. Mid morning and late afternoon when the sun comes thru the windshield.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I was also thinking matte clear paint. Or if you want something reversible, grab yourself a can of matte clear Plasti Dip. Pop the trim pieces off and give them a few coats of matte clear Plasti Dip. They should stay the same color, but with a matte finish, plus you can peel it off if you don't like it.

I looked into this, but not sure how difficult it is to remove the bezel. From all the parts diagrams it looks like the nav screen bezel is integrated with the hvac controls, so the whole control panel would need to be removed.

 

[FX4Offroad]

I was also thinking matte clear paint. Or if you want something reversible, grab yourself a can of matte clear Plasti Dip. Pop the trim pieces off and give them a few coats of matte clear Plasti Dip. They should stay the same color, but with a matte finish, plus you can peel it off if you don't like it.

^^^This^^^

Plastidip.

 

[FX4Offroad]

I looked into this, but not sure how difficult it is to remove the bezel. From all the parts diagrams it looks like the nav screen bezel is integrated with the hvac controls, so the whole control panel would need to be removed.

With plastidip, you just mask the screen In the middle...not all the way to the edges of the bezel and outside the bezel the same way, not all the way to the edges. The edge of the bezel creates a natural seam so you just peel off the surrounding plastidip. Be sure to spray VERY LIGHT COATS, not to thick. Spray 5 or 6 light coats letting the thin layers to dry sufficiently between coats.

It's real easy to apply and peel off the left over...it just takes lots of time for the coats to dry between.

Make sure to cover all surrounding areas with old newspaper so it stays local to the bezel.

Whatever you do, DO NOT mask to the edge of the bezel...really.

Look at a few YouTube videos. Real easy.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

So I was finally able to pull the bezel out to apply clear plasti-dip. Pulling the HVAC panel out surprisingly only takes about 10 minutes. Then on the back of the panel is a set of T5 and T7 torx screws. After removing the cover plate there are four additional screws that hold the bezel to the rest of the assembly. Separating the bezel makes it so much easier than masking everything off.

This is the backside of the HVAC panel with the cover removed.

The front of the bezel after 2 coats of clear plasti-dip.

Four coats and everything reinstalled back in the truck to make sure it all works. It also now looks just like the XLT bezel.

Best part is no more glare!

Have to see how durable the plasti-dip is, but if it doesn't hold up well then I may see about trying to get a bezel from the XLT and swap it out.

 

[Danager]

That looks good. I think if you are happy with it, you could consider a permanent matte finish. Then you have very little concern about longevity/durability.

 

[Richard Conley]

Talked to my tint, decal, wrapping guy. Said tint probably wouldn't do it and gave me a piece to try, it didn't. He could wrap the bezels. The one that gets me is on the right side of the steering wheel. They are matte black on the XL and I ordered one for the problem spot to see if that works. It is amazing the car and truck makers think that shinny is good on the dash,

 

[VAMike]

Talked to my tint, decal, wrapping guy. Said tint probably wouldn't do it and gave me a piece to try, it didn't. He could wrap the bezels. The one that gets me is on the right side of the steering wheel. They are matte black on the XL and I ordered one for the problem spot to see if that works. It is amazing the car and truck makers think that shinny is good on the dash,

Yes, shiny car interiors are just stupid. At least it's not piano black, with heinous glare, fingerprints, and dust.

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