Changing DB9 centre console / Ski Slope
Discussion
My DB9 ski slope dash / console was looking a little tired. 
I had the console wrapped in carbon fibre lookalike, 
but as I said, was looking tired, so time for a change.
The ski slope just pulls out from the bottom at 90 degrees from the dash. When the bottom is out the top of the ski slope pulls out at the horizontal towards you. Its quite easy.
The unit will come away from the dash and stop at the wires for the buttons, these are simple, they unclip from behind the buttons and the starter button. They cannot be mixed up because the wires are all cut at length, so they will stay in the same position.
When you turn the ski upside down, it all pretty simple really, there are some tiny pozidrive screws and some tiny hex bolts.....
Its not rocket science
, just take them off and strip the unit down....
Don’t force anything, there is no need to, it all unclips and unscrews. The buttons unclip, there are 2 side expansion clips. The vents and the SatNav hinge all unscrew. You may find that some Ski Slopes are different and that the SatNav Hinge is integral to the unit. Mine was not and neither was the replacement.
Then its just the reverse of all the taking apart, onto your new Ski S. Its all quite delicate and when it comes to the hinge, there is a tolerance regarding the closing of the SatNav cover, so you have to make sure that you have this perfect, but working on the bench is far easier than in the car.
Then you end up with a completed Ski Slope……..
When you put it back in the car, you will have to turn the SatNav, “on”, to get the screen up, then reconnect the buttons, the Ski S will slot over the screen. You might have to fiddle a bit here, for me I had to manually (partially) close the screen.
You then just push the Ski S back onto the car, top first, then the bottom. You need to make sure that the steel clips are all in-tacked on the slope, as if one is missing then the slope will of course fit, but only 3 of the 4 will be hold it tightly in place. If its not tightly held, then you run the risk of creaks etc
Then you end up with this ………..
I had the console wrapped in carbon fibre lookalike, but as I said, was looking tired, so time for a change.The ski slope just pulls out from the bottom at 90 degrees from the dash. When the bottom is out the top of the ski slope pulls out at the horizontal towards you. Its quite easy.
The unit will come away from the dash and stop at the wires for the buttons, these are simple, they unclip from behind the buttons and the starter button. They cannot be mixed up because the wires are all cut at length, so they will stay in the same position.
When you turn the ski upside down, it all pretty simple really, there are some tiny pozidrive screws and some tiny hex bolts.....
Its not rocket science
, just take them off and strip the unit down....Don’t force anything, there is no need to, it all unclips and unscrews. The buttons unclip, there are 2 side expansion clips. The vents and the SatNav hinge all unscrew. You may find that some Ski Slopes are different and that the SatNav Hinge is integral to the unit. Mine was not and neither was the replacement.
Then its just the reverse of all the taking apart, onto your new Ski S. Its all quite delicate and when it comes to the hinge, there is a tolerance regarding the closing of the SatNav cover, so you have to make sure that you have this perfect, but working on the bench is far easier than in the car.
Then you end up with a completed Ski Slope……..
When you put it back in the car, you will have to turn the SatNav, “on”, to get the screen up, then reconnect the buttons, the Ski S will slot over the screen. You might have to fiddle a bit here, for me I had to manually (partially) close the screen.
You then just push the Ski S back onto the car, top first, then the bottom. You need to make sure that the steel clips are all in-tacked on the slope, as if one is missing then the slope will of course fit, but only 3 of the 4 will be hold it tightly in place. If its not tightly held, then you run the risk of creaks etc
Then you end up with this ………..
Mav, when you say it just pulls away from the bottom, just for clarity the starting point is to pull the ski slope away from the bottom edge before putting your hand into the sat nav hole and pulling there?
Did you need a tool to ease the bottom edge out at all, and if so what did you use?
I love your " how to "postings, bookmarked for future
Did you need a tool to ease the bottom edge out at all, and if so what did you use?
I love your " how to "postings, bookmarked for future
No, no, no, no no,.......
I was only kidding, the crow bar is too much of a point load......
The bottom of the ski pulls directly out at a 90 degree angle to the dash, the top of the ski pulls dirctly towards you. If you look at the photo of the back of the ski, you can see the direction of the lugs that fit into the dash. You might find that it is stiff as if its never been taken apart before, it will still have that, "factory fit", once you have taken it out once, then it will be easier thereafter
I was only kidding, the crow bar is too much of a point load......
The bottom of the ski pulls directly out at a 90 degree angle to the dash, the top of the ski pulls dirctly towards you. If you look at the photo of the back of the ski, you can see the direction of the lugs that fit into the dash. You might find that it is stiff as if its never been taken apart before, it will still have that, "factory fit", once you have taken it out once, then it will be easier thereafter
CatalystV12V said:
Who applied the finish?
The first carbon-fibre lookalike wrap , was put on by a man-in-a-van for £30.00, it was quick and it covered a faded Bamboo ski-slope. The second time was different, I took the ski off and replaced it with a temp one, whilst I handed the old ski to a professional graphics company. With the ski on the bench the job was radically different. It was wrapped all around the edges, and the corners and buttons etc were perfect. Indeed, when I had the ski back, I checked it and it was perfect, I couldn’t believe it, but having said that, you get what you pay for and it cost about £120.00 for just this piece done. For the graphics company they normally do glass or car signage, this was an interesting concept for them, and he had to print it off twice as he made a mistake the first time.
mikey k said:
I've been thinking about painting mine lightning silver
I defo think you can paint it 
, and I considered this myself first, but then decided that I wanted the Union Flag. You need to consider the reflection in the windscreen. This is why most dash boards are dark or of one single colour. I like the piano black ski, but I could not really have the Union Flag as a high gloss. With the Piano ski, its one colour, so the reflection is one shade and you don’t see it. Add the contrasting colours (monochrome) of the Union Flag (or what ever you want on it) and you get multi reflections. Because of this I went for the mid-sheen (not Matt nor Gloss), I find that there is very little reflection.
If you are going to paint it, then a single colour would work really well. If you take the ski off and put it on the bench, then use a small mouse sander with a very fine paper, then you could easily give the surface the necessary prime.
I was going to attempt this myself, but we have a local spray place and they constantly work on Escorts etc all day long, when you give them something like this, they tend to like the change and give it some thought. I am certain that they (or any professional) could get a high gloss finish 100% perfect on your ski.
steveatesh said:
Did you need a tool to ease the bottom edge out at all, and if so what did you use?
Sorry, I misread what you wrote . When you initially take the ski out, I needed to take out the console from a perfectly fitted dashboard. I have a set of trim tools, but it had nothing in there that could be used to, "safely", prise the ski from the dash. All the tools that I had would give a point load on the leather surrounding (which really is the last thing you want). 
What I did, and I stress, "what I did", was to go to B&Q and I bought two (2) 4 inch wallpaper stripping scrapers, I actually bought, "filler scrapers", because they are thinner than normal wallpaper scrapers. Then I very carefully slipped each knife either side of the gearbox buttons. The problem is not the ski slope, but the leather surround that can be damaged. I then carefully prised the ski off, once the initial movement has taken place, it's very easy to get your fingers around the SatNav opening and lift it off.
For me, the 2 filler knifes worked really well and because I took my time, there was zero damage (which is the way it should be).
Jockman said:
If the console gets easier to remove after the initial go, do you find an increase in any rattles etc when driving?
Yes and No. When I first did this some time ago, I only clicked the ski back in position without really thinking about it. I noticed that the dash creaked etc. It only took a few minutes to work out what had happened. I then stopped, took the ski off again, I then took more time to place the ski in position. I also did this with the speedo cover/console, and that creaked as well. I then worked out that the steel clips that are on the end of the plastic lugs had come off (Speedo). I put the steel clip back on the lugs (2 came off) and put it back on. Without the steel clips, you won't get a tight fit. The clips are fiddly In theory, you just click the ski and speedo cover on, and in theory it should take about 5 seconds. That was the mistake I made before, take your time, make sure its perfectly fitting, take off your rings and watch, and then push them all into their respective positions. When they all fit perfectly, there are no creaks etc.
Edited by MaverickV12 on Sunday 24th March 12:46
Jockman said:
The Union Flag
I did consider a red, white and blue flag, but I would find it difficult to live with it on a day by day basis. It would be great for Le Mans or Goodwood etc, but on a day by day basis it would be too loud (for me).Even in monochrome I asked them to tone it down and down. It started as black, white and gray, eventually it became, black, dark dark gray and dark gray.
MaverickV12 said:
I did consider a red, white and blue flag, but I would find it difficult to live with it on a day by day basis. It would be great for Le Mans or Goodwood etc, but on a day by day basis it would be too loud (for me).
Even in monochrome I asked them to tone it down and down. It started as black, white and gray, eventually it became, black, dark dark gray and dark gray.
The monochrome is indeed better, and I especially like the matt / semi gloss look to it. I appreciate this is not everyone's favourite type of finish.Even in monochrome I asked them to tone it down and down. It started as black, white and gray, eventually it became, black, dark dark gray and dark gray.
I just thought KF's photo - like all of his photos - was an interesting one
Jockman said:
Talking of which.....here's a picture of KF's console from May 2011.
The Union Flag is a reflection from his garage wall
I appreciate the copyright, so if KF wants me to remove it I shall do so post haste
This was exactly what I thought when I saw Mav's pictures. Maybe he was subliminally inspired. The Union Flag is a reflection from his garage wall
I appreciate the copyright, so if KF wants me to remove it I shall do so post haste
. My picture was sort of a happy coincidence. I have both British and Danish flags hanging on my garage wall and the angle of the picture caused the reflection, so I worked with it. yeti said:
peterr96 said:
Sorry Maverick. I think I'm going to be with George on this one.
Yes, I'm rather looking forward to what our cider-soaked, mouldy-roofed F1 correspondent thinks about it too 
I think it looks a big improvement over the carbon look a like finish. Doesn't look too bad to be honest, but I wouldn't want it in my car. Better than boring old piano black too!
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