F355: HVAC panel refurbishment

Bubbling HVAC

The F355 and I believe other Ferrari's can suffer from the black plastic parts of the interior deteriorating into a sticky mess. Mine actually seems pretty good apart from the AC control panel (HVAC panel) which had bubbled up and really let the interior down. Unfortunately a new panel is not available separately from Ferrari and a new unit will cost around £1000. A company many people swear by called "Stickynomore" quoted me $350 to refurb the panel but couldn't tell me how much it was to ship back from the USA and I would also have to pay to ship the thing over there. Hill Engineering supply a replacement overlay panel for £40, not a great bargain for what's basically a big, albeit, decent quality sticker but still a huge saving over a replacement part from Ferrari. In the end I ordered the overlay.

Removing the HVAC panel was very simple, one single screw inside the ashtray which pops out and then the HVAC panel simply unplugs. My ashtray was a bit chipped and cracked, a new part is £165 so I thought I'd try and give this a tidy up too.

I had to dismantle the HVAC panel to be able to really clean off the old covering, I used "Cillit Bang" which after a lot of scrubbing left me with a clean bare panel and my new overlay was installed.

The Finished Centre Console

I dismantled the ashtray and glued up where the plastic had cracked (out of sight but was causing it to sag) I also removed the little flag badge and gave it a quick clean with brasso. I then gave the ashtray a good clean and spray painted it with plastikote black paint.

The outcome is a much tidier centre console!