Signature wood trim delete

effer

Member
Hi everybody,
I've been lurking on this forum for quite some time reading up and collecting info in preparation to buying a new SUV. My family is in the market for 2-3 year old 3-row SUV that we will keep for 5-10 years. Thinking about CX-9 (among couple of others). I like Signature brown seats and black headliner. Wife is OK (not very excited) with the brown leather, but absolutely hates the wood trim (looks dated she says). I'm OK with the wood (don't love it, don't hate it), but for her it is almost a deal breaker, to the point that we are considering GT as well. I'm not excited at all about black GT interior (boring) and don't like light headliner. Price difference between used GT and used Signature is not huge (not 4K like on new car) so I'm still leaning towards Signature.

So what are my options in terms or wood trim "delete" and have anyone done it already. Things I've considered:
1) Wrap with vinyl. That's probably the simplest solution. Not sure how well it will go and how good of a coverage I can get without disassembly. I'm fairly experienced with vinyl wraps, but every car/project is different.
2) Same wrap option but taking it step further. To get a good wrap around the edges, I probably would have to do some disassembly of the door panels and center console to remove the wood or get better access to the edges. Wondering how difficult is that?
3) Since I'm looking at disassembly, my next option is switching wood with plastic trim of lower models. Is it possible to buy just the trim pieces to replace wood? It would be the best option, if I can obtain these pieces and if replacement process is not too complicated.
4) Simple, but not reversible solution is using a gel stain to get wood to black color. I have worked with gel stain and know that I can get a pretty good looking and durable results without any disassembly. With this method work will be fast, but the obvious downside is that areas of wood that are not exposed will not be stained without disassembly (I will know about it and it might bug me :). Another downside is that it is not reversible. I'm pretty sure I won't be going this route and rather stick with vinyl.
 
A vinyl wrap would probably be the most cost-effective way to do this. Removing the wood trim and then wrapping it would be better, but I'm not sure that it's really necessary since most of the rough edges in the vinyl would be tucked out of sight. Also, if you're wrapping the wood trim, you might as well also wrap the piano black. For a wrap color, I would suggest brushed aluminum (to match with the trim around the door handles and vents, and the trim bar on the dashboard), or gloss black.

Based on the comparison below, it looks like the trim around the shifter panel and the door switches can be swapped out for the GT or lower trim, but I'm not 100% sure if the fasteners/clips behind them are the same. They should be, but you never know.

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A vinyl wrap would probably be the most cost-effective way to do this. Removing the wood trim and then wrapping it would be better, but I'm not sure that it's really necessary since most of the rough edges in the vinyl would be tucked out of sight. Also, if you're wrapping the wood trim, you might as well also wrap the piano black. For a wrap color, I would suggest brushed aluminum (to match with the trim around the door handles and vents, and the trim bar on the dashboard), or gloss black.

If I can remove the trim, then I sure can do a perfect job wrapping everything so it looks pristine. Not sure though how difficult that would be. Also the car will most likely have about 1 year of original warranty or CPO warranty, so I'm wondering if I should go this route and risk the warranty. After warranty expires it's a fair game and only depends on how complicated this removal is.
Without removal of pieces, I would have to trim around the edges, so there is a potential of lifting edge (can be fixed) and also maybe some visible seams/edges. Not ideal, but maybe good enough for start.

Not a fan of piano black, but it doesn't bother me or my wife. I'm pretty sure I won't touch that. It doesn't bother me enough to mess with all the trimming needed and shift gear indicators.

If I gonna wrap, then most likely I will go for leather look vinyl. The end result should look similar to the existing soft touch panels. Maybe will do gloss finish like on lower trim models.
Brushed aluminum has a directional pattern that could be tough to make look right around the curves. Plus I think the end result will look too cold.

Based on the comparison below, it looks like the trim around the shifter panel and the door switches can be swapped out for the GT or lower trim, but I'm not 100% sure if the fasteners/clips behind them are the same. They should be, but you never know.

I didn't even think about the possibility of different fasteners/clips on wood vs plastic. Still wondering if it is possible to purchase these pieces separately.
 
I'm not excited at all about black GT interior (boring) and don't like light headliner.

I was in a similar dilemma so we opted for the GT with light interior since you can also get it with the dark headliner. The contrast looks pretty good with the light seats vs. dark headliner, dash, door panels, and carpet. Are you sure you can't find the same for a GT where you are?

In regards to the trim, I would opt for vinyl wrap. I had that done on a different car in which i wanted to cover up fading wood, and it turned out pretty nice. Depending on who is installing it (yourself or a pro) you may be able to wrap some pieces without disassembly, but for a truly perfect job, i would prepare to remove trim panels. I would be wary of staining your OEM trim and hoping for the best. A wrap is reversible and thus better for resale. Buying trim pieces from a "lower" trim-level might technically be an option, but I don't know what prices are for that and if it makes sense compared to a wrap.

Good luck!
 
I was in a similar dilemma so we opted for the GT with light interior since you can also get it with the dark headliner. The contrast looks pretty good with the light seats vs. dark headliner, dash, door panels, and carpet. Are you sure you can't find the same for a GT where you are?

When I went to test drive Signature, I have seen GT with black interior and light headliner. Didn't like that. Salesman was wrong and told me that black headliner is reserved for top signature trim only. It surprised me a bit, but I went with that, because I was researching only Signature and didn't know much about GT. Now when I looked at the pictures I see that most of GT models have black headliner. Overall black/black looks a bit gloomy in the pictures and videos, but I will take that (if not Signature) over black with light headliner. Will check it out later in real life. Not sure about tan interior with black headliner. Will have to think about this one. I like the contrast, but not a fan of tan leather in general. Will see how it goes. My preference still stays with Signature, but might need to compromise.
 
When I went to test drive Signature, I have seen GT with black interior and light headliner. Didn't like that. Salesman was wrong and told me that black headliner is reserved for top signature trim only. It surprised me a bit, but I went with that, because I was researching only Signature and didn't know much about GT. Now when I looked at the pictures I see that most of GT models have black headliner. Overall black/black looks a bit gloomy in the pictures and videos, but I will take that (if not Signature) over black with light headliner. Will check it out later in real life. Not sure about tan interior with black headliner. Will have to think about this one. I like the contrast, but not a fan of tan leather in general. Will see how it goes. My preference still stays with Signature, but might need to compromise.

Your wife likes what she likes, but I can't agree with the assessment that the wood trim in the Signature looks dated. I think it looks really modern--it's not like the classic burled walnut. I can see how that could be construed as "dated". But I can't think of another car on the market with Rosewood trim like in the Signature.
 
My 2018 GT is black leather with a black headliner. Yes it is dark but to me looks clean and classy. The light leather on the GT looks good but for how long? I wish that were more of a car tan or they made the Napa brown an option on the GT. I am also not a fan of the wood. It's well done but there's too much of it for my taste.
 
Hi everybody,
I like Signature brown seats and black headliner. Wife is OK (not very excited) with the brown leather, but absolutely hates the wood trim (looks dated she says). .

When you buy the CX-9 I suggest waiting at least 6 weeks before making any modifications (such as interior wood delete). My guess is that after a few drives your wife become accustomed to the look, maybe even like it.
 
When you buy the CX-9 I suggest waiting at least 6 weeks before making any modifications (such as interior wood delete). My guess is that after a few drives your wife become accustomed to the look, maybe even like it.

Agree with this statement...not trying to judge but really the wood trim which is a small piece of trim in a large vehicle becomes a deal breaker? Yes you may cover it up with vinyl per suggestion by others but that*s what makes it classy, stand out from other 3-row SUVs and really complements the brown Napa leather seats making it look more premium. When we bought our *17 Sig I was just content on the GT but my wife wanted only the Sig trim due to the brown Napa leather seats and rosewood trim. I*m sure that after she*s used to driving it for several weeks she*ll learn to ignore it and eventually live with it. We*ve gotten a lot of compliments with our Sig 2 yrs ago as it looked classy and diff on the interior vs other SUVs...
 
Not sure about tan interior with black headliner. Will have to think about this one. I like the contrast, but not a fan of tan leather in general. Will see how it goes. My preference still stays with Signature, but might need to compromise.

Check it out in person. It's not really "tan" or even "beige" like some pictures suggest. Its more a light cream color, so to us the contrast looked good with the dark dash, headliner, carpet, and panels, much like some of the Euro manufacturer's schemes. It makes the cabin feel just a bit more "airy" than the all black or even Sig color scheme does, which to us felt a bit claustrophobic, even though it was classy and sharp. Good luck!
 
Keep in mind the wood pieces in the CX-9 signature are REALLY expensive to replace so I would not damage them in any way.
 
I love the wood trim on the Signature and I usually hate wood trim. It looks modern and high quality. On the other hand I hate the GT black trim. Hate those piano finish it's just dust and finger smudge magnet overtime. It's also easily scratched as well. The wood trim is durable and looks great in combination with the seat.
 
I can't understand a wood trim being a deal breaker especially if you love the car otherwise. To each his own.

I agree with DG_1234, some things take getting used to. I bought new pillows a while back... didn't care for them at first. After several months, I've grown to like 'em.
 
I can't understand a wood trim being a deal breaker especially if you love the car otherwise. To each his own.

I agree with DG_1234, some things take getting used to. I bought new pillows a while back... didn't care for them at first. After several months, I've grown to like 'em.

I think the same way, but not my wife :) She will spend more time in this car, so it's not easy to argue.
Thanks everyone for the input. Will see what car we will end up with in next couple of months, but I have a feeling it will be a GT.
 
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