We had record temps recently and during one 108 degree day I went to drive the Forte and what did I see? The dash kit was splitting in a couple of places. Basically the clear top split from the backing. To say the least, I wasn't happy. I contacted the seller (dashkitmall) and they were great. The guy said they'd make me a new kit in any finish I wanted. After my experience with the synthetic brushed aluminum I decided to go with real brushed aluminum. Unlike the synthetic finishes, there's no clear top layer. It's a thin sheet of real brushed aluminum with the 3M backing.
Amazingly, I received it within two days of my initial contact with them. So I installed the new kit. Two things I want to point out. The real aluminum kinda looks like that brushed stainless steel you see on kitchen appliances. It's better looking than the fake stuff by far. It's also thinner which is a big plus. The problem is, it's totally unforgiving. Make a mistake with the clear polyurethane topped kits and you can pull off and reposition. With real metal, repositioning will leave a noticeable crease in the metal... not good. So I did the best I could.
I also decided to use less pieces than I originally used from the full kit. I left the cool piano black of the center console just like it is.
Here's the result. I think it looks sporty and pretty damn hot:
2010 Kia Forte SX
Koup
Koupatroopa
