Dash panel drilling guidance?

[Six_Actual]

Hey all,

Has anyone drilled through the shiny dash panels to mount anything?
Does the gloss and finish stay intact around the hole?
I want to cut a hole and will pop it off to do so from the back, but wanted your guidance from experiences first.
Thank you!!

 

[rightyouareken]

Generally you don’t want to drill from the back of a panel you want to look good from the front. The entry side of holes generally are much cleaner than the exit. I’ve thought about drilling and mounting a Ram ball on these panels. If I were to do it I’d put masking tape on the front to protect the finish and drill from the front with the panel removed.


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[a47chuck]

What Right said. You may also want to start with a pilot hole.

 

[-Goose]

I did the Ram Mount. It's very easy to take all the facade off. I think I googled Ram mount 4runner install. I think whatever button you install should have a bezel to hide anything. I can't recall any cracking or flaking.

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[fkheath]

What do you want to mount? There are lots of mounts that don't require drilling such as the ProClip: ProClip USA | Car Phone Holders and Dashboard Phone Mounts

 

[jcrown7]

Didn't do any drilling in the lower area, but I've got the Expedition Essentials PAM. Had no problems with the finish chipping or flaking off when drilling the 4 mounting holes.
I've got a few RAM mount balls for misc accessories and an X-Grip for my phone on this.

 

[Six_Actual]

Thanks for the replies. (It took me a while to get back to this post because I couldn't find it on my phone).

Looks like I should drill from the front... and good tip on the masking tape. Will do.

I'm going to mount an RJ-45 port insert to connect my CB radio (and maybe another one somewhere for a future HAM radio).. I think I'll just go with a hole on left side of the center console.

 

[zasdds]

Hey all,

Has anyone drilled through the shiny dash panels to mount anything?
Does the gloss and finish stay intact around the hole?
I want to cut a hole and will pop it off to do so from the back, but wanted your guidance from experiences first.
Thank you!!

Thanks for the replies. (It took me a while to get back to this post because I couldn't find it on my phone).

Looks like I should drill from the front... and good tip on the masking tape. Will do.

I'm going to mount an RJ-45 port insert to connect my CB radio (and maybe another one somewhere for a future HAM radio).. I think I'll just go with a hole on left side of the center console.

I drilled from the front and installed a ram mount ball on the driver's side AC panel. I put some painter's tape on the spot before drilling. This helped in two ways: prevented chipping of the finish and allowed me to clearly mark the site for the hole.

I started with a pilot hole and sequentially increased the size of the bit until the bolt I selected would fit.

If you are still planning on putting the ram ball there, I would suggest attaching the phone holder to the ball and placing the phone in the holder so you can see exactly where the phone will end up. It may take some maneuvering to avoid the AC knob/shift knob/your kneed depending on phone/holder.

"Measure twice, cut once..."

 

[pDubs]

I have my radio mic on my dash with a magnet.

Amazon.com: SCOSCHE MAGFMB MagicMount Universal Magnetic Flush Mount Holder for Mobile Devices in Frustration Free Packaging, Black: Car Electronics

I just put the metal plate on the back of the mic (comes with double sided tape already on, and then rubber flush holder part on the dash (double sided tape as well).

If you need to drill, I would do as other have mentioned. This video shows how to remove, it just pops out.

skip to 45 seconds.
Toyota 4Runner Head Unit Removal - How To - YouTube

 

[Charlievee]

Just pull the trim piece and drill on the bench.

 

[Six_Actual]

For closure if you need it haha... I pulled the trigger and I love how it turned out.
Pilot hole confirmed I could drill from the back.
Found some cool black clip mounts for the mic too but I didn’t get a picture. Thanks for the help folks.

 

[T4R_Canuck]

For closure if you need it haha... I pulled the trigger and I love how it turned out.
Pilot hole confirmed I could drill from the back.
Found some cool black clip mounts for the mic too but I didn’t get a picture. Thanks for the help folks.

Just found this thread so obviously you don't need input anymore, lol. Looks like you did a nice, clean job with the good advice that you were given.

I removed the panel to install an ICS dash mount, which required drilling 5 small holes. If you take your time and use painters tape, the results will normally look quite nice.

Nice work!