The Toyota FJ Cruiser is a retro style midsized SUV. Now, coming to the fact of retro style, it resembles the desire to capture something from the past and evoke nostalgia! Modern cars are awesome. But if you are fuelled by dissatisfaction with the present, the FJ is perfect for you.
I own the FJ 40 and modified its control panel. How and what I did are all here. My vehicle gives me a complete retro feeling with customized FJ Cruiser Switches.
How to Give That Retro Look and Feel to the FJ’s Control Panel?
If you are up for modifications and personalization, there are many opportunities. In fact, I have the best solution for the switches.
Some Unique Ways are:
- Getting a Custom Sticker
Many of you rely on sticker symbols. I started with stickers because they are not long lasting and it gives me an opportunity to find new symbols with time.
A sticker can be the best option which will bring a complete retro look to your SUV. The Pros and Cons of Retro Look Stickers are as follows.
PROS
- You can change your sticker every 2nd month and get a new look
- Stickers are easy to use – the adhesive is of fine quality
CONS
- Stickers are not long lasting
- Within a short span, stickers get scratches and get dirty
- Recurring Investment
Considering the cons, you might look for alternatives. So here it is in the next point.
- Getting a Custom FJ Cruiser Switch
In contrary to stickers, here you will need to buy a whole switch. But for this section I hardly have cons to explain! Initially after using stickers, I was somewhat tensed with the recurring investment. So, I looked for a rugged option. What I found is amazing. Let me take you through.
The Switch
FJ Cruiser Switches are made on military grade plastic. This plastic is also called ABS Plastic. In general, you can find ABS Plastic made switches in military vehicles and almost all marine vehicles.
Laser Engraved Symbols
This is the customizing part. In contrary to stickers, you get laser etched symbols on the face of the switch. So no more of recurring investments! I also got them customized with my selected symbols and text! In fact, if you are looking for a long term retro look, get an ABS Plastic switch with laser etched symbols.
Why ABS Plastic?
As I said earlier that it is a military grade plastic, it is tolerant to hard conditions and is super durable! Since laser etched symbols sit on the face of the switch, it must tolerate the laser engraving process!
Laser engraving happens layer by layer. If the quality of the switch is not up to the mark, it can’t tolerate the laser heat. Thus many cheap quality plastic rocker switches have stickers on them!
Where Did I Find The Custom FJ Switches?
I won’t take the credibility to find them, but it goes to my friend Dalton. He suggested me CH4X4 and showed me the quality of switches he got in his car.
Later I decided to give them a try. I have the switches with customized retro look for the past one year and they are still NEW! Dalton has them for a few days more than two years and they are new as well. Unfortunately, his car looks old but not the FJ Cruiser switch!
Verdict
If you are looking to get your vehicle’s control panel personalized, my suggestion would be – opt for ABS Plastic Switches with Laser engraved symbols. You will make a worthy investment.
Off Road Switches | 4wd switches 