Review - DatsunParts Early Horn Button Insert
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 1:09 pm
Hello, this is a review of the DatsunParts Early Horn Button Insert, pre-painted.
This is an injection molded plastic part and as far as I know they are the only ones making one. It is $115 for the painted version and $39 for a DIY.
Comparing to the original, the shape seems spot on while the paint and plastic are somewhat lacking. The plastic has a bit of cloudiness to it while the original Nissan version has stayed quite clear if you ignore the cracks.
The white/gray paint in the letter is a pretty close match. The silver borders are much more metallic/chrome in the original while the reproduction is more of a matte silver. The black is more of a cloudy matte in the repro - I'm not sure if this is the paint itself or just the plastic. Bear in mind these are painted on the reverse side, so the paint is viewed through several mms of plastic. The original part is a much more deep glossy black even 56 years later.
There are a few bad spots in the paint where light can be seen through - borders of the letters especially. Not really an issue once mounted to the column.
It looks fairly nice once on the car especially from a distance and is an adequate option if you are missing your original button or it's heavily damaged like mine was. You do get some cloudiness in the black sections that just doesn't look great. With a very visible piece that the driver is going to see constantly, that may bug you.
Subjectively, I don't really see the $115 in value with the cloudy plastic and paint that poorly matches the originals. If it were $30 or $40 I could see it being a nice drivers' quality option. With an extra $75 to paint a square inch or so, I expect pretty near perfection. Unfortunately that is sometimes the reality with small batch manufacturing of obscure parts.
Overall I would call it a 3/5 taking the price into consideration.
This is an injection molded plastic part and as far as I know they are the only ones making one. It is $115 for the painted version and $39 for a DIY.
Comparing to the original, the shape seems spot on while the paint and plastic are somewhat lacking. The plastic has a bit of cloudiness to it while the original Nissan version has stayed quite clear if you ignore the cracks.
The white/gray paint in the letter is a pretty close match. The silver borders are much more metallic/chrome in the original while the reproduction is more of a matte silver. The black is more of a cloudy matte in the repro - I'm not sure if this is the paint itself or just the plastic. Bear in mind these are painted on the reverse side, so the paint is viewed through several mms of plastic. The original part is a much more deep glossy black even 56 years later.
There are a few bad spots in the paint where light can be seen through - borders of the letters especially. Not really an issue once mounted to the column.
It looks fairly nice once on the car especially from a distance and is an adequate option if you are missing your original button or it's heavily damaged like mine was. You do get some cloudiness in the black sections that just doesn't look great. With a very visible piece that the driver is going to see constantly, that may bug you.
Subjectively, I don't really see the $115 in value with the cloudy plastic and paint that poorly matches the originals. If it were $30 or $40 I could see it being a nice drivers' quality option. With an extra $75 to paint a square inch or so, I expect pretty near perfection. Unfortunately that is sometimes the reality with small batch manufacturing of obscure parts.
Overall I would call it a 3/5 taking the price into consideration.