I have a thread on it with what I used, it will be simple to find the pictures, I did not get many "befores" but I took afters.

The best thing to do is wipe/clean all panels off so that there is nothing left on them. I took all the smaller pieces out and then washed them with dawn dish soap and then rinsed them and then dried them before painting.

For the dash and wheel (only things I left in the car) I used a damp rag to wipe everything down with and to get anything off that might have been on there. And then used an extra cloth with some rubbing alcohol on it to rid it of anything that might have a oil base. Let that stand and then I re-wiped everything down with a damp rag and let it dry before painting. I used Krylon Fusion (black satin) for all the hard plastic. Then I used Dupli-Color black satin dye for the dash (the soft fake leather feeling **** like the e-brake,arm rest and console lids) I actually used the Dupli-Color for the door panels too, but its easier to scuff I thought, compared to the Krylon so I re-sprayed the door trims with the Krylon.


Heres my take on it.. 2-3 coats of paint on all my panels has been able to stand up to the weather here since Ive had it.

The feel of the panels after they have been painted is kinda funny to get used too at first.

If you have the time, leave them OUT of the car to de-gass otherwise the fumes get into the carpet and just make the whole car smell for a few weeks. Also the kick panels and the outter ring of the door panel (the map pocket area and near the speaker on firebirds) they tend to get scuffed up if your trying to squeeze in and out and IMO it just looks tacky.. If you can wrap those parts with some sort of material or leather that would be good otherwise just swap those parts out for ebony ones. I got sick of my kick panels getting scuffed so I bought a set of ebony ones; the color shade is different, but it is not too obvious IMO. I really wan't to get a set of ebony door panels so that way I can match up a little easier and I won't really need any more ebony parts ( I want a new Center Console and lid but thats just mainly because mine console is cracked and I screwed the lid up trying to wrap it with a material I bought and my A4 shifter panel is just awfull looking lol)



Just look up my thread here, and if you have any questions at all you can ask me.




Look on the side of my passenger seat, you can see some of the 99 charcoal / graphite color.. compared to the dash and such that I had already painted. And yes I painted that part of the seat belt lol.

 

On my old camaro I painted the kick panels and all that **** w/ vinyl dye ...and it became really rough in texture. Would doing the dash cause it to change in texture. Most likely on my next trans am I will be wrapping the entire dash in smooth leather, but for things like the ttop handles, ttop holder in the trunk, and some other **** I'm probably gonna use SEM landau black.

 

IMHO, yes.. it will change the feel of the piece you paint. Its hard to describe how it exactly feels. A regular clean panel with no dust or dirt particles will feel smooth (aside from the curves and the textured plastic of course) but after I painted my panels they have that grainy feel to them it kinda feels like sand or something IDK its just different.

 

true... maybe if you sand it smooth ...that grainy texture wouldn't occur?

 

I did my LS1 center console from charcoal to black, give me a sec to find pics...

 

Taken from my build thread (post number 407)

How to Paint Interior Plastics

Since I am piecing together stuff I have sold awhile ago, I have gotten several interior pieces that are great shape, but the wrong color. Maybe you replaced a damaged panel and the color is off or faded and looking to make it new again. For this write up here, I used a center console that I bought when I was doing the LS1 dash swap...

Here is a picture of the console when I bought it...Note it is a dark grey instead of black. I want the console to match my dash which is black...



First thing you will want to do is to clean the panel really good. I used Purple Thunder (Can find in most automotive stores) and cut it 50/50 with water, this is pretty strong, so it will get rid of alot of stains, armor all, and leave the surface clean and ready to paint.

I went to CarQuest and picked up SEM Flexable Interior Paint. This is good stuff, I used it on some of my GTO interior panels years ago and no flaking and looks as good as the day I painted them. The color I used was Landau Black (P/N 15013) This color is the closest in semi gloss of the factory black...



The key to success is to use as little paint as possible, the thicker the paint, the more likely it is to flake off. I kept the can back about a foot and lightly dusted on the first coat and let it dry for 20 minutes. The first coat will be very light and do not try and cover the entire panel. You will repeat this step about 3-4 times going very light and giving plenty of drying time between coats. You do not want the paint to look "wet" in any spots. Just take your time and lightly coat until you have full coverage and then STOP! Enjoy your newly painted panel and give it a full day before installing it!

Center console and lid painted black...



Now to finish up with the top plate and misc pieces that I wanted painted seperate...



And time to put the console back together and install in the car. Note the factory steering wheel is also back in. Thanks Jason (am_muscl)



Still need to put the radio and once I locate a complete HVAC setup, I can install the heat, a/c, and vents...

 

^^ nice contribution for the thread. Did the texture become grainy and is there any reason why you didn't want to use a low luster clear coat?

 

No, after a couple coats, the console appeared to look OEM, so didnt need a clear coat. Texture and finish appears stock

 

I meant in reference to its' haptics. How did it feel? the same?

 

Bring this back up from the dead.

Anybody else have more pics of painted interior trim pieces? I have charcoal interior looking to paint it that ebony/black color. SEM products seem to get the best reviews. I've tried some duple-color plastic paint on a test piece and didn't seem to lay on very well.

 

I spray this stuff weekly. It is the best in my opinion. For small jobs like a door bezel or dash trim, aerosol is fine. Get into large panels, by all means buy a quart and use most any type of spray gun lying around. It's very forgiving when applying. To answer your question, no comparison pics of finished jobs.

 

I'm actually trying out the Krylon Fusion satin black on the interior plastic pieces. It's coming out pretty good so far. For about half the cost of the SEM product, i figured I would give it a shot. I did a test piece and came out good. My car isn't a daily or nor does it sit out in the sun so it should last a while.

 

Krylon isn't bad at all for a can spray. I guess I was trying to say a large panel will dry spray and "stripe up" with a can because you can't cover the area quick enough. A quart of SEM where I'm at goes for about fitty bucks. An HVLP gun will make it stretch out though.