Painted door panels
Racer
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 492
Likes: 3
From: Temecula CA
It was a piece of cake, really. I changed my interior over from dark saddle to black in a couple of weekends. Remove the panel from the door, and remove as much trim as you can. Mask off what you don't want to remove (or can't remove). I used rattle cans of vinyl paint I bought from AutoZone, Pep Boys, etc. They had two kinds, flat or gloss, and I picked gloss. It is a little shiny, but not bad. I hear you can rub it with fine sand paper to cut the gloss, but I never did. Before I sprayed, I wiped everything down with acetone. That really cleaned the plastic, and softened up the vinyl a bit, which seemed to promote adhesion.
It has been almost a year now, and I have had no issues. I did everything in the interior, except the seats. I redid those with new covers. I even sprayed the carpet to good effect.
It has been almost a year now, and I have had no issues. I did everything in the interior, except the seats. I redid those with new covers. I even sprayed the carpet to good effect.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 9,206
Likes: 17
From: Sewell NJ
I've painted just about every panel in my car with good success. Remove the panels from the car and remove the trim from the panels. Wipe the panels down with a rag dampned with lacquer thinner. Don't make the rag wet, just damp. Then spray the panels with thin even coats letting them dry in between. Thin coats dry quickly and don't fill in the grain of the vinyl. I've used paint from Mid America, Corvette America, and Ecklers. All of them work well but you should stay with one product if you want colors to match.
