Interior Painting
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 499
Likes: 3
Interior Painting
Alright guys. So recently I installed a double din & purchased a metra bezel. I have finally finished sanding the rubber texture c*** they put on these things, & I'm ready to paint. However, before I do I wanted to get some opinions. The paint I have is Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2x Paint & Primer. It says it works for plastic. How many people have experience with this stuff? Is a seperate coat of just primer not necessary? Thoughts?
What do you guys use to prep or clean a surface? Keep in mind, I'm painting plastic.
As far as matching the dash, should I go with Flat, Satan, or Semi Gloss? I want to try to match the rest of the dash & center console as best as possible. If you guys know a good paint that comes close to the stock black dash, let me know!
Is a clear coat necessary on this? I wasn't planning on clearing it, but thoughts?
As always, thanks guys!
What do you guys use to prep or clean a surface? Keep in mind, I'm painting plastic.
As far as matching the dash, should I go with Flat, Satan, or Semi Gloss? I want to try to match the rest of the dash & center console as best as possible. If you guys know a good paint that comes close to the stock black dash, let me know!
Is a clear coat necessary on this? I wasn't planning on clearing it, but thoughts?
As always, thanks guys!
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,747
Likes: 224
From: Hillsboro Oregon
I have painted several interior plastic parts for my 03 including my DD Bezel from Vettenuts.
What follows may be more info than you want ;^)
Since the interior is not black in my 03 getting a spray paint that matched the factory GM Medium Dark Neutral and the GM Shale took some testing.
In my tests, SEM colors did not match at all.
What has matched very well is Colorbond. It also sticks to the plastic well.
I clean my plastic parts with Denatured Alcohol using rubber gloves.
Use the gloves in all steps of the paint and while handling the parts as your body oils can ruin the finished result.
Once that dries I spray an Adhesion Promoter designed for plastic. I have used AP from SEM and from Colorbond and didn't note a difference.
Following the can directions I then spray several light coats about 10 minutes apart until I get the coverage I want. I let the part dry overnight and then I wipe it down with a paint tack rag
to pull off any dust. Then I apply two coats of clear. I tested several brands of clear on scraps of plastic that I had already been painted with the same base color. I found after trying five different clears in semi-matte, Semigloss, Matte, and Flat that DupiColor Clearcoat in their Matte Finish #DA1693 matched the factory plastic finish the best.
I find that the base color coats dry with a flat finish that doesn't have the look and feel of the OEM finish without adding the clear.
It takes patience, time, a dry area with as little dust flow as possible, and air temps above 60 degrees.
Your results may vary ;^) Good luck,
Jim
What follows may be more info than you want ;^)
Since the interior is not black in my 03 getting a spray paint that matched the factory GM Medium Dark Neutral and the GM Shale took some testing.
In my tests, SEM colors did not match at all.
What has matched very well is Colorbond. It also sticks to the plastic well.
I clean my plastic parts with Denatured Alcohol using rubber gloves.
Use the gloves in all steps of the paint and while handling the parts as your body oils can ruin the finished result.
Once that dries I spray an Adhesion Promoter designed for plastic. I have used AP from SEM and from Colorbond and didn't note a difference.
Following the can directions I then spray several light coats about 10 minutes apart until I get the coverage I want. I let the part dry overnight and then I wipe it down with a paint tack rag
to pull off any dust. Then I apply two coats of clear. I tested several brands of clear on scraps of plastic that I had already been painted with the same base color. I found after trying five different clears in semi-matte, Semigloss, Matte, and Flat that DupiColor Clearcoat in their Matte Finish #DA1693 matched the factory plastic finish the best.
I find that the base color coats dry with a flat finish that doesn't have the look and feel of the OEM finish without adding the clear.
It takes patience, time, a dry area with as little dust flow as possible, and air temps above 60 degrees.
Your results may vary ;^) Good luck,
Jim
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 499
Likes: 3
I have painted several interior plastic parts for my 03 including my DD Bezel from Vettenuts.
What follows may be more info than you want ;^)
Since the interior is not black in my 03 getting a spray paint that matched the factory GM Medium Dark Neutral and the GM Shale took some testing.
In my tests, SEM colors did not match at all.
What has matched very well is Colorbond. It also sticks to the plastic well.
I clean my plastic parts with Denatured Alcohol using rubber gloves.
Use the gloves in all steps of the paint and while handling the parts as your body oils can ruin the finished result.
Once that dries I spray an Adhesion Promoter designed for plastic. I have used AP from SEM and from Colorbond and didn't note a difference.
Following the can directions I then spray several light coats about 10 minutes apart until I get the coverage I want. I let the part dry overnight and then I wipe it down with a paint tack rag
to pull off any dust. Then I apply two coats of clear. I tested several brands of clear on scraps of plastic that I had already been painted with the same base color. I found after trying five different clears in semi-matte, Semigloss, Matte, and Flat that DupiColor Clearcoat in their Matte Finish #DA1693 matched the factory plastic finish the best.
I find that the base color coats dry with a flat finish that doesn't have the look and feel of the OEM finish without adding the clear.
It takes patience, time, a dry area with as little dust flow as possible, and air temps above 60 degrees.
Your results may vary ;^) Good luck,
Jim
What follows may be more info than you want ;^)
Since the interior is not black in my 03 getting a spray paint that matched the factory GM Medium Dark Neutral and the GM Shale took some testing.
In my tests, SEM colors did not match at all.
What has matched very well is Colorbond. It also sticks to the plastic well.
I clean my plastic parts with Denatured Alcohol using rubber gloves.
Use the gloves in all steps of the paint and while handling the parts as your body oils can ruin the finished result.
Once that dries I spray an Adhesion Promoter designed for plastic. I have used AP from SEM and from Colorbond and didn't note a difference.
Following the can directions I then spray several light coats about 10 minutes apart until I get the coverage I want. I let the part dry overnight and then I wipe it down with a paint tack rag
to pull off any dust. Then I apply two coats of clear. I tested several brands of clear on scraps of plastic that I had already been painted with the same base color. I found after trying five different clears in semi-matte, Semigloss, Matte, and Flat that DupiColor Clearcoat in their Matte Finish #DA1693 matched the factory plastic finish the best.
I find that the base color coats dry with a flat finish that doesn't have the look and feel of the OEM finish without adding the clear.
It takes patience, time, a dry area with as little dust flow as possible, and air temps above 60 degrees.
Your results may vary ;^) Good luck,
Jim
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 5,747
Likes: 224
From: Hillsboro Oregon
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 7,429
Likes: 974
From: Morristown New Jersey
Oldtimer
I've vinyl wrapped my bezel 7 times. (Ok, 3 of them were late application rips resulting in a start-over). After removing my black carpets for a pewter like color I decided I could go back to a plain black bezel. So in the spirit of JPRich's technique I removed all the glue residue and used black Rustoleum Textured Paint. It has a light 'feel' to it, almost 'sandy'. Neither characteristic is a problem when wiping the interior down. I find the actual color and amount of shine to be pleasantly close to the rest of the dash, tho' the texture is different. I have so much leather in my interior that the texture doesn't matter.
I did about 3 coats in the warm sun and let it bake all day, then installed the next. Did use clear because, with me, in 10 minutes I might want to try a different color!
I did about 3 coats in the warm sun and let it bake all day, then installed the next. Did use clear because, with me, in 10 minutes I might want to try a different color!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 499
Likes: 3
For those interested, do not use prep all spray on the Metra bezel. It will "melt" the plastic. It eats at it. I had to resand the entire thing. It was awful. Lesson learned. The cowl was fine, but the bezel definitely didn't like it.
