So I took out all the interior accent panels to paint em to add a better look to the car, and I ended up screwing everything up.

The first time around, I figured I didn't have to primor, but I realized I did because the panels had some sort of rubber coating on top of the actual plastic which would take days to sand off.

Then I headed over to Home Depot to grab some plastic primor and plastic paint, I put it on top of the other stuff I screwed up and it came out ok-lookin, but I want to do a better job.

I clear coated them so now I'm not sure what the best approach to taking off the clear coat and the previous layers of paint is, what sort of substance should I use to take it off? Acetone(sp?) or just start sanding?

I want to do a good job on this so I can get rid of it and buy a 88. (right after i fix this thing's blown head gasket )

 

i would say take paint thinner or well bond to remove the old paint than go and use a plastic primer and than paint them. i never painted any interior parts before but my friend did and you cant tell the difference.

 

Man, it sounds like you messed up all your interior panels ....

Lacquer thinner should remove any coating and dye and won't hurt the plastic.

This is how you SHOULD have did it.

1. Clean with lacquer thinner
2. Clean with plastic prep.
3. Very light scuff with an SOS pad or fine sand paper.
4. Re-clean with plastic prep again.
5. Prime with special plastic primer
6. Spray color in 2-3 light coats.

The quality and durability of the job all rely on the prep work!

 

gasoline works.


dont paint your interior please.

 

if you wipe the pieces down with lacquer thinner...do it fast..because if you saturate your plastic parts....it's possible the thinner will start to eat the plastic...and make the plastic soft. I used pre-clean when I painted mine..and they came out great.

 

man those panels look great. i need to paint mine to it just started to peel off everywhere.

 

my uncle painted his and it turned out great

 

84customz28,those came out bitchen......


I painted mine with krylom fusion,there a lot better than before

 

Painting your interior is the dumbest thing you can do. I just got into a huge argument the other day about it. I'll paste in what I said on another forum:

First post:
Paint out of a rattle can is FAR different from paint out of a gun. The EPA prohibits isocyanates in shaker cans, and you have to have a proper ventilation system required by law. Anything without the isocyanate-based hardener will simply flake off, has a terrible adhesion, and will turn to a sticky goo with heat. ASK ME HOW I KNOW. it doesn't matter how it's prepped... it won't last. ESPECIALLY if you touch it. The oils from your skin will cause it to break down and become a big sticky mess. And don't even think about using Armor All on it...


My other post regarding the issue:
Krylon Fusion? That s--t is GARBAGE. Don't buy it. Don't paint your interior. If you want a new color, go buy parts that came in a different color from a junkyard. Paint/dye flakes, peels, bubbles, melts, and gets tacky in heat. I painted my interior all black (it was black with dark gray trim) and it ruined my clothes (arm rests). Krylon Fusion, which is the same thing as VHT interior dye basically, is what I used. Garbage. I took it all off with gasoline and a toothbrush. Never again will I paint my interior.

 

I have had no probs with krylon fusion,I can rub my arm on my panells 100 times and it wont turn black.I had the car parked in vegas for a week without the louvers a month after I painted them and no fading,cracks,blisters,looks good.

 

you got lucky then.

 

thats what my uncle used

 

The FACTORY has been painting and dying interior parts for decades! If its done right it won't come off. All non-Trans Am Firebirds with color matching dashes and consoles have painted plastic. You can take your finger nail to it and it won't come off. Same goes for the dash boards on 88-95 Chebbie and GMC full size trucks. Dash is molded in black and painted. Hell, even steering wheels have been painted and it takes a good 100,000 miles before it even starts to wear off.

 

I painted mine, and wasn't happy with how easily the stuff will come off. I did 3 coats of Rustoleum Paint for Plastic on top of Primer for Plastic, and it just didn't work out. They looked great, but it scratched off with a little bit of effort. My suggestion: buy a new set from the junkyard. I did. It'll run you like $40 for a full set.

 

first off if your selling the car WHY are you bothering doing extra work to it?

and second, if i were a prospective buyer and i was lookin at a car with a painted out interior i would probably walk away based on that alone.

but to give some advise, try laquer thinner, and mabie acitone (but that might damage the plastic) or go to a yard and replace the fubared pannels.

 

I love how you failed to read three lines down.

If you think there are guys on the assembly line with shaker cans painting dash parts, you're just a tad bit off.


edited to be more user-friendly

 

I admit,painting the plastic isnt the way to go,I did it because what was there before was such an eyesore.I wouldnt settle for any color other than dark blue or black,but all ive seen at the yards are ,tans and worse black and blues.One of these days ill get lucky and find a good set of the color I like.I guess I could buy them somewhere else but Im trying to buy more important things for my car right now.........

 

Token, what the hell is your problem?


These members can do whatever they want to their vehicles. If something fails, it's their fault, and their money that goes down the drain...just one of those "live and learn" things. I painted my interior parts out of a rattle can using "Dupli-Color Textured Metallic Graphite" with a coat of Flat Clear Lacquer and I have had no problems at all. My car is for show purposes only and my plastic pieces are never touched, BUT, if they were touched alot, I could see how it would be possible how the paint could flake off and or rub off, but until then, all of your nonsense has no effect on me and probably know one else. Not trying to be an a** or anything, but people are going to do what they want..whether it turns out successfull or not.

 

I'm trying to save people a ton of grief down the road, but instead people are arguing with me as if I know nothing. Not only have I painted interior parts before only to have it turn into crap a few months later, but I have heard from countless experts that there is no over-the-counter solution to dash painting.

I'm also not trying to be a jerk... but trying to point out the facts which keep getting overlooked. Nature of habit, sorry.

 

and your interior looks great too. it turned out very nice. but after a sticky hot summer or after you have friends put their grubby hands on it, don't cry about it losing its shine. until then, enjoy it.

 

No problem man..I'm not trying to make enemies or anything.

so, are you talking about painting a dash pad or something? Because I would agree with that. I couldn't see any spray paint sticking to a dash pad unless it was some type or dye. As far as certain interior plastics...as long as it's prepped right, and it isn't touched or moved much...then there should not be a problem at all.

Well...hot summer days are no problem with my finish at all. And talking about grubby hands? I posted that my car is a show car...and noone has ever sat in my car other than me and my g/f. Plus...your talking about losing shine? As stated before, I sprayed a Clear Coat of Flat Lacquer...so it won't shine. Do you mind sharing what type of spray paint you chose as your finish? Did you use a cheap dollar can or something? Because the product I use is almost 10 bucks a can....

 

well I have used two different products... the Duplicolor plastic one, and the Krylon Fusion. Both are terrible products for interior automotive use. I degreased and cleaned the pieces, then sprayed a few coats. I still got a lot of fish-eye (more so with the less expensive duplicolor crap) but I sanded it out. I finished it off with the respected clearcoats. The duplicolor didn't ever melt, but the Krylon did, causing a BIG STICKY MESS on my console lid, ruining a shirt I had.

The only true way to do it is to shoot it with a spray gun, using a hardener. And all hardeners contain isocyanates, which are strictly regulated hazardous materials.

 

Exactly, I would NEVER spray paint anything that has a vinyl surface, nothing still stick to vinyl unless it's dye...that's pretty much common sense. Even if you sprayed out of a gun with hardner in it...it still wouldn't turn out right on vinyl...no matter how it's prepped. Vinyl isn't ment to be painted...only dyed or re-covered...

 

but the same thing happened to the shift t-handle ****, and the door handle moudlings.

 

The finish will come off of just about anything is the finish is touched, rubbed, or moved constanly.

 

yeah gas works great see mine

 

Pre cleaner and then scuff with a scuff pad works best you can even use regular paint and it will hold great that way.

 

i've been told ease-off oven cleaner works extremely well for cleaning interior pannels before paint.

 

I dunno guys, token seems to know just about everything, we'd all better listen to him...

 

I painted the door panels of my truck with cheap walmart raddle can it lasted for a few years before it started to fade. 87 cent paint no primer no prep work nothing. And it never rubbed off or chipped either.

 

Well my interior is two tone, and I'm not paying anything big, just small plastic accents. The job I did now matches very nicely, I've asked people what they think and they answered with something along the lines of "You painted that? I thought that was factory, cool"

The only reason I want to rub it all off is because It's not as perfect as I want it to be, and the paint I used gets the exact thing that Token explained, it's very soft and comes off with a finger nail.

I repainted these parts because theyre pretty darn old and looked hiddeous, I couldn't stand it anymore, the only problem is the clear coating I put wasnt strong enough to protect it at all.

Maybe theres a stronger clearcoat I can use that I don't know about?

 

What about using vunyl dye i have at my body shop that is specially mixed to bond with the material and doesnt require a clear coat over it, you think that will work anyone, ideas...lol

 

The only real problem I have is in the cleaning/detailing of the painted/dyed plastics.
Scuff marks are much harder to deal with. You can't use too much elbow grease.
84customZ28's interior shot shows how awesome it can look though. Looks better than new.

 

thanks srdynamics1

It also matters what type of finish your going for too. The spray I used was a textured spray, then coated with a flat lacquer clear...which really improved the quality of the finish

 

Well, I'm not here to get into a pissin' match so I'll just relate my experience with panel painting.
My 1989 RS looked sad inside so I decided to use the Krylon fusion flat-black on the hard plastic surfaces (not the armrests or console lid). I scuffed the plastics with scotchbrite pads soaked with "Total Prep" and wiped them down before painting. I didn't use a primer, just shot directly on the panels in 3 light coats and allowed to dry for 48 hours. One panel got a run in a corner so I stripped it with Eazy-Off (original), which did a perfect job, re-prepped, and shot it again. This was all done well over a year ago, I live in Florida, it still looks factory perfect, and I'm very pleased with the results. I'd say try it!

 

Token= OneEyedJack.

He quit using that screenname the last time he rubbed everyone the wrong way.

 

Well honestly I just picked up a few cans of satin and a few cans of gloss Krylon Fusion for 6 bucks a can (cant remember exactly). Almost everyone I've talked to says the same thing and have had the same results. Scuff it up very lightly with something like a scotch pad, clean it with something mild that wont mess with the plastic, and some pretty light coats.

I'm going to do it tommorow and I'll take clear pictures step by step and give an honest opinion when Im done. Right now I have scuffed gray panels that look like crap so I think this is my best option. Token, I know where pissin you off but dont you think its possible that you did something wrong, I have met many people that have had perfect long term results with Krylon Fusion.

 

i used vinyl die in a can on my center console and its much better looking than it was before. i just wanted to make it look black again and i didnt want to use paint because it may chip. 2-3 coats of the dye and it looks like it did from the factory, without any worries of chipping, flaking, or coming off on my arm.

 

84custom what did you use to paint yours i forget.

 

It's made by Dupli Color....it's a Metallic Graphite Spray and then I clear coated it with a Flat Lacquer Clear....to give it more of an actual material look then a spray look.

 

Ok thanks man

 

I did try to paint and extra set of kick panels I have. I use a platic paint not named any where above. I did not scuff but I did prep with a soft cleaner. I applyed 4 or 5 light coats and let dry for 5 or 6 days. I then I went over that paint with 3 or 4 coats of clear coat. When I got done they looke better than new and i bent the platstic adn they peant held and banged on it and it held and then i but my finger nail to it and it chipped like a china plate being tossed across the room. I could not believe it i did everything to it but it could not take the scrape. Back to the drawing board for me. I did not use the fusion or the dulpi platic paint. I used a napa brand crap. i am going to strip and try again. I suggest to any one thinkin of it to get and extra piece of plastic and try to paint it untill you find something that works. I am having my car paited soon adn i asked my painter and he said he has some paint the will bond with the plastic and will not come off no matter what you do to it. no chemical not scratching nothing will touch it. He said he would do it for me for about 200 don't knowif that is a deal or not.

 

If you do not lightly sand them or use a scuff pad they will do that everytime thats all you have to do buy a scuff pad they are cheap.

 

I am in the process of test painting the back side of one of my panels right now and theres barely a difference between the satin and gloss black suprisingly but the satin does look better. Now I just have to give it a while to try and see how it does.