I finally got the ***** to try out the black fabric/vinyl paint on my door panels and carpet.. Here are before and after pictures..


BEFORE


AFTER



I'm sure this has probably been posted before, but I just wanted to show you guys how mine came out. Let me know what you think!

EDIT: I'll post some pics of the carpet tomorrow.. Ran out of daylight after I finished tonight.

 

Looks good. I like it.

 

Wow looks like it came out great!!!

 

it looks excellent!

 

wow amazing..!

did the paint smell?
does it remain sticky at all?

if not I'd like to convert my black to grey,
but maybe without buying a new panel then!

 

Damn that looks good bro.

 

The paint leaves a faint smell, but it's barely even noticeable this morning. I left the windows down all night so it could dry out completely. It's actually a flat black, so it dries within 20 minutes. After that it isn't sticky at all. The fabric is a little bit scratchy, but I guess that's to be expected when you spray a paint on fibers..

As for going from black to grey, I don't know how well the grey paint covers black, but I guess if you try it under a seat first to make sure it covers, no harm would be done.

 

I guess I'm the only one that thinks it's a shame to ruin a nice set of door panels.

If they're all stained and gross, then that's a great upgrade, but to do it to such a clean set of door panels seems like a shame to me.

 

I suppose that's one way to look at it, but I don't really understand why you think it "ruins" the door panels.. What it comes down to is personal preference. Almost all the other trim in my car was black, and as I see the color grey as an eyesore, clean or not, I chose to go with a solid black interior. Thanks for all the comments guys!

 

The reason I feel that it "ruins" it, is because you're permanently modifying a stock panel that's in very good condition to begin with. Panels in that kind of shape aren't exactly growing on trees anymore, and it just pains me to see them getting irreversibly modified. Even though I'll probably never put my stock panels back on once I replace them, I still intend to restore them, because down the road if I decide to go back to stock on this car, or more likely, restore another one, I'll be very glad that I still had my stock stuff and didn't cut it all up and throw it away.

 

I see what you're saying.. Some day I'm sure it'll be a classic, and the painted interior will bring the value down... But my whole thing is, in this case, I'm never going to sell this car, and I really wanted a black interior without the hassle of finding everything in good condition at junkyards. I guess if you're into restoring cars to stock then yeah, I totally trashed it. Maybe someday I'll be into the stock look, but i kinda doubt it.

 

Most thirdgen owners aren't, which is why good quality used parts are drying up so fast. It's nobody's fault, it's just a shame to see it happening.

 

ah, the time old debate.. stock or modified. Well, the bottom line is he is enjoying it. It's his car, like he said he's not trying to sell it, he wants to use it and enjoy it. What good is it if it's stock and he's not happy with it? or it's sitting in an attic somewhere being subject to moths and mice eating it up for shelter.

Of course, there's a valid point to saving some original pieces, but were those particular panels rare or highly collectible? Besides, if he used ratty worn out panels then he'd still have ratty, worn out panels in one color. They may have torn carpet, ripped fabric, etc. and it's still look bad. I think he did a great job and I'm impressed with the results. At least he didn't cover it with pepboys stickers and cut holes in it for radio shack brand speakers...
Just my opinion

 

Looks awesome from the pics. My son has the exact same pattern and color door panels you have before you painted them. His are also in good condition and I really liked them to begin. But as they are black now they also look excellent. Great job, I bet the black shows less dirt or staining.

 

Yeah, the black hides dirt and stains, but my g/f smokes in the car sometimes, and the ash that inevitibly falls in the car is a lot more noticeable. No biggie.. it vaccums out easily!

 

Damn, that would be my EX girlfriend smoking in the car.

The panels look good. But the real question is: will they last? What brand of paint did you use? Keep us posted.

 

haha yeah, but the good actually far outweighs the bad in this case, so I think I'll keep her around!

will they last? I think it will.. partly because i have black floor mats that cover the high traffic areas on the floor, and the door panels really don't get much wear, so I think it has a good shot. if nothing else, I still have 1/2 can left, so if I need to do some touch up, it's no big deal.. Here's a link to the paint. It's made by duplicolor.

High-Perf Vinyl & Fabric Coating