Recently I switched over the Carmine interior in my 86 TA to that of a Black 92 Firebird. The Firebirds seats and carpet were in waaay better condition than the TA's, but I had to keep alot of the Carmine hard plastic pieces either because they were in better shape, or the black pieces wouldn't fit.
In the end, I ended up dyeing the Carmine pieces black with some spray dye, but any sort of abrasion peels it off. I was afraid to use paint because I was worried about it reacting with the plastic and eating it through... What should I use to recolor the pieces that won't harm the finish or peel off?

 

i used a spray can paint for plastics, might have been krylon for plastics but i cant remember. I lightly scuffed them with some fine sandpaper, used an adhesion promotor and then gave them 2-3 good coats. Seems to work just fine and holding up well so far.

 

Yep, try Krylon Plastic Fusion satin(flat) black. It may scuff up or scratch but its not going to chip off. Use very thin coats, maybe 2, thin as you can yet still get the color you want. I believe sold at walmart, ace hardware, o'reillys, about anywhere anymore

I used this paint on clean polished plastic at temperatures near 40 degrees F and after it cured, the only way I could the paint off of the plastic was to sand it off. It bonds well.

 

Awesome, thank you, guys!

 

I'm also going to give a thumbs up for Krylon fusion. works great, does not run, and will not chip off the panels like paint would. Make sure to clean the heck out of everything prior to spraying and you'll have no issues.

 

i use SEM Landau Black plastic/vinyl paint from my local auto-body/paint shop, its like 15 bucks a can but it makes the pieces look "factory" brand new and doesnt rub off.

 

I've used it and its just amazing!

 

Ahh, options... What is the price for the Kyrlon? Where would I get any of this, Nappa or BIG M or something?

 

Forget the krylon its crap. USE SEM!!

Buy it here
http://www.yourautotrim.com/landaublack.html

Look how my 4th gen firebird dash looks with it (it was gray)
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2936729/5

 

I used SEM on mine, and so far it's been holding up. I've had the plastic pieces in and out of the car a few times now, as I've been working on it. So far, they still look really good.

If you look online, you can find the SEM products cheaper then in the stores. I think I paid around $6 a can, compared to $15 at the local store. So if you're going to buy a few cans, it pays to buy online and have it shipped to the house.

 

What in particular was wrong with the Krylon? Did it flake on you or something?

Thanks, cdoyle, How many cans did you go through? I won't have to paint all the plastics, but still about 90% of them.

 

I think the SEM is just a better quality, when I did mine I also used the Sand Free that is suppose to help it stick better to the plastic.

I believe I bought about 5 cans or so of each when I did mine, I wanted to have some extra to do the headliner and the sun visors, and speaker grills.

 

for starters it runs easy, doesnt stick as well as they say it does, and it rubs off.
SEM is the best I have EVER used PERIOD.
Buy SEM and save yourself time and money by only having to do it ONCE.
also SEM makes a prep spray USE IT and READ the directions.

I use half a can of prep spray and 1.5 cans of the color coat on the dash, console, dash pad, and misc parts.
Im going to get more and do the rest of the plastic parts as well.

 

Hmm... Ok, I'll see if I can get ahold of this SEM locally and try it out. Probably not going to paint untill it warms up a bit though, it's been below 40' for the past 2 weeks... -_-

Hm? Can I use the paint of fabrics, too? The dye did a pretty good job darkening up the seats and seatbelts, but you can still see a glint of red in indirect light...

 

Just get the SEM

 

I find the SEM stuff to be vastly superior to the Krylon Fusion, Duplicolor or the Plastikote stuff. Of them all, I found the Krylon to be the worst.

I found the Krylon to be too thick and glossy. But, this is when it first came out... maybe they've improved it since then.

But regardless, I've always found the SEM to be in a league beyond anybody elses stuff when it comes to plastic paints.

 

one important thing to remember about SEM paints, DO NOT use it on vinyl or other flexible surfaces if its for plastic only, i found out the hard way, i used it on my NEW dash pad and when winter came my dash contracted from the cold but the sem was not too flexible and it Cracked!!

 

The SEM stuff that I've used is Plastic and Vinyl paint and seems to stay nice and flexible.

 

Lies! I've used it on vinyl and other flexible plastic and it never cracked. Even on the soft plastic cover for the box in my center console and I can press down on that as hard as i want and it wont crack.

I have a guy that owns a forth gen firebird ask me where i found a black 4th gen firebird dash because as far as he knew they are all dark grey. If i didnt tell him i painted it with SEM he would still think its the factory color.

 

krylon sucks i used rustolium satin plasctc paint on all my interior plastics and lightly scuffed it and it came out really good and the only spot ive noticed its slightly worn is the door trim by your feet

 

I used krylon fusion on a hard plastic steering wheel of a vintage mower I restored (give me a brake, a mower was the only thing I could fit in the garage space I had at the time) and it stuck and stayed glossy for two years of hard use, that sold me on krylon, but I have no experience with others so I can't really say good or bad about them.

 

Hmm... something I just thought to ask, does either SEM or Krylon have a glossy or matt finish?

 

they both have bith but the SEM Landue Black looks as close to factory as you can get