Painting plastic dash pieces..

[Pickler 10+ year member]

Just wondering if any one has painted the plastic dash pieces in there car and what their opinions were on it. How did it look, what kind of paint did you use, sanded/unsanded, primer or unprimed, etc.

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[Juice+ 10+ year member]

I have never tried it, but would practice on something else before you try. Sanding the surface would probaly be best, so the paint will stick to the rough surface.

 

[ShiningBuick 10+ year member]

Sand it smoothe, spray adhesion promoter, prime, paint. Nice and shiny.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

Heres mine. I just did paint and a clear coat. No primer, no adhesion promoter, and no sanding. I also started with a charcoal colored dash board.

Yes that is the power wire going through the door jam. It was temp and isnt there any more.

 

[Pickler 10+ year member]

Looks nice.. are you happy you painted it?

I am still deciding what color to paint my interior as well. Exterior of the car is red and I am thinking if I painted the trim the same color red if it would look good, or I could just go with a flat black.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

I like it. I have a silver pinstripe down the side of my car, silver rims, and a silver dashboard. Im contemplating doing a bright orange. Orange dash, orange grill, orange lower fascia in the front and rear, orange brake calipers, etc. Trying to come up with something that isnt so common around here.

Ive had my red calipers on a black car for 4 years now and Im stating to see more and more people who do the red, black, and silver theme. I see it atleast twice a day whereas it used to be once or twice every few months. People arent as original anymore.

 

[eharri3 10+ year member]

Clean it thoroughly too before you spray anything on it to get the oils and grease off the surface. Soap and water, alcohol, something along those lines. Id scuff the surface but not smooth it completely, then go with a couple layers of primer, then get THAT as smooth as you can before going over it with color. If it's a real hard, stiff part that's screwed in pretty solidly I might not bother with adhesion promoter. If it's a lighter part that you can expect will flex a little bit I'd do a coat of adhesion promotor before a coat or two of primer and a clearcoat.

Scuffing the surface lightly to begin with would generally be a good idea before going over it with primer. If it's a wrinkly textured surface more sanding may be necessary. If it's already smooth probably not so much.

 

[Pickler 10+ year member]

Clean it thoroughly too before you spray anything on it to get the oils and grease off the surface. Soap and water, alcohol, something along those lines. Id scuff the surface but not smooth it completely, then go with a couple layers of primer, then get THAT as smooth as you can before going over it with color. If it's a real hard, stiff part that's screwed in pretty solidly I might not bother with adhesion promoter. If it's a lighter part that you can expect will flex a little bit I'd do a coat of adhesion promotor before a coat or two of primer and a clearcoat.
Scuffing the surface lightly to begin with would generally be a good idea before going over it with primer. If it's a wrinkly textured surface more sanding may be necessary. If it's already smooth probably not so much.

That sounds pretty good thanks for the help.

Now this question might be a litte OT compared to what I have been talking about but.. Where would I be able to find a certain color paint to paint the plastic that would exactly match my exterior?

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

You can get tons of paint from Autozone, Meijer, Napa, etc. If you can find Krylon Fusion use that. It sticks to plastic like white on rice.

 

[Pickler 10+ year member]

You can get tons of paint from Autozone, Meijer, Napa, etc. If you can find Krylon Fusion use that. It sticks to plastic like white on rice.

Yea I saw that kind of paint but the color choices were very limited. Maybe I will check out those stores.

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

What color are you looking for?

 

[mrteacha 10+ year member]

I painted my dash using SEM paint cans.. I didn't sand anything - cleaned all the dirt/dust from it. Used SEM adhesion promoter, then sprayed. They have different shades available. When I was done the finish was a perfect OEm match to the rest of the interior

 

[pitbull12887 10+ year member]

ive heard nothing but bad things about paint.... like it rubs off a while after you put it on... I know people whos had it painted for a few months and **** would be rubbing off on your clothes if you touched it. Let me know how it turns out for ya

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

ive heard nothing but bad things about paint.... like it rubs off a while after you put it on... I know people whos had it painted for a few months and **** would be rubbing off on your clothes if you touched it. Let me know how it turns out for ya

Then they are ****ing morons. Ive had mine painted for 3 years as seen in the pics and it still looks identical to those pics. No scuffs, scrapes, rubs, etc.

 

[pitbull12887 10+ year member]

Then they are ****ing morons. Ive had mine painted for 3 years as seen in the pics and it still looks identical to those pics. No scuffs, scrapes, rubs, etc.

you also live in the north lol..whats your highest temp year around? 40?