# Sticky  Painting Your Interior



## Nismo1997 (Dec 26, 2003)

*Required Materials: 
Automotive Sandable Primer 
Dupli-Color Enamel Paint 
Dupli-Color Automotive Clearcoat 
Hair dryer * 

Note: Dupli-Color is recommended but is not necessary, if you have a brand you prefer use that but please make sure it is a top quality brand. 

*1. Remove and mask off one test piece*
Remove one small little piece as a demonstration. Pop off the ashtray on the back-end of the center console or use a piece you might have in your garage. Mask off any part that you do not want paint to hit. 

*2. Sand it down*
use 300 grit sandpaper. Sand it all completely and evenly. Make sure you get all the edges. Then move to a smoother sandpaper, use 600. This will smooth everything our and make it ready to paint. 

*3. Wash it off*
Wash off all the dust from sanding it, dry and let sit for a few minutes. 

*4. Spray first coat of primer*
evenly spray your first coat of primer. Make sure you get every spot, but MAKE SURE YOU GET IT EVENLY. Spray left to right in smooth strokes, not up and down. Begin spraying before you're even aiming at it, then as you spray move to the right over the object to ensure a smooth coats and no drip marks.

*5. Let it dry*
Let the first coat completely dry. Use your hairdryer at a low setting and evenly blow it all over the object. After a couple of minutes set the hairdryer to a higher setting. Blow the hairdryer on the object for about 5 minutes to ensure dryness. Make sure the hairdryer is about 6 inches of the part if not you might make marks in your paint. 

*6. Spray second coat of primer*
Repeat step 4. 

*7. Let it dry*
Repeat step 5. 

*8. Spray first coat of your chosen color*
after it is completely dry, spray on the color by following the same steps as when you sprayed the primer. Repeat spraying and drying until you have three coats of the color on your part. 

*9. Add clearcoat*
Clearcoat will protect your new interior's paintjob. Without clearcoat the paint will scratch off very easily. Follow the same steps when spraying on clearcoat as you did when you sprayed on the primer and the final color. Spray two coats of clearcoat on each piece. 

*10. Re-install*
it’s now time to re-install your piece that you painted.


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

You forgot to mention sanding the primer coats.

Seth


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## Omega3k1 (Jan 6, 2005)

Ok one quick question on this subject, this is something i might look into for my B14 but i was just wondering, If i was to mask off part of my dash and paint it like that should i then remove the mask and clear coat the entire thing or just clear coat it and then remove the mask.


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## Nismo1997 (Dec 26, 2003)

Take it off and out of the car when you paint.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

Nismo1997 said:


> Take it off and out of the car when you paint.


wow.....you would think that was a given :jawdrop:


any who, i have used the krylon fusion paint and it stick very well. if you use in it an area that dosent get touched much yu dont even need to clear coat it. also, its a good idea to use "adheasion promoter" as a primer

congrats on the sticky :thumbup:


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## Omega3k1 (Jan 6, 2005)

no thats not what i mean... of course i know you take it out of the car, i meant like masking off around the vents and such so i can do like a 2 tone scheme w/ the coloring, would i clear coat it w/ the mask on or pull the mask and then clear coat the entire thing.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

hmmm, you mean paint it one color, then mask off and paint it another and have 2 colors correct? yes you would clear the entire thing. if you clear 2 times (once for each color) you will get a "ridge" and it will need sanding. when you are done color painting use 1000 grit and sand where the 2 colors meet very very lightly to get rid of the rough edge before you clear it.


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## Bi8c1vic (Mar 6, 2005)

*nice*

bump cause i gotta sell some stuff


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## I'm tired of my usernamee (Feb 16, 2004)

Bi8c1vic said:


> bump cause i gotta sell some stuff


ok in that case you're in the wrong section..............try the classifieds.


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## Omega3k1 (Jan 6, 2005)

ugg no still not getting it... i mean as in keeping the stock color of the dash but only doing part of it in say blue, would i clear coat over only the blue or over all of the dash.


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## HLBulldog (Mar 12, 2003)

I think the answer would be the same. If you only do clear on part of it, you could probably see were the clear coat went over, kinda like someone spilling nail polish on your dash. It would be somewhat raised, since clear coat has depth. So you'd have to sand down that edge. Or if the place where you painted was kinda reccessed into the dash the clear may not stick out as much. I think I got this right, anyone else know?


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

if you clear the origonal plastic it will shine it up and it wont match, also it most likly will not stick so you will have chipping, flacky, shiny plastic.


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## pimpride (Mar 28, 2005)

What do I use for clearcoat? A poly-urethane spray? Do they sell this in auto shops?


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

use duplicolor "high performance wheel coating" clear coat. this is the thoughest clear coat i have used to date.


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## Skoodles (Jul 31, 2004)

heres a few pics.
























::WARNING:: as you can see in the 2nd picture that it looks wavey well i thought it would dry quicker to use a blow dryer...i wouldnt recomend it. you cant notice it while its in the car but still it bothers me.


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## sunnysentra (Jul 24, 2002)

I wanted to paint my grey panels black for the SE-R look. I have in the past used acetone to clean the plastic, then sanded it down with 300 also. So what paint is the best for plastic, krylon for plastic, or can you just use some other type? 

Chris 92 classic :fluffy:


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## Nismo1997 (Dec 26, 2003)

You can pretty much use any paint as long as you prep it right!


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

ok, i am going to the beach with my friends this year and we got some plastic cups to make our king challaces (we are the kings of senior week, drinking colt 45 lol) well i used a krylon paint (krylon guilded brass) it dried in 3 minutes flat. and looks REALLY GOOD. this is what i did

1. wet sand with 800 gritt (a green scotch bright pad will do just fine)
2. wash away sand dust with dish soap (dont use car soap! it has wax in it and will make the paint not stick)
3. spray adheasion promoter on
4. paint

no matter how hard i tried i could not scratch the paint off, once it was dry i clay bar'd it to get any over spray off (alot came off) then i used plastic polish (its much finer than clear coat polish) and then i used a polishing wax. i ended up with an amazing shine. ill take a pic tonight (yes its a cup..... but plastic is plastic, and painting techniques are painting techniques)

for an OEM black look use duplicolor "trim paint" i have used this to restore the black trim in my 91 SE-R and it is nearly identicle, it is a satin black. just remember, you dont have to have the peice colored in one coat, go light the first coat, then alittle heavier the second. also placment of the object for painting is key, if you lay it flat and you ge heavy with the paint, it wont run as easy as if you had it side ways.

krylon and duplicolor are the only paints i will use, rustolium takes nearly 1 day to dry where as the krylon takes 15 minutes tops.

if you want the ultimate in shine, wet sand for final color coat with 1000 grit, and coat it in a layer of "duplicolor wheel coating clear coat" this goes on quite thick and once it is dry it is extremly strong.....accualy the strongest clear coat i have used to date.


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## quentin508 (Apr 12, 2005)

*TRIM AROUND center ish*

You are in the driver seat. you look at your radio, air controls, open slot, cup holders. The trim around that center stuff is what I want to paint. if you look at my car domain page ( http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/775251 ) you can see I painted the thing around my shifter because it is angled the paint was uneven and you can see little bumps. I have no experience painting other than what I've done in my car and I want to do this center piece trim but I want it to look right.

How can I make a nonflat surface's paint look smooth and flat.

please help


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## Dhunter (Jul 2, 2005)

Does this only work on plastics? Just wanna make sure...


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## Camarok (Feb 10, 2005)

Just wondering, what about the vinyl? I noticed that the door piece was done, and if it held up. What about the dash itself that gets hit with most of the sun? Is there a paint that has some give in it, seeing as though you can push on the dash and it "dents" in, then takes its shape again due to the foam?


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## jlee1469 (Dec 4, 2003)

quentin508 said:


> You are in the driver seat. you look at your radio, air controls, open slot, cup holders. The trim around that center stuff is what I want to paint. if you look at my car domain page ( http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/775251 ) you can see I painted the thing around my shifter because it is angled the paint was uneven and you can see little bumps. I have no experience painting other than what I've done in my car and I want to do this center piece trim but I want it to look right.
> 
> How can I make a nonflat surface's paint look smooth and flat.
> 
> please help


man, i got nasty rust in the same exact area! ><


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## sentratuner (Aug 6, 2005)

Ok I painted the interior in my car and I had a BIG problem. The paint never fully dried and its still wet it's been like that for about 4 months. The paint is still as wet as the first day that I put it in. My theory is that it happened because I painted it in the sun but any other options. I painted it with krylon and I know its not the paint because I didn't have the same problem with my front doors or my dash.


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## Andre2000 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Vinyle DYE*

Another thing you could do for Plastics and viyl parts(even carpets and cloth) is Vinyl Dye. The stuff is awesome. I just did some parts Buckskin tan. The plastic soaks it up. Smell like s*** for a couple days but it dries to the touch in 5 mins. Wont ever chip or peel because its soaked into the part now.
Its perfect for vinyl (simulated leather) since you can bend it and wrinkle it with no problems. The finish has a stain sheen, pretty much an OEM finish. If you want really glossy, I would clear coat it after (wait 3 days before).
All you need to do is make sure no dirt or oil is on the part, so clean it with mineral spirits or something (definately worth it!).
I bought "VHT Vinyle Dye", its pretty good. Google it to find people that sell it and click on image search to get the color swatches. 

Duplicolor makes some but it says on the back its not a dye but a surface paint.

I dont know about anyone else in California, but I couldnt find it in any stores here! Had to special order it through amazon.com.


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## sunnysentra (Jul 24, 2002)

I used Krylon Fusion on the hard plastic. its platic paint with flex in it. this worked great. Now you can't use this paint on the vinyl. this stays sticky and will not really cure! I used armour all on it and its helped, but don't do it!! 

I also dyed the fabric with duplicolor fabric paint and it worked very well. its mostly air with paint and it goes right in. Does not come off on clothes either. I turned the grey SE-R buckets, instant black. 

Buy Krylon at Wal-mart, and duplicolor at pep-boys

Chris 92 classic


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## sybergato (Aug 23, 2005)

I'm going to HAVE to paint the top console in my car, I can't get the last two screws out of the top! It's a difficult area to get to, even when I get a good grip still can't get them. Some one torqued them down tight. So I'm going to tape off wind shield and what not, and paint in the car. (shrug) Any suggestions?


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## sybergato (Aug 23, 2005)

Also, SEM at amazon offers vinyl paint really cheap. I've only tried two coats and it scratches off easy, but I'm going to be ordering the low luster clear sealer from SEM too. That is unless the clear wheel coating is just as cheap.


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## Bullet23 (Feb 26, 2004)

SEM is for vinyl and it works amazing, however on plastics it scratches off easily. I used the SEM on all the Vinyl and the duplicolor on the plastics. It matches really well so thats what I would suggest


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## j.bang (Jan 17, 2007)

is dupli-color the best when it comes to painting the fabric of your seats? does the end product look good? and do the seats feel soft afterwards? this would be way better than seat covers if it works right.


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## rhchetram61 (Aug 26, 2010)

Where can I get a folding mirror to fit a 2004 altima 2.5SL as people keep breaking them.
Please advice.


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## christofer (Aug 30, 2011)

When painting car interiors, you do not need to be as meticulous with prepping as you should be when painting the exterior body of a car.

The reason why is, most times you’re using simple spray cans to paint the interior.
Prepping for interior painting is also pretty easy. All you really need to do is make sure your surface is grease and dirt free. Clean it by using some thinner, or your basic wax and grease remover.

Once that is done, the next step is to mask off what you don’t want painted. This is where your personality comes to play. If you have a little patience and actually take your time and do a good job in masking, your job will look a heck of a lot cleaner and just more professional.

You will get some overspray but no problem. Just wipe it off with some thinner or reducer and re touch up if necessary.


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## nerddason (Apr 29, 2012)

The White dash looks good. I would advise being meticulous just because each step is going to make it look that much better. My buddy rushed his Z center console and it was soon rubbing off where your hands rub when turning A/C and radio controls. So he ended up having to do it again.


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