Painting Your Interior


Painting Your Parts (Finally)

{mosgoogle}Now you get to paint your parts!  This is your last chance to ensure that your parts preparation has been thorough. For any parts that you sanded, or any hard vinyl panels whether sanded or not, use an adhesion promoter/primer first for insurance.  For parts that won’t be entirely painted, you will want to use the painter’s tape and newspaper to mask off the areas not being painted.  If you are going to go with two-toned interior panels, you will want to make sure that the back sides of any openings are taped and covered with newspaper to prevent paint over spray from finding its way to the fronts of the panels.

Best results are achieved when spraying many light coats rather than just a few heavy coats.  When dying vinyl, it is best to have at least three coats for good color coverage.  For trim pieces, no less than three coats are desired.  Some color kits require more coats, or multiple color coats of different sprays.  Follow each of the manufacturer’s instructions for these types of products.

To mask off the shifter bezel to paint just the inner portion of it, fold several pieces of tape length-wise with the sticky sides facing out.  Then lay the folded edge of the tape into the crease that runs along and around the shifter.  Use a flat tip screwdriver to push the tape into the crease for a good bond.  Next, take your sharp knife or razor blade and cut the tape within the crease on the side closest to the shifter.  Remove the tape on the inside of the bezel, and complete masking the bezel off with more tape and newspaper.

Make sure that you are painting in a relatively dust-free environment.  When spraying your parts, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.  Generally, you want to paint your parts with multiple light coats of paint.  Always use smooth even strokes when spraying the parts.  Try to keep the spray nozzle perpendicular to the pieces being sprayed.  Most applications to the trim pieces will require several coats to be applied, and that each coat not be completely dry, but rather tacky, when applying the next coat of paint.  This helps the bonding of each coat of paint to the previous one.  Read the instructions!