The Central Hub for DSM Community and Information

For 1990-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, Eagle Talon, Plymouth Laser, and Galant VR-4 Owners. This is where the DSM platform history is documented and archived. Log in to help us in our mission, and to remove most ads from the browsing experience.

Interior painting [Merged 7-9] paint trim plastic plastics

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Hi,

I was wondering, is there a special paint that I buy to paint the center dash? Like the part where the air conditioner is and where the cd deck is. I want it silver, and how do I take it apart to paint it?
 
I wouldn't say use a special paint. But a lot use Krylon Fusion paint, works wonders. I like DupliColor spray paints, sprays nice and even.
Just scuff the surface. Then degrease it. And then paint and/or prime. Then I took a airbrush and applied the clear coat. Makes it look nice.
 
krylon fusion is the sh!t check my gallery if u like the look of it ill give ya some pointers to do your own
 
I've used the krylon fusion paint on mine, came out bad ass. It's not very hard to do. Here is how i did it. The part that has the 2 vents on top is a bit tricky to take out. Best thing you can do is lift a corner carefully and insert a clothes hanger folded in haf and into a hook. That panel has plastic rods attached to it, which are part of the assebly to move the grilled and turn the air on or off. Be extrememly carefull when pulling that out, i almost snapped every single one off, good thing it's plastic so it flexed a tad. The one that is around the vent controls and deck is really easy. Its holding on with clips. Take a flathead and lift one corner, stick your fingers under it and slide them along the side vertically or horizontally. Gently apply some pressure and the clips should let go. I like to start in the upper right corner and then go left. I have done it with no screw driver even. I just stuck my nails under the plastic on the inside of the circle around the hot/cold air knob, and lifted it up. When you paint: what kind of a look do you want? Did you want a textured or smooth look? If you want the original texture, just clean it up with some grease removers and apply primer(better ones are for plastic, cuz that's what your painting), a few layers of that and some paint. Get high gloss paint, dont use clearcoat, the paint comes off in chips that way. The clearcoat dries and shrinks tremendously. If you want to do a smooth look, sand everything by hand, if you start using powertools youre prolly gona end up digging into the plastic and itll have dips in it. It takes longer by hand, but you know it will be evenly done. After it's smooth, do some wet sanding and put on primer. After a few layers of primer paint it. Nothing special here. You can probably use thermal high gloss paint on that, to achieve that really shiny look. Thermal paint costs more than krylon fushion, but it might be more glossy and is certainly more durable to chipping. I used krylon on mine and so far it's been really nice. When the panel is painted, let it sit for 2-4 days so that the paint sets in better. If you put it in right away you might mess it up, or whats more likely a passenger will. It's happened to me many, no too many time, believe me. It doesnt matter how many times you tell them to be carefull. They'll try pickin at it with nails as soon as you say not to cuz its still new. I've got a good amount of scratches on my passenger door panel, despite me telling people to carefully get in or get out right before they do it. My door does not have a signle nick or scratch on it, i dont know why *shrugs*, it's werid like that. Also prepare for your car looking butt ugly inside with no panels in it cuz they're sittin around while the paint is setting in. Get a bit more paint than you actually need, once again, passengers. As far as the number of cans goes, it depends on how thick you want to make the paint on there. I'd get about 3-4 cans to start with and see how much area you cover and go from there, but always keep a full one as a safety net. If you have any more questions Email me at [email protected], send me a PM or send me a IM, my sn is VOTBLINDUB. I hope this post helps you out.
 

Attachments

You must be registered for see attachments list
VOTBLINDUB,

That's a sweet ass interior... can't wait for mine to look like that. I also want the speedometer part painted. By the way, that's a good tutorial. I think I can do it with that. Thanks for taking the time to help me out, appreciate it.
 
what did you use on your doors to paint them? not the plastic hard parts, but the vinyl? Thx
 
Hey guys,
i saw a guys eclipse yesterday that he painted some parts with some plastic/vinyl paint and it looks awesome, i want to paint the speaker covers on the door(this can't be taken off right?, i need to take put the panel, cover the doors with paper/plastic and the paint the speaker cover), door handles, center console where the ashtray is, not the top but the sides, the lid in the center console armrest, the center console side panels and the glovebox.

Has anyone done this??
What did you use? how did it look? is it lasting well??

Thanks!!
 
make sure you plan out everything well, as in what you want painted, how it flows together and take your time. Many peopler just paint random accents and it looks pretty crappy when its done. In the actual painting. sand with a fine grit sand paper, primer a few coats. Sand again paint in thin layers, sand in fine grit and clear as much as you want. my site www.cardomain.com/id/chuckt has some photos on it. Hope that helps
 
I did this, and it turned out pretty well.

I used Dupli-color paint. They also have a vinyl paint too.

On the plastic you wanna sand it, to at least rough it up, or make it ultra smooth.

On the vinyl you wanna rough it up with 800 or higher grit.

just play around, and see what works for you. Make sure to apply the paint in lots of light coats, and use clear coat to protect it.

:edit: Like chuck said... plan it all out, and use primer
 
what paint should i use?
I was thinking of using an engine paint i have for the speaker covers since they are metal, and what paint should i use for the glovebox and such. I don't think i'll be painting any vinyl or is the glovebox vinyl?

Also can i use any clear coat? i mean duplicolor sells one but it cost a lot and i can get regular primer for cheaper.

Also what do you mean by primer??

I plan to take a digipick of the car and then paint the accents with the PC to see how it would look.

Thanks!!
 
If you have the grey interior, than you don't really need to primer. I used krylon fusion. It costs, but when i did some tests, it looked good. when your painting it, use a lot of thin coats. I used at least ten coats at fifteen minute intervals. Then let it dry for a few hours. Clearcoat is a must. I know it's expensive but its worth it to protect the paint. I put at least five coats on again at fifteen minute intervals. Let that dry fir a few hours and you're done. Last but not least, SAERCH this forum for the topic. You'll find more info. I know its been covered a few times.
 
i got a 95 eclipse and i painted/painting parts in it and i got that blue/grey interior. so i did it bright orange but i couldn't find any interior paint so i had some mixed. a quart for about 30 bucks. not bad i took the parts off. cleaned... primered... primered... painted... painted... painted... and cleared. with the dark blue i needed to be carefull to get a good primer so the blue didn't show through the orange. if can i'll get some pictures on here for ya... also a good piece to do is the black plastic piece that goes around your gauges. IMO i would not buy one when i can paint it and have it custom anywayz. ttyl:dsm:
 
WHat paint should you use?

I would recommened either dupli-color plastic paint, or krylon fusion. I have seen great results with both. I would say use dupli-color, because thats what i used.

Heres a pretty siple step by step of how to do it.

If you want the grain...
1. remove the peice you want to paint
2. rough it up with 320 or so sandpaper
3. clean it with acetone or rubbing alcohol, so you clean all the dust and oil/fingerprints off.
4. Spray a nice light layer on the peice. continue this step 10-15 times with a 15 minute break between coats.
5. let it dry for an hour or so
6. apply 5-8 light layers of clear coat
7. let it dry, for a few hours, and if done right... enjoy your new sexy interior.


If you want to make it super smooth and glossy, so it look slike fiberglass, there is a bit more work involved.

1. remove the peice
2. spray a few decent coats of filler primer 3-4 coats 15 minute intervals
3. Wetsand with 600 or 800 grit sandpaper, until its very smooth
4. spray a few more coats of filler primer, 2-3 coats in 15 min intervals
5. wetsand with 1500 until its super super smooth.
6. spray 3-4 light coats of paint. It will stick better to the primer, so you dont need as much as in the other way.
7. wetsand the paint with 1500, and make sure its still super super smooth.
8. repeat steps 6 and 7 one more time.
9. spray 4-5 layers of clearcoat
10. wetsand with 1500
11. repeat steps 9 and 10

If you do the 1st one, it will look good, like iot does in my pics. It will heva e anice shine to it, and a nice solid color.

If you do the second way, it will be more work, but it is so rich in color, and glossy and smoothm, it look slike fiberglass. Most people cannot tell the difference.

good luck. post some pics when you get done.
 
THis topic has been covered many times so searhc back a few weeks for the "HOW TO'S " In response to your question about the door panels. All of those pieces come off. Take the door off and there are little tabs that hold the speaker mesh on just bend them back and pull it off. Also all of the other peices can be removed to make it easier to paint
 
Ok here is the plan and here are my questions:

I am going to paint it like '96_Talon_TSi said with the grain

I plan to paint the glovebox, lower door sills(right name?), inner door handle, where the control for the power window/locks goes(not entire piece), lower door trim(where the pockets are), center console around the ashtray door and cupholder(trim), center storage cover, lower piece under steering wheel, center console side panels and i am going to replace the carpet thing in the door.

Now my questions: What pieces of the door panel can be removed??
I know the speaker grill no, i am not sure about the piece where the control for the power window goes.

I will need a few cans of paint/clear, plastic and vinyl paint right?
 
Originally posted by Race94
Ok here is the plan and here are my questions:

I am going to paint it like '96_Talon_TSi said with the grain

I plan to paint the glovebox, lower door sills(right name?), inner door handle, where the control for the power window/locks goes(not entire piece), lower door trim(where the pockets are), center console around the ashtray door and cupholder(trim), center storage cover, lower piece under steering wheel, center console side panels and i am going to replace the carpet thing in the door.

Now my questions: What pieces of the door panel can be removed??
I know the speaker grill no, i am not sure about the piece where the control for the power window goes.

I will need a few cans of paint/clear, plastic and vinyl paint right?

Seems like you are painting it pretty similar to mine.

Every peice of the door can be removed. WHen you flip the door panel over, remove the styrofoam peice thats on the back. Take out every single screw you can possibly find (a chiltons or haynes will help). I even cut the plastic welds on the back of the lower peice (where the little pocket goes. I find this to be much easier that masking off the rest of the door, as after i masked off the vinyl i painted the day earlier.. it peeled when i removed the tape.

Yea, you will need a few cans of paint and clearcoat. I figure probaby 2 can of clearcoat for every 2-3 cans of paint.

I dont remember exactly how many cans i used, but probably 2-3 of paint and 1 of clear shuld be pretty close. If not you can always run out and get another can if needed.


*Tip*
When i did mine i pulled it all out at once and did it that way, it took me about a week and a few days, so i drove around that long without an interior. I'd recommend doing 1 peice at a time (i.e. glove box, then the door, then the peice under the steering wheel, followe dby the last door.) This way you can take your time on each peice, and still have a mostly full interior.
 
since were talkin about painting interior parts, i did my door panels not long ago, and i used the krylon fusion, did some thin coats, let it dry over night, and then i did some clear coat, from kyrlon and i let that dry for a few hours then put it in my car and it was fine, now on hot days the paint on the door panel tends to get sticky, is there anything that i can do to fix this, or is it just gonna be like this?
 
Originally posted by Ghost1984
since were talkin about painting interior parts, i did my door panels not long ago, and i used the krylon fusion, did some thin coats, let it dry over night, and then i did some clear coat, from kyrlon and i let that dry for a few hours then put it in my car and it was fine, now on hot days the paint on the door panel tends to get sticky, is there anything that i can do to fix this, or is it just gonna be like this?

A friend of mine used krylon fusion, and had a very similar problem. I think it's just going to be like that.
 
Alright I have painted quite a few peices of my blue :barf: interior black already as the person I bought it from had only hafway finished...

Basically I have taken off everything, paid much attention to detail and painted everything idividually. I painted all kinds of little things first to make sure that when i did the door panels (and eventually dash) that it would look ok and match the existing pieces.

Well all teh little things turned out awesome... they were all plastic. Not for the vinyl door panels i masked off the carpet crap and painted away as the paint i have says good for vinyl (pic attached). Well its VERY uneven. The paint is gloss black and everythign else is pleasing to me except the door panel (ofcourse its the largest peice Ive done so far and it comes out the worst). Well its aparantly sticking well and its not coming off or anything but the color is just not mixing well; its seems like there are glossy parts, flat parts, mixed of teh two and plain parts that the paint look really dull on-- all this is regardless of the #of coats I put on it just so you know.

Well my question is; does anyone know of any better paint to buy and where to buy it to work well with vinyl? I dont want this to look like crap... any help or tips would be appreciated.

PS-- all surfaces were cleaned with alcohol first so they are all clean:D

You must be logged in to view this image or video.
 
why dont u reopolster the door panels with black Leather or Black Vinyl..ive never heard of anýone painting vinyl doorpanels successfully before..maybe it can be done..i dunno
 
Well I just figured since there was a can of paint that said for vinyl that it could be. I have never done it before either...

Buying vinyl/leather and reupholstering it would require very precise cutting and very precise stretching and fastening to which I probably do not have the tools, skills or both to accomplish.

Any other suggestion? I mean I have been looking for black panels used, but people are asking like $300 for them so I figured $15 in painting everything wouldn't be a bad investment...
 
Well Im about to blow my head off if I cant figure this out! To bad I will be dead and won't be able to enjoy my newly designed red dashboard...
 

Attachments

You must be registered for see attachments list
Add Value - Be Respectful - No Trolling - No Misinformation - Participate Often!
Support Vendors who Support the DSM Community

Latest Classifieds

Back
Top