Interior Panel Restoration help

[neuralracing]

Are there any writeups on what to buy and the process to sand, prime and paint all the interior panels (door panels, trunk, kick plates... evrything)? I gutted the whole car.

 

[cubedmayhem]

I redid the interior of a 95 saturn sc2 and my spydr. First what color are you going with? Krylon fusion worked the best for me. Every time I spent money on the vinyle die it never worked the way I wanted. I would get a can of some vinyle prep spay and clean the area. With the fusion paint they say you dont have to prime ( but I still did ). Once primer has fully cured I took the fusion paint and did lite coats. I did as many as it seemed to have needed and let cure overnite. Then I took krylon clear coat and did that in lite coats untill fully covered. Sand would be optional as the prep spray clean all the crap off and the primer gives the paint somthing to hold on to. You can get that paint anywere. I get you pics tomarrow.

 

[DarthBulk]

I just completely redid the door panels in my 91 Talon, using SEM dye. It worked GREAT. I can't believe how well that worked out, and how the doors look absolutely new now. I redid them in black and silver, to match the cars exterior. You have to follow the directions completely though, or it won't work. Here is the method I used:

1. Completely scrub the panel with SEM soap. The SEM soap comes with a green applicator pad, that is really one of those green scotch-brite pads. I scrubbed the door with a lot of that SEM soap, rinsed it, and then did it a second time.

2. I used SEM Vinyl Prep in the spray can, and covered the door panel with it. I wiped it off with a rag, then rinsed the panel off completely with a hose. I repeated this process.

3. I applied the SEM Dye in several light coats, waiting about 5-10 minutes between coats. I put 4 coats on. That worked out to a little less than one can per door panel.

4. I put a topcoat of SEM gloss over the top, in 2 light coats.

After this, the panels looked like brand new, and there are no flaws in the SEM dye. I am completely satisfied with the results.

 

[cubedmayhem]

I also used the sem prep spray, I could not remembered who made it. Im sure that I was duing somthing wrong with the dye. Both could work out well though. That prep spray rocked, I try useing crap I bought at autozone what a mistake.

 

[cubedmayhem]

The dye never dried right for me

 

[UrMyStlkAl]

Darth Bulk would you happen to have any pics of your interior?

 

[DarthBulk]

I'll take some pictures tonight, after I get home from work. I have both door panels leaning agains the wall in my living room, ready to be installed this weekend.

 

[neuralracing]

Where can I purchase the SEM kit?

 

[DarthBulk]

I bought mine at http://www.yourautotrim.com
They shipped it fast and I had no complaints. It isn't really a kit though...I just bought a few cans of dye, a bottle of SEM soap, and a can of SEM Viny Prep. I also bought a yard of silver vinyl and high temp adhesive to recover those pads on the door panels.

 

[neuralracing]

Will that work for the panels around the trunk area and the back seat? I gutted my whole interior so that when I paint it all matches.

 

[neuralracing]

Dam it says on their site that they will not ship via Air... I live in Puerto Rico and there isn't any Ground Service to us.

Anyone know if Pep Boys or Western Auto sells that kind of dye?

 

[DarthBulk]

Yes, that SEM dye will work on all the plastic or vinyl interior panels. Just prep it well It is even supposed to work on carpeting, but I haven't tried that yet.

 

[DarthBulk]

Ok, here are some shots of my SEM'ed door panels. I don't have the kick panel on the bottom yet as I have those at an upholstery shop to sew trim on them, but imagine silver carpeting on there It's tough to take a picture of a black panel, but I think these panels turned out like new. The silver around the door handles is done with SEM dye also. The pads on the door I put silver vinyl on.

 

[neuralracing]

How resistant is SEM to chipping and scratches? did you buy high gloss paint or are they all shiny?

 

[DarthBulk]

Well, my panels seem to be quite durable. I can rub my fingernails on it and not feel like anything is going to scratch. And it is just as flexible as the original vinyl, as far as I can tell. I can push my finger into the door panel and make an indentation in it, just like I could before I put the SEM on there. That coating is VERY thin, you really don't notice that there is a coating on top of the viny.
I bought a gloss black and also a gloss coat, but you can get it in a satin finish for the base and also a clear satin top-coat. The gloss really isn't as glossy as it looks in my picture, it just is exaggerated because of the camera flash.

 

[cubedmayhem]

watch though I dont know what i was doing wrong but the dye chipped right off of the panels. Take your time with it.

 

[DarthBulk]

Yes, surface preparation is very important. I found that if it is not cleaned COMPLETELY, the SEM has a sort of "oil in water" effect You get fisheyes when you spray it on, and it doesn't adhere. That is why I bought the complete set of cleaning stuff to go with it. I used a very liberal amount of that SEM soap, which has sand particles in it, and applied it with that scotch-brite pad. I scrubbed good in every spot, until the soap no longer acted like water on a waxed car. And I did it twice, and also used the Vinyl Prep after that. But after all that, it is adhering really well.

 

[neuralracing]

How do you suggest I handle scratches in the trunk area panels... some are a bit deep (can be felt if you run your finger nail accross)

 

[cubedmayhem]

undefinedHe is telling you the right way to do this, but I will still stand by how easy and cheaper the fusion by krylon paint is ( fusion $3.50 a can, sem $8 a can) . Definatly get the sem prep any which way. Use a vinle dash repair kit for the gouges.

 

[DarthBulk]

That's a good question, I haven't had to repair any myself yet. Those panels are textured, aren't they? That really makes it difficult. I was going to suggest filling them in with some epoxy, but that is really messy and would be tough to texture. You could do it, I think, if you used a really thick epoxy paste, smoothing it into the scratch, and then using a piece of sandpaper or something with a texture close to the panel texture and pressing it into the scratch before it dries. But i am just guessing here. Anyone else know the preferred method for repairing these scratches? I want to know too, because I am going to do my trunk area panels necxt, and I have some of those scratches too.

 

[neuralracing]

Does Pep Boys sell anything to do this? That site will not ship SEM to Puerto Rico

 

[DarthBulk]

I just did a quick search on google and found this place:

http://www.msitrt.com/ToOdrer.htm

It looks like they can ship SEM to Puerto Rico. But their site looks a little confusing, I don't know what they all carry. It might not hurt to send them an email...

Ooops...I just realized that Aerosol products cannot be shipped by air. So I don't know how you can get SEM in Puerto Rico unless you find a dealer there?

 

['96_Talon_TSi]

For the textuired panels, there are 2x things you can do.

1. Leave the texture. Simply clean, prime, and spray. You might wanna rough it up w/ some medium/high grit sandpaper. Easy enough, you can have the whole car done in 2 days.

2. get rid of the texture. This is a little more involved. FIrst, clean the peice vrey well. Then spray it with a few coats if filler primer (can be had at autozone for $3 a bottle). Wetsand that with 800grit sand paper until it is mostly stock color, but you can see where the filler primer filled the grain. Clean that off really well. Cover it again with more filler primer. Westsand this with 1500 grit sandpaper. After the 1500 you shoudl be able to feel how incredibly smooth it is. It will be the smoothest glassiest filler primer you have ever seen. Clean it some more..and... You are now ready to paint! Lay some paint, make sure to be very careful and not get any runs, heavy spots, etc etc. Let it sit about 10-15 minutes between coats. I used about 4 coats of black, and 6 coats of red on all my stuff. After the paint is layed, enter clearcoat to protect and shine! SPray a few (3-4) layers of clearcoat, letting stand about 10-15 min or until tacky between each coat.

I have a few pics of the above project (until the painting section), if you want to see them i will need someone to host them (very large, but quality so you can see differences in grain).

Let us know how you decide to do it, and how it comes out.

 

[kgtalon95]

Hey guys, I'm also looking at trying to color my dash and interior pieces black. I'm worried about what will happen if the sun beats on the dash and panles after using the SEM. Will it become sticky or fade??