TeamSwift

Well lately I've been on a painting spree. Painting everything I could. So here is a nice faq for you who would like to paint your interior pieces.

How to paint interior trim pieces. You will need to have the following supplies on hand:


Sandpaper
Krylon spray paint
Clear Coat

You will need adequate amounts of spray paint in the color you require and a can or two of clear if you wish. 3-4 cans of red gloss Krylon was more than enough to paint all the interior plastic trim pieces on my 92 Prelude. Take extreme care when removing any of the pieces. I had someone try to help and she snapped one of the pieces in half. Luckily I was able to epoxy it back together, sand off the excess epoxy, and paint over it. You cant even tell which was the piece that got broken once I painted it. It looks so good that people thought I either had it professionally done or that it was some kind of kit that I purchased.

PREPARATION: After removing all trim pieces they will ALL need to be thoroughly washed free of any contaminants such as dirt and Armor All to insure the paint will adhere properly. YOU WILL NOT NEED TO USE *ANY* PRIMER!!! TRUST ME! After washing the trim let the pieces air dry. You DO NOT need to sandpaper the pieces to try to help in preparing the surfaces for the paint but it wouldn't hurt either. Use a fine grit if you want to go the sandpaper route. I didn't need to use any on my first painting.

PAINTING: Unless you have access to a garage or a location with adequate ventilation I suggest doing this outside. You will be tempted to rush the process when it appears that the paint is taking faster than you expected. DO NOT RUSH THROUGH THE PROCESS!!

Using long even strokes while holding the can no closer than a foot from the trim pieces, lay down a quick coat of paint. DO NOT try to completely cover the trim pieces with the paint at this time as it will either run, bubble, or wrinkle as it dries. Let sit for 10 minutes or more to allow the paint to become tacky or dry. The longer you wait in between coats the better. What you are looking for at first is for the paint to look very grainy as you apply each coat. It will take you approximately 2-3 hours to completely cover the trim if you do this right. Toward the end of the painting process you will start to see the paint finish start to become smooth and glossy. This is the point many people get excited and try to rush. DON'T!!! If you spray too much at this point the paint may pool in some spots. If it does this and starts to dry it will begin to wrinkle and look pretty bad. Keep applying coats of paint being careful to allow at least 10 minutes in between before the next. By the time you are finished your trim pieces will be highly smooth and glossy. Once you are satisfied you can then apply a couple of coats of clear to help resist chipping and scratches. However if you apply enough coats of the colored paint you wont need it. TRUST ME!

INSTALLATION: Allow the trim pieces to dry at least 24 hours BEFORE attempting to remount them In colder weather you may need longer. If you try to handle them before this they will NOT have had enough time to sufficiently harden and when you have to push the trim pieces back into place you will have fingerprints embedded in the paint for posterity. I myself have let my painted trim pieces dry over the course of a weekend before I even laid a hand on them. Once in the car the paint cured to a very hard finish as the interior was heated up in the sunlight. I am as of this posting repainting a couple of pieces that I chipped.

MAINTENANCE: Once installed you will have to put up with your car smelling like paint for at least 2 weeks. You can apply any type of Armor All or any thing of that nature to keep your newly painted interior in tip top shape without fear of your brand of protecting fouling them up. IF you find that you need to repaint any of your trim pieces I suggest stripping off the original paint BEFORE attempting a repaint. I tried this and the paint WOULD NOT stick. It wrinkled as it dried and peeled right off with NO effort.

ADVICE: TAKE YOUR TIME!

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Hey! thanks for posting this!
where did you buy your paint from?

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90 swift GT
Peace out 90 swift
Hello 00 integra

Wallmart is where i got my paint from,

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Did you ever try the new Krylon plastic paint? Its supposed to stick right away. Thats what I used on the center console and it tured out really nice looking.

I saw a commercial for it the other day. Krylon Fusion

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Ya, thats the one that I used. Krylon Fusion. The can says it take a week to be fully chip resistant, but its safe to handle 24h later.

I wonder if sandblasting plastic pieces would be too strong? I'll try it out and post the results.

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I miss Jomo BRING JOMO BACK


http://sierraclub.com/exxposeexxon

Good luck

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This may sound silly, but does anyone know what this new paints costs? And would anyone be prepared to buy me a couple of can and post them to me in australia? (obviously with monetry arrangements made)

Cheers

suzk91gt aka mark

I dunno, I think the easiest way to do it (with highest possible quality), would be to send the pieces to a local bodyshop for painting. Just make sure they know what a flex agent is.

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Think this would fall into the Transportation of Dangerous Goods aspect, being a pressurized paint product. That said, I'm not exactly sure what would be involved for paperwork (MSDS sheets for sure, among others I'm sure), or if it would make sense in the end as for costs versus what you have available on your side of the ocean. Even after paperwork is done, there's the tariffs and duties I'm thinking.

Just some random thoughts here, I dont want to burst any bubbles. Next time I'm at the post office, I'll ask. I'll be there within a couple days to ship out some rear window control arms.

i know a little about shipping since i work for UPS. small quantities of consumer use chemicals can be shipped under ORMD. pressurized canisters (no matter what they contain) cannot be shipped via air freight and have to travel by truck or train.

a business will include an MSDS sheet for each lot of similar hazmat.

UPS charges a hazmat surcharge which is minimal on small, residential quantities. they are pretty picky about packing, though, it has to be approved and have a hand written 7 part label which they supply as part of the surcharge.

i just finished painting dash panels and my shifter and parking brake consoles. i used my old standby, rustoleum paint. the first couple of coats need to be really light and applied every 10 minutes or so. the first couple of light dustings lay down a working base of tolulene that softens up the plastic and allows the plasticizers to change their chemical composition to allow the paint to stick to the plastic's surface. if you apply wet coats first, the plasticizers release through the paint and the coating WILL fisheye - every time. after the first 2 light coats and 30 minutes, you can paint for coverage in thin coats at one hour intervals.

good painting sticky ctick.

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1991 Blue Geo Metro Convertible highly modified 1.0L Turbo3 5 spd. - 1991 Red Geo Metro Convertible customized with a Twincam 5 spd.

My Turbo3 Project
My Cardomain Page -Ol' Blue
My YouTube Channel
My Photo Gallery
SAAB Sonett II

I just painted about 3/4 of my interior last night with the Krylon Fusion paint. So far, it sticks really well, and looks great, like the plastic was actually black. Doesn't have that fake painted look to it. I'll keep everyone updated on it's durability.

You should take some pics when you get the chance Geozuki and let us see your work.

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Here's the pics, they're under "day 2"
http://www.teamswift.net/~geozukigti/

Well, its been a few months now... Hows the paint job held up for those of you who've done it?

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-Shaun
http://www.cardomain.com/id/streen
1998 Suzuki Swift 1.3L 4cyl 5spd

mine has lasted a long time ...
i just gave the surfaces a light once over w/ a piece of fine sandpaper and sprayed it w/ plastikote paint from my local autoparts shop (lordco)
here's my most recent picture ..

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

what would you recommend for a grit of sand paper ? 800 ?

Go from something rough an work your way down to something really smooth an light.

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nice pic,good job,it turned out really nice.i tried it once with yellow and the same pieces,didnt work out but after seeing that pic im gonna try it again.

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Dont sweat the petty things
dont pet the sweatty things

Yea painted mine with Krylon Fusion and I have to say all panels look pretty sweet. Keep in mind I rushed it all cause I needed the car for school and work and shit but overall its a really cool innexpensive way to mod ur interior.

**TIP**
Don't know if its just me but DO NOT spray ur doors :-\ that fake leathery shit gets all sticky and nasty, maybe i needed to sand it down or something? I wanna take my doors apart and just put some black fabric on it.

Have fun with this guys and gals.

i really screwed painting those pieces but i found out that wet spray paint also works as a good paint remover.

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Dont sweat the petty things
dont pet the sweatty things

I did my dash a few weeks ago. I didnt use any paints just vinyl dye, after sanding with 400grit sandpaper.
what did you guys use to paint the air vents or did you just get some the same colour as the dash?

awsome writeup man this should be stickied! karma for you!

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rip my poor baby sept 1994-apr 2008
91 sidekick, 4x4 2" lift 30" swampers, winch,
to come ..... performance bits.... body lift, custom bumpers

I did one a while ago on ukswift, it's here