How do you repaint the interior vinyl and plastic trim pieces in
your car?

Painting the interior vinyl and plastic trim in a car is fairly easy.
There are two sources for the dye. If you don't have a paint gun,
then find SEM vinyl dye in spray cans at a good paint store. SEM is
the only way to go, and I have never found another product that
works as well or lasts so long. It also looks completely like the
factory finish. Please do not even consider any other brand.

Use "Satin Black" for the black interiors, and "Napa Red" for the
red interiors. The "Napa Red" is a precise match for the Datsun red
interior color. They also have ZX colors, too. SEM is about $7 a
can. and I use 4 to 6 cans for an entire interior on a 240Z.

If you have a paint gun (a door jamb gun is a good choice, or an
HVLP jamb gun is even better). Dupont has vinyl dye that is
comparable to SEM. It is about $20 for a quart, which will do one
car interior.

Preparation is everything! Here's the process:

1. Remove the seats and the carpet pieces.
2. Thoroughly vacuum out the interior.
3. Use low-lint paper towels to clean all the vinyl and plastic
interior pieces with a water based cleaner, such as soap & water,
ammonia, Mr Clean, Pineoil, etc., and let dry.
4. Wet wipe the surfaces with lacquer thinner. Not enamel reducer
or poly thinner, just cheap lacquer thinner. Wipe and scrub and
scrub. You will notice the vinyl and plastic getting soft. Stop
before you ruin the grain pattern! The theory behind the lacquer is
that it chemically softens the vinyl/plastic. When you apply the
dye, it soaks in much better.
5. Mask off all the unpainted items. I use "Big Gulp" bottoms taped
to the gauges.
6. Now shake your paint can. If you are using the Dupont dye, it is
ready to spray, without thinning.
7. Re-wipe the surfaces quickly with a very wet paper towel SOAKED
IN THINNER, and start fogging on the dye. It is very thin. You may
end up with 5-12 coats to get good heavy coverage. Let dry, and you
are done.

Note: Do not paint the seats, it will scrape off eventually.

Dupont also has a "textured" paint to match the texture of vinyl
tops. So it happens to look like vinyl when it is dry. I use it on
the sill plates of the 240Z's.

The stuff is very durable when dry. It does not exactly match the
Datsun sill plate vinyl, but it is a lot easier than trying to
recover the sill piece with contact cement and vinyl cloth. This
paint has to be applied with a non-HVLP gun (your normal old
fashioned gun is not HVLP). It's the air pressure that makes the
spiderwebs as it comes out, which then coagulate into the vinyl
texture. This coating can then be re-coated with black semi-gloss
vinyl dye to match the panels.