Painted radio dash bezel + console/ash tray

[mello88]

I'm sure lotsa people have already done this... I just got done painting the plastic trim that goes from the center console up around the radio and AC/Heater controls a charcoal metallic color to match my black/grey interior:





To prep:- wet sand 600 grit- use Rustoleum Plastic Primer- Wet sand 600 again- more primer- Spray a few coats of Rustoleum "Black Night Metallic"- Wet sand 1000 grit- Wet sand 2000 grit- If you like how it looks (not too much orange peel, etc) use Novus Plastic Polish stage 3 then stage 2- I didn't clear coat it... But you might want to since it looks like it will scratch/chip easily.

Cheers

[LEMHEAD16]

Looks good. Quality paint work takes lots of patients

[mello88]

Thats for sure.. It took way longer than I expected & still didn't turn out as nice as I wanted

[wangless]

how long did it overall take ?

[mello88]

A few days doing a coat or two a day... I have to pull it and repaint it too since it started bubbling in one area. Not sure what caused that, maybe some oil in the primer, and/or the heat? it's only in one small area...

[1991S13]

Looks very nice, I might have to try that. Looks like a cheap and nice looking alternative to the dash trim kit I've had my eye on.

[LEMHEAD16]

Are you using wax and grease remover between coats? I am working on mine and I have had to scrub the heck out of it with soap and water and then use wax and grease remover to get all of the silly cone stuff off of it. (I.E. Armorall)

[LEMHEAD16]

Take a pic of the bubbles. I might be able to lend some advice

[Graphfixz]

I have done this and the easiest thing to do is scrub for hours and have a tiny little spot that you just don't go over enough times. That tiny little spot will bubble... however, on your second, third coats you should be able to see it and consentrate on it and take care of it.

[Hellion240sx]

great job where 's the ash tray?

[mkory]

Lol... I think you might have it confused with the s14 piece. S13 ash trays are closer to the arm rest.

[mello88]

Lol... I think you might have it confused with the s14 piece. S13 ash trays are closer to the arm rest.

Exactly. I painted the ash tray also

[Dearths240sx]

Nice job. My S14 bezel was cracked like all other plastic radio bezels out there. Instead of buying a new one, I took some black leather and layed it on the sides using 3M adhesive. Doesn't look perfect, but certainly looks better than having a large crack. I actually really like the way the leather looks/feels on the bezel.

[mkory]

I LOVE LEATHER DASHES! But I never thought of this as an option over paint or a dash kit. I just my try covering all my dash pieces in leather, that'd be pretty sweet.

[BomexS13]

thats nice...

[mkory]

Dang Bomex, definately post whoreing here... bringing a thread back after 10 days to say "that's nice."

Sorry, I had to.+1 (bwahaha)

Anyways, what do you mean by wax and grease remover? Rubbing alcohol? Windex?

[nsrZ32]

That looks fantastic, great work man.

[mello88]

That looks fantastic, great work man.

Thank you everyone for the compliments. Now go to home depot and buy some rattle cans already!

[Stev0n]

Just remember, do not wet paint it. If you don't want bubbling, cracking, or peeling, then dry paint it.

dry coats - lay lots of thin coats that cover up almost nothing until it's almost completely covered, then go over the whole piece a couple times.... this completely eliminates any kind of bubbling or peeling.

It doesn't take that long either, wait about 2-3 minutes between each coat... That how they taught me at both bodyshops i worked at... Jim Johnson Pontiac Nissan Mitsubishi (of course I had to work there, I have a nissan and a pontiac) & Tim Harrison Customs...

[LEMHEAD16]

Wax and grease remover is a chemical you can buy at any paint supply store that works better than any sort of alcohol

[SickImports]

Looks Hot!!!