Now I know every week someone posts something about painting the interiors. I've done this and it never looked that great. I have used dark blue, dark green, and a flame type red in some cars. They looked good, but not great. The cars still didn't look professional. Now Doggy's and Flipside's interiors look great. I dont know if its the color silver that doesnt look fake or just that they did something a little different than I and some others. I'm asking for a prep on how to paint interiors with actual name brand cleaners and which type of paint with name brands as well. If doggy and flipside will chirp in, i'd appriciate that as well >>

also, fyi - my interior will be silver with blue accents. car is black with blue accents. I want a finished product close to flipsides (he's my idol >> )

This post has been edited by turboinduction: Apr 30, 2004 - 3:45 PM

The best DIY paint guide I have seen is on the 7th Gen Celica site 'EverythingCelica.com'. The link to the guide is here:

http://www.everythingcelica.com/ubbthreads...html#1869791553

As you can see, this guy really knows what he's talking about:


You need to register (free) on the site to view the whole guide but it is well worth it if you want a detailed guide to a professional finish.

This post has been edited by mikeh117: Apr 30, 2004 - 5:53 PM

Thats a really good how to !
Makes me think I can paint my interior

defgeph

WOW MIKEH WOW

I personally think Coomer should re-do that and put it in our How-Tos with props to Carbon GT at Everythingcelica.net. That was the most informative paint guide i've ever read. Thanks again, thats all I needed.

That is a great how-to. My interior is also silver w/ blue accents and some CF. Not to brag, but of the dozens of ppl i know that have done custom interiors i'd say mine is the 2nd best I've seen ( the best one is completely custom fiberglass work with blue metalflake paint in my friends s-10). I do love Doggy's interior and Flipside's. Mine cant touch theirs, but the main thing is being patient with all the stuff using primer, sanding, and clearcoat, w/ several coats of paint. Take everything out of the car that you can and what you can't, tape it off very carefully. I always clean everything w/ either alcohol or hydrogen peroxide b4 painting it. It seems to help the paint go on smoother.

BTW..b4 anyone checks my profile and flames me about my interior.... I have completely redone it since those pics were taken. I still have the same colors and flames on the speaker covers, but I have painted alot more stuff and it looks much more pro.

-subsolo_21+Apr 30, 2004 - 9:49 PM

i belive he ment that he has actually seen in person.

Oh yeah, I know a lot of people like doing the work on their cars. But if your really having probs just send em to me and I'll paint em.

Ryan

Yea I didnt mean 2nd best of all...just of the ones I've seen up close and personal. Doggy's and Flipside's interiors are beautiful. Those guys are my role models. I'd never say mine is better than either of theirs.

Here's my product list:

Paint:
SEM Color Coat--Flexible Coating Silver 15083
SEM Color Coat--Flexible Coating Satin Gloss Clear 13013

Plasti-kote Anodizit Top Coat--Blue 102
PPG Concept Clear

Cleaners:
BULLDOG--Bond-Flex-Tie-Coat
PARKS Denatured Alcohol

Surface Prep:
Scotch Brand masking tape
Scotch Brite Pads
Low-grit sand paper

On the center console and dash inserts/electric window pieces I used scotch bright pads to dull the surface instead of sandpaper. I thought the sand paper was to rough for the plastic and scratched it a bit too much. The scotch brite pads are basically a light steel wool. Just rub the surface till the plastic gets a hazy white look to it. I used sandpaper for all the other plastic pieces.

Afterward I put on some rubber gloves to protect the surface from oils and wiped every inch of the pieces with denatured alcohol to irradicate the plastic of impurities. From this point on don't do ANYTHING to your pieces without gloves on.

Then I used a spray-gun and sprayed on the Bulldogs. 2 coats max. It is a 3 in 1 adhesion promoter for plastics, a flex coat and a tie coat. Basically a primer for plastic. You do not need to sand the plastic again after the Bulldogs.

Next I put on at least 4 coats of silver on all the pieces, including the ones that would end up blue. I started with a very light coat. Waited till it was dry and put on another light coat and so on until the color was solid. After it was completely dry, I sprayed the satin clear. Again at least 4 coats, keeping in mind drying time.

I then sprayed the transparent blue over the specific silver pieces following the same principles as spraying the silver.

After that I used the spray gun again and spayed 2 coats of PPG Concept Clear on the blue pieces. It is a high gloss clear which really looks good.

The silver, blue, and satin clear were from spray cans. The Bulldogs and the PPG Clear had to be sprayed through a spray gun. All of the products I bought from a local automotive paint suppy store or from Advanced Auto.

Hope this helps,
Ryan