How To: Painting Interior Pieces

[N2OInferno]

Painting your interior is a great mod that doesn’t hurt the wallet and can give your car that personalized touch that you want. It’s not for everyone though, because it does take a lot of patience and time. However, you will be highly rewarded if you do your prep work correctly and don’t rush everything.<O:p</O:p

First, the materials you’re going to need are going to be:

http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/01materials.jpg

Latex gloves – I used five pair during the process. You can get 10 pair at Wal-Mart for just 2 dollars.

400 grit wet automotive sandpaper – Make sure it’s for wet sanding. Normally it’s black. Wet sanding will cause the grit not to get clogged up and you can wash the residue from the object you are sanding.

Primer – I used Plasti-Kote Ultra Enamel Gray Primer

Paint – Depending on what you pick this can be more or less. I used Plasti-Kote Anodizit, which consists of a base coat and a top coat. The base coat is silver and the top coat is a translucent blue, to give an anodized effect. If you choose this paint, you will use a lot more of the top coat than the base coat.

Clearcoat – I used Plasti-Kote Ultra Enamel Acrylic Clear Coat.

Step one is to remove all of the pieces that you want to paint from your interior.
There are plenty of thread on how to do this so I won't go into detail here.

http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/02silvertrim.jpg

After you have all of the pieces removed, you’ll need to take them completely apart until you have only the pieces you want to paint, if possible.
<O:p
Next, get out the sandpaper. Just a reminder, this is going to take a long time if you have a lot you want to paint but it will turn out better if you do it correctly. Sand anywhere you plan on painting down until you reach the factory plastic color. If there is no paint on the pieces already, get them good and scuffed up. Keep the surface wet and the sandpaper wet and the job will go quicker and more smoothly.


http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/04Sanded.jpg

After you’ve sanded everything down, you’re about ready to paint. First get out the masking tape and mask off any areas you don’t want to end up the color you’re painting. Make sure the tape sticks well, especially by the edges, so no paint seeps down under the tape.


http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/05masked.jpg

Next, take your pieces outside and lay down some newspaper or a dropcloth. Put on some latex gloves so you don't get this stuff all over your hand. You can then also hold a piece in an area you didn't need painted, so you can have better access rather than painting it on the ground. Shake up your primer for about a minute and spray the pieces lightly. You can always apply more later, so remember that two thin coats are better than one heavy coat. Spray in a side to side motion, beginning before the piece and ending after the piece, and overlapping slightly to cover the whole piece. Make sure you spray all of the piece that you are painting too. This will give an even spray and cause the can to not sputter out globs. That happened to me once and that center piece you see there took four hours to fix because I had to go back to step one. When they’re all good and primed, let them dry to the touch. I waited about 30 minutes.

http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/07primed.jpg

In my case with the door handles, I couldn’t set them down or the paint would be ruined.. So I came up with this inventive way of letting them dry..


http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/08primedhandles.jpg

After everything was primed, I gave a VERY light sanding over the pieces again with 400 grit sandpaper..

http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/09primedandsanded.jpg

Because my paint was a two step process I had to first apply base coat before the top coat. Follow the same method of spraying as you did with the primer to ensure even coats.

http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/10basecoat.jpg

In the base coat picture you cannot see the center piece. That’s where I messed it up. Just remember to be patient and if you do mess something up, let it dry and sand it smooth again. If you can’t get it to be smooth with the rest of the piece then you’ll have to resand all of it. Just start over from step one. It may be tedious, but in the end you’ll be glad you did.

Next after the base coat, I applied three coats of top coat. I let each coat dry for about twenty minutes before applying the next coat. I won’t include a picture after each coat, but this is what it looked like after three coats of the blue top coat. Looking pretty good already, don’t you think?

http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/13finalcolor.jpg

Sure it looks great and you want to go put it back in your car as soon as it dries, but you need one more step so your hard work will endure being touched frequently and not chip. You’ll be ready to apply your clear coat soon. I waited four hours to make sure very well that the paint was good and dry before I applied the clear coat. When you apply the clear, spray the same way you have been and make sure you cover the whole piece. I applied two coats of clear coat on my pieces and it gave them a nice shine and made the color a bit deeper too.


http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/15twoshotsclear.jpg

Let the paint sit overnight so you will be able to handle it without fear of smudging or ruining the paint when you install everything back into the car. The next morning, take the masking tape off slowly and carefully and reinstall the pieces into their housings, or whatever they were attached to when taken out of the car.

Then just go backwards at your first step and reinstall all of the pieces back into the car. Voila! You have a cool mod that you can say you did all yourself and it didn’t break your wallet!


http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/16all.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~neon_onyx/interiorpainting/16finishedconsole.jpg

Pros:

Looks very cool

Inexpensive

You can brag you did it all yourself
<O:p
Cons:

Takes a LOT </ST1:pof patience

If you mess up, you have to redo the piece

Can’t go back to factory

[c0nfus3d]

wow i have to give it to you.....GREAT HOW-TO...ill most likely do this over the summer....great pics great everything GREAT JOB!

[Dexter]

looks very good man

[mspeedpro]

there are silvers that can match-- with the same amount of patience u can go back to stock... makes it even better!! awesome diy painting-- looks professionally done

[mspeed101]

Wow that looks nice! thanks for writing up the how to I might paint mine in the upcoming weeks

[jersey_emt]

Excellent! Now this just has to be moved into the How-To forum.

[never Ender]

(cool) by far the best interior paiting.

[sgryzko]

Wow that looks really good! I should try this on my car but I dont really have that much patience.

[RiceWagon25]

You can also continue on like I did with my interior. I built up 3 coats of clear let it fully dry for 24 hours, and then wet sanded the pieces with 1500 grit sandpaper. I did this until the pieces were glass smooth, I then polished it with a standard meguiar's polish, and then gave it a good coat of wax. Finished product has a very mirror like shine to go along with the new interior color.

[N2OInferno]

That's cool. I thought about waiting a while and then getting out the rubbing compound, which is basically liquid 1200 grit sandpaper, and making it perfectly smooth.. However, if it's really smooth and glossy and mirror like, it's also going to have more of a tendency to reflect sun in my eyes, lol.

[Bijou-MP5]

very nice work1!!

[RiceWagon25]

...However, if it's really smooth and glossy and mirror like, it's also going to have more of a tendency to reflect sun in my eyes.
Just the way I like it...

[Maz_Speed13]

wow that looks really nice, great job and thanks fo rthe great how too.

[Mr. Win]

You can also continue on like I did with my interior. I built up 3 coats of clear let it fully dry for 24 hours, and then wet sanded the pieces with 1500 grit sandpaper. I did this until the pieces were glass smooth, I then polished it with a standard meguiar's polish, and then gave it a good coat of wax. Finished product has a very mirror like shine to go along with the new interior color.
this is best to get rid of that orange peal effect.

[MotegiMazdA]

Thanks for sharing!
Jersey is right, consider it moved :)

[Mspeedchica3.5]

wow that is great work i was thinkin about that but didnt think i would look to hot in a
yellow car!

[Shorebroke]

Well, I started this mod, but i started kinda late, so i didn't get all pieces done. I was helping out my friend do his pieces first, and than i got jealous, so i started on mine. I was only able to do the piece around the gauges, and the window switch panels. I went with white to match the exterior. Now i know it may be hard to keep clean, but it's soooo perrty. :) I plan on finishing the rest this week, and i'll take pics of that too, but here's what i got so far...nothing too spectacular. The work wasn't too bad either, but it wasn't great either.



http://www.msprotege.com/members/Shorebroke/Drivers%20Side.jpg

http://www.msprotege.com/members/Shorebroke/White%20Gauge.jpg

http://www.msprotege.com/members/Shorebroke/passenger%20side.jpg

And here's the white seatbelt pads i got from Ebay....pretty nice IMO.

http://www.msprotege.com/members/Shorebroke/White%20Seatbelt%20pads.jpg

[sgryzko]

I'd like to do this to my car. Where is a thread showing how to remove these pieces?

[ZapWizard]

Has anyone ever tried vinyl dye, or Krylon Fusion on these parts?

I have used Vinyl dye and Krylon Fusion on tons of plastic parts for PC mods with good results, I wonder how good it would work for the interior pieces.

I guess if it sucked, the worst is I have to sand, prime and paint like normal.

[chkmgnt58]

actually i used krylon fusion and it worked great. one word of advice though, when you and ur girlfriend/wife/mom/whomever are painting these together, dont let them touch the peices. they seem to touch then before they're dry, resulting in a sanding and repainting of alot of parts. lol but yes krylon fusion worked like a charm on the plastic peices

[sgryzko]

Again, is there anyone who can tell me how to remove these pieces or just direct me to a thread that does so???

Any help would be appreciated.:)

[chicana28]

i painted my interior... i should get some pictures!! hmmmmm (thought)

[walternavy24@ya]

i painted my interior... i should get some pictures!! hmmmmm (thought)

[enigM@]

where'd u get the steering wheel cover?

[N2OInferno]

it's a wheelskins leather cover. you can get them all over.

[FlannelBoy711]

what is the stock color for the PR5 dash? like what color variation of silver

[N2OInferno]

what pieces do you wanna remove man? It's not really hard... I didn't have help I just kinda went ahead and did it myself.. I did ask for help on the door handles though..

the door handles have a screw that holds the whole thing in.. take that out and pull the "cup" part out and then you gotta unsnap the plastic part off that connects to the metal rod behind.. you'll see what i'm talking about.. it just clips on to that rod..
then get something and push the pin out that runs through the door handle and holds it and the spring in the "cup" and the handles are out.. I used a steel pen and pushed it out about 1cm.. and then used robogrips to pull it the rest of the way out..

the cup holder part.. just pull between the cup holders up and it snaps out.. unscrew the cup holder part from the silver part..

the center part... take out the glovebox.. open it up and press inwards on the front top and pull that out.. then at the bottom inside you gotta undo the little clip part on the left and then it just slides out of the right.. just pull it out.. then i pulled out the radio.. then you gotta follow the hard wires to two white clips and take those out.. one is on the right under the driver's side dash, and the other is on the left under the passenger's side.. you can only get to it with the glovebox out.. then you gotta unclip the other connections to the HVAC.. then pull out the center and unscrew the HVAC part from the center panel.. then unscrew the vents from the center panel.. the hazard light just clips in and out..

the door garnishes just clip on.. just gotta pull it up and disconnect the clips.. then you gotta unscrew the switches from the silver part.. that's all the pieces I painted..

[Lil Freek]

^^ you got pics for that?
sorry. i'm just crazy visual!

[ZapWizard]

^^ you got pics for that?
sorry. i'm just crazy visual!
There are images in the guide I posted

[sgryzko]

There are images in the guide I posted
Do you have a link to this guide?

[TheJackyl]

Ya wheres the guide at, I can't follow type without pictures lol

[N2OInferno]

Next they'll be asking for someone to come do it for them. ;)

Here's the link. http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58027

[N2OInferno]

Also.. Don't do this unless you can give yourself at least ten hours of sanding time alone. Extra time in there if you mess up. It takes a LONG time to get everything perfect but if you don't, it'll end up half ass.

[sgryzko]

Next they'll be asking for someone to come do it for them. ;)

Here's the link. http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58027
Man that procedure is too complicated for me to even attempt(hand) (huh). Say, could you just fly up to Canada and paint my interior for me?;)(lol2)

[TheJackyl]

I did had my old interior all painted, pix are up at www.cardomain.com/id/thejackyl it was pretty good. I just wasn't sure how to get the parts off in this one. With that one it was just a couple screws pretty much self explanetory. I just didn't want to assume anything an break something in this one.

[ZapWizard]

Do you have a link to this guide?
Doh, I sware I cut-and-pasted it...
N2OInferno got the link though.

It's not that hard to take the stuff apart, it looks complicated because I did a detailed guide.
I have taken mine apart at least five times now.
One more time soon to start painting stuff.

[Devilspawn]

nice how to... I'm almost done...

how hard is to get the handles out and once they are out are you supposed to still be able to open the door just by pulling on the rod. If so, then I think my back ones broke or the rod is no longer in place...anyone else have this problem? I haven't touched the front ones yet for fear of breaking them too...don't want to turn the car into the General Lee just yet :)

[Lil Freek]

ok.. so i've started disassembling everything.. but i can't get the door pods out.
i see the metal wire.. but i can't get it to let go of the door handle...
do i need needle nose pliers to make it let go?

and i also can't get the vent from the driver's side out... i have the one from the passenger's side out... but the other one won't pop out the same way... any help?

[ZapWizard]

ok.. so i've started disassembling everything.. but i can't get the door pods out.
i see the metal wire.. but i can't get it to let go of the door handle...
do i need needle nose pliers to make it let go?

and i also can't get the vent from the driver's side out... i have the one from the passenger's side out... but the other one won't pop out the same way... any help?
It took me forever to figure out the door handles.
But you need to twist the white part off.
Or, you can tilt the handle, and fit it through the hole, then remove it after you take the rest of the door off.

[Lil Freek]

can you take a pic of what you speak of??
i unscrewed the screwed... i have the pod of the handle dangling out.. i just can't get the handle to let go of the metal cable.
there's a little black tab that goes through the handle part, i can't get that thing to let go.. is it just a "pinch with pliers and it'll let go" thing?

edit: don't rush with pics or anything.. i'm not doing the rest tonight. i have centre console and the HVAC almost done (4 coats of paint, 1 of 3 coats of clear) i'll do the rest of the pieces next weekend.

[hello2000]

hey if anyone doesn't want to attempt this, then buy it from here for only $18.99 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2475010876&category=33705

[Nutari]

I did this.. very pleased with the result.


its on my car domain page in my Sig.. go lookie

[ZapWizard]

i have the pod of the handle dangling out.. i just can't get the handle to let go of the metal cable.
there's a little black tab that goes through the handle part, i can't get that thing to let go.. is it just a "pinch with pliers and it'll let go" thing?

The only image I have is this:
http://www.zapwizard.com/car/locks/12-guts.jpg

Basicly I sliped my handle through the mountin hole, then dis-connected it.
But if you don't want to do that, there is a little white tab holding onto the rod, you twist this counter-clock wise (or towards the car) once it lets go, you pull the rod down out of the handle.

[Lil Freek]

hmm.. well.. i think i understand what you mean. i'll try it again later.
but for now.. i'm done.
i've painted the hvac and the center console.. turned out pretty good.. not too glossy, but nice and crisp.. cost me CDN$30 for all the materials (3 cans of super high grade plastics spray paint)

[ZapWizard]

http://www.zapwizard.com/car/locks/9-Handle-Remove.jpg

I have a much better image for ya now:

[Giallou P5]

i need to know how to take everything apart, its not hard to paint i ust need to know where the screws are

[holokaustos]

Doh, I sware I cut-and-pasted it...
N2OInferno got the link though.

It's not that hard to take the stuff apart, it looks complicated because I did a detailed guide.
I have taken mine apart at least five times now.
One more time soon to start painting stuff.

(attn) Hey, just out of curiousity, would it be beneficial to maybe bake the painted parts in the oven (like around 250 F) for around 15 minutes or so? Would this make the paint adhere more or would it be a waste of time? And would there be a possibility of toxic fumes? (confused)

[N2OInferno]

i wouldn't

baking is for powdercoating. be patient and let it air dry

[holokaustos]

baking is for powdercoating. be patient and let it air dry

So you can't think of any benefit for regular paint? No way the process would make it better?

[N2OInferno]

I guess if you really want to try, go ahead.. But if anything melts then you'll be forking over a bunch of cash to Mazda. Spray paint isn't meant to be baked.. That's why the instructions on the can don't say to bake it.

The only thing I would do differently if I had to do it all again is paint my door handles black.

[johnnyB5646]

Mine turned out great and I think I'm going to go for the black handles like N2OInferno suggested as I haven't done them yet. Thanks for the How-To!!!

[holokaustos]

But if anything melts then you'll be forking over a bunch of cash to Mazda. Spray paint isn't meant to be baked.. That's why the instructions on the can don't say to bake it.

Then I guess I'll just make sure to do a good job to begin with and skip the entire baking idea. But how many coats of paint should I put on? And is it true that the more clear coats you put on the better it'll turn out?

[N2OInferno]

Not really the better it'll turn out. more like.. the more protected it'll be from scratches and such.. the color got, I guess, a bit richer and of course glossier after the clear was applied, as well.

[holokaustos]

Not really the better it'll turn out. more like.. the more protected it'll be from scratches and such.. the color got, I guess, a bit richer and of course glossier after the clear was applied, as well.

So how many coats would you say is enough? If you had it to do over again, would you put more coats on?

ALSO... has anyone heard of SEM paint? The other forums all rave about it for interior painting and say that it's the most durable and good-looking paint to use...

[N2OInferno]

i wouldn't do it any more coats than i did. I think I used one base coat and two or three top coats.. i think three... check the initial write up..

i might put one extra coat of clear on it, but i still have no chipping or anything so it doesn't really need it.

[TJM]

this is really good trust me my friend did it to his galant and it looked like shit fingerprints everywhere and smudge marks and he put it in so fast that the change in the changeholder made imprints of lincoln's head all over it looks TERRIBLE

[MazdaSpeed05]

Does anybody have pictures of alot of the interior painted like more than just the center console?

[walternavy24@ya]

i hope these pics help!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MazdaSpeed05]

They helped alot, thanks! But may i suggest to add an extra look to your interior paint your rear view mirror yellow aswell.

[holokaustos]

They helped alot, thanks! But may i suggest to add an extra look to your interior paint your rear view mirror yellow aswell.
Yeah, already thought of that. Will be doing mine to match the painted interior; once it's painted, of course! (lol2)

[speedhawaii]

nice job

[L8R]

imo, just take it to a professional to paint it.

the results are MUCH nice and better. im happy i did that.

just my 2 cents though

[TJM]

any one have pictures...of an Forest Green Protege with an interior painted...thinking of doing mine but i dun't no wat color would look good...I'd love to see what some1 else did..BTW that blue looks SICK (in a good way) =)

[snooky]

i hope these pics help!!!!!!!!!!!!!


hey man how'd you do the leather on ur stearing wheel?

[holokaustos]

hey man how'd you do the leather on ur stearing wheel?
(hmm) Um...if you're talking about walternavy@ya, with his yellow steering wheel, then I'm pretty sure it's just a steering wheel cover, which blends in very well.

If it's not the one, then which one are you talking about?

[N2OInferno]

It's a cover made by wheelskins. http://www.wheelskins.com/

[walternavy24@ya]

they cost 35 buck!!!!!!!good cheap mod. i dont recommend the yellow and black two tone its hard to keep clean....

[N2OInferno]

or maybe it's just your hands are really dirty! :D

[snooky]

they cost 35 buck!!!!!!!good cheap mod. i dont recommend the yellow and black two tone its hard to keep clean....

how do u put it on, is it just a cover, cuz it looks like it has lace thread.

[holokaustos]

or maybe it's just your hands are really dirty! :D
I don't want to know why they'd be that dirty... (jerkit)lol

[N2OInferno]

You lace it on there.

[Familia323]

for those of you who painted yours a long time ago... How is it holding up now? Does the sun affect anything? Does it get tachy when it gets hot in the summer?

Also does anyone know of any good paints to use on the interior that arent glossy, like say a semi-gloss or something more along the lines of a brushed aluminum color?

[N2OInferno]

Still perfectly fine for me. No wear marks or anything and it definitely hasn't been taken care of very cautiously or anything. Dust likes to get stuck to it but it's also not perfectly smooth since it was rattle canned. No problems here. :D

[sgryzko]

Would it be the same procedure for painting the mazda emblem? How would it stand up to the weather?

[N2OInferno]

I don't see why not. I've seen entire cars painted with Krylon before so it should be okay.

[sgryzko]

Good to hear because it's already done. I just have to put another couple clearcoats. If I like the look of the emblem, I'm going to paint some of the interior pieces. The paint I used was just like the one in the how to, only annodized red instead of blue.

[sgryzko]

The clearcoats are done too. For you guys who have painted your emblems, what is the best way to re-mount the stock emblem?

EDIT: Found it!
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80835

[clownphish]

The pics to this How To aren't showing up on my comp anymore. Can anyone tell me what color the plastic is under the paint? I painted mine annodized red a while ago (just over stock silver) so I never sanded it down all the way. Now I'm looking at a red CF kit since my paint has faded (my fault, not the paint quality). I just need to know how much ground work I'm gonna need to do b4 I install the CF overlay b/c it won't look too good over the current paint. Thanks! :)
http://www.msprotege.com/members/clownphish/jpg%20p5%20int%20ps%20controls.jpg http://www.msprotege.com/members/clownphish/jpg%20p5%20int%20main%20cluster.jpg

[Lil Freek]

the plastic is gray if I remember correctly.
I'm gonna redo mine too... chicky in my local club does car painting, so i'll get the full clearcoat with my custom paint :)
Hopefully it'll last longer than the demicoat of clearcoat i have now (boom05)

[RedKatanax9]

Can't see the pics in the how-to. :(

[RedKatanax9]

For removing the factory plastic silver colors, wouldn't using a corser grid wet sandpaper make the process faster, maybe 200/300 grit??

[Rism]

The pics to this How To aren't showing up on my comp anymore. Can anyone tell me what color the plastic is under the paint? I painted mine annodized red a while ago (just over stock silver) so I never sanded it down all the way. Now I'm looking at a red CF kit since my paint has faded (my fault, not the paint quality). I just need to know how much ground work I'm gonna need to do b4 I install the CF overlay b/c it won't look too good over the current paint. Thanks! :)
http://www.msprotege.com/members/clownphish/jpg%20p5%20int%20ps%20controls.jpg http://www.msprotege.com/members/clownphish/jpg%20p5%20int%20main%20cluster.jpg




Damn what kind of paint is that?

[hamidrizvi]

we need pics up again...plz :(

[tricky]

bump..pics anyone???

[snooky]

[QUOTE=N2OInferno)

hey man can you re-post the picx they donts show when i open the page, thanks~

[hello2000]

I done this a while ago, but never posted pics of it. here ya go...
http://www.gulfcoastspeed.com/upload/files/interorshot(dirverside)small.jpg

http://www.gulfcoastspeed.com/upload/files/interiorshot(front)small.jpg

[snooky]

wow man that looks really good!

[bigj884]

i need pics in order to do this how-to plz re-post them....

[anarchistchiken]

I'm in the process of painting some pieces right now. I'll post pics soon.

[joka1]

what pics do you want to see, i have a bunch lying around from when i repainted everything(almost) in my interior including dying my headliner.... so just post what you want and i will find them
rob

this is what i have now but it has gone through many changes, i will just have to look throgh my pics from a yr or so ago......

[bigj884]

just bascilly pics to go along with the process which was described....in taking the stuff off and painting and priming....

[anarchistchiken]

It's really not that hard dude. Just follow the written directions and TAKE YOUR TIME! I hurried mine along and the finish in not nearly as smooth as I hoped it would be. The direction really are easy to follow just from reading though.

Pics of my finished product.

[BaD_HeX]

I just used black vinal dye on all interior pieces I wanted to paint. All the pieces done look like they came like that stock. After saturday I will post some pictures.

P.S. That dash pad in front of the passenger seat is a !@#$ to take off. There are like 5 screws to remove that require you to be double jointed or remove the whole dash to get at. After putting it back on there is still 1 screw that I couldn't reach to put back in. Looks real good black though.

[djsthe1aolcom]

hey man, i was getting ready to paint my center console (around the radio) and was wondering if you had anymore tips before i go pulling it all out. i have a blue that i have painted some other stuff with so im using that to match everything. do you know of a good clear coat to use? i have read all the posts and nothing says about a kind of clear coat. well any suggestions would be great! email me at djsthe1@aol.com, thanks!

dave

[bonesmp5]

has anyone done the bottom halves of the doors in a different color other than silver ??

there is a member who did his in silver (grey) and it looks great -- but any other colors done ??

[RenzoMSP]

I like the stock silver trim, but I always wanted to see the trim painted Titainium like my car. I think that would look hot.

[bonesmp5]

that would look good -- but i want to see the hole bottoms done -- if i find a picture -- i'll show what it is i want to see :)

[EcLites]

Everyones finished products look awesome.
Is everyone using Plasti-Kote?

[rdmp5!!]

heres mine, minus the little strip in the center console and all the other pillars. i used duplicolor fabric and vinyl...works great.

[capnsavem]

heres mine, minus the little strip in the center console and all the other pillars. i used duplicolor fabric and vinyl...works great.
what kind of mats do you have?

[rdmp5!!]

Weapon-R, got em from a buddy of mine that manages NOPI of Augusta, Ga.

50 bucks.

[RBD402]

guy's pls post how to remove the peices to be painted.. i juz want to make sure i wont break some panels or mess it up.. tnx! pls help..

[rdmp5!!]

to remove the thingy around the guage bezel, there are two screws under the upper portion. Remove those and pull towars the steering wheel, it should pop out. The pillars just pop right out by just pulling on them. Pull up on the part around your shifter and you will the be able to take out the boot and plastic strip that goes down the middle of the console. Just IM me if ya have any trouble!

[julius77]

If you read the whole thread all of the answers to remove your interior pieces are here. I did this over the weekend and it went smooth. Others have said it and it is so true, do not rush things. Next be sure to be smart where you paint. You don't want anything getting on your nice paint job. I had some floaties on the top of my cupholder - had to resand and start over. I went with a metalic silver for my interior. I wanted to stay as close as I could to the original interior. I just got tired of looking at the faded cupholder and few other imperfection in the interior (who ever had it before me didn't treat this car right). Here are some pics.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e243/mdschilpp/2.jpghttp://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e243/mdschilpp/3.jpghttp://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e243/mdschilpp/1.jpg

[99ProtegeKV]

i hope this works, im about to do it to my window area things. to try it out... white.... who knows if it will look good. lol

[99ProtegeKV]

i just realized that the plastic covering the window switches, isnt a flat plastic, its like fake leathery. (in a 1999 protege LX) will this still work? or if i do sand it will it become flat?

[BinoMP5]

possibility on getting some pix?

[99ProtegeKV]

ok i just finished them and put them back on and they actually worked out ok. i mean obviously its not professional, it came out alright. i had a lil problem when i went to spray on the clear coat... the paint started to like, crack. it was weird. but then i just sprayed a light layer of more paint and it was alright.. in the one pic u can kinda see it. i just put them back on and they look pretty good. just gotta be careful with them..next is the door handles... any other suggestions of where to paint?

[BinoMP5]

noice! i might do mine flat black or red... idk yet... red and black interior!!

[99ProtegeKV]

red and black interior in the electric blue 3? well yea these actually make me enjoy my sand tan ugly interior. it helps a lil. cause i deffinatly cant afford an interior swap lol

[Wojtek]

good job(ps those pictures are HUGE!!!)

[99ProtegeKV]

wow they really r. lol ill try to make em smaller.

[BinoMP5]

laser blue protege5, my friend!! wish i had a hatch3!! everything will match.. the seats, harnesses and LEDs!! it'll look good when i'm done, sirs

[99ProtegeKV]

set up some pics mannnn bwhen ur finished

[fishdonotbounce]

I'll post some pics up for you guys of my newly painted interior. Turned out absolutely amazing.

[Demo]

Does anybody know what works best for Midnight blue mica (22A)?

[Demo]

bump for my question.....

[marcs_sp20]

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm43/marcs_sp20/SP20%20pics/11072009162.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm43/marcs_sp20/SP20%20pics/11072009163.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm43/marcs_sp20/SP20%20pics/11072009165.jpg

They may not suit everyones tastes, but I see it as the little things that count. Not bad for a father-son DIY job :p They didnt turn out as we planned, with years of amorall treatment, it had inbedded in the paint, so when we went to put a coat of blue on, it turned all blotchy. We decided to sand back to bare plastic...