Extreme Makeover: NB Interior

[jbthompson]

Hey everyone! After being inspired here and wanting a new interior on my car, my EXTREME MAKEOVER has begun! My car is a silver GLS with gray leatherette. Too much grey for me on the interior, kind of boring. I am converting the interior to an all black interior like a turbo s or color concept. I don't have a lot of money to spend so purchasing new panels is not an option, so I'll be painting.

I will be painting the lower door panels front and rear, drivers knee bolster, glove box, center console and armrest. And too top it all off, a new black leather shift boot I'll be posting pics here as I go so you can see the process. I am planning on having everything removed and painted by Friday!

[jbthompson]

Began with the back panels. Hard to get out, but thankfully I didn't break anything. I also removed the plastic along the door sills and will be painting those as well.

First step, sand the rubber crap off the pieces--this took over and hour per rear panel!!!! Tried nail polish but had to do wet sanding. I don't think I got all of it, but I think I got enough of it to make it work. My dog was no help at all I'm doing all of this on an apartment patio, so not a lot of room.

The door sills don't have the rubber junk, so just pull out and paint!

[jbthompson]

I finished painting the back panels and the door sills. I used wrapping paper to mask the silver trim---use what you got! I am using Duplicolor Dash and Vinyl paint, about 6 dollars a can. For some reason both cans of paint I got had HORRIBLE nozzles, the paint did not come out very smoothly. I used about 1 and a half cans on the back sections and the door sills. I am not putting as much paint in the back simply because I've never had any back seat passengers except my baby and she doesn't really care.

Total time from removal to paint drying: 5 hours. Enjoy! the next pieces are the glove box and knee bolster. I have to keep driving my car this week so the door panels and center console will come last! I will be lettting the pieces dry for about 10 days before they go back into the car to keep the smell down. I like my brain cells thank you.

[GINA]

That looks good!

[Billsbug]

U have my interest but ur pictures suck.

How does the result compare with the upper dash pieces, does it look factory OEM? IMO painted plastic can never look like a good as color extruded plastic...

[rawr]

Very interesting! Have thought about this myself, but I'm worried that it won't be durable enough.. Especially the bottom left corner of the center console where my knee rubs against all the time.
More pictures please

[EvilinaDM101]

Yay! You started!! Our pics look similar with the wrapping paper! You gotta do what ya gotta do! Can't wait to see more!!

Bills-

As soon as I get home I'll pull off one of my door panels and put it on the dash for comparison and I'll snap a picture. It's really close (IMO)

[Oyveychris]

More pics!!!!!

[EvilinaDM101]

Originally Posted by jbthompson

My dog was no help at all

Mine weren't either!! Isn't there a class at Petsmart or something we can enroll them in??

Dogs interior painting 101

[niki]

This may be a stupid question but I see you painted your speaker cover too. Did you cover up the speaker inside so no paint seeped through and got in the speaker?? I would assume that might happen.

But it looks great. Can't wait to see more!

[EvilinaDM101]

Originally Posted by bmxbugzzi

This may be a stupid question but I see you painted your speaker cover too. Did you cover up the speaker inside so no paint seeped through and got in the speaker?? I would assume that might happen.

But it looks great. Can't wait to see more!

Not to answer on JB's thread but once you pull off the door panels the speaker is still in the car. So no paint is ever near the speaker unless you paint the inside of the door panel I don't know why you would though . . . .

[niki]

See, I knew this was a stupid question... I am a natural blonde, you know!

So, it won't clog the little holes in the speaker grill then?

[EvilinaDM101]

Originally Posted by bmxbugzzi

See, I knew this was a stupid question... I am a natural blonde, you know!

So, it won't clog the little holes in the speaker grill then?

It didn't when I did my panels

[GatorBeetle]

Originally Posted by bmxbugzzi

See, I knew this was a stupid question... I am a natural blonde, you know!

So, it won't clog the little holes in the speaker grill then?

Not unless you hold the spray in the same place for like 30 seconds...not a good idea...

[scarabY2k]

Hey JBT,
I'm liking what you're doing to the interior. looking schweet mang. Looking foward to seeing the final results. Props to you for working with what you've got and where you're working at. Love the dog by the way

[jbthompson]

Thanks everyone. Like evilina said, no problem with the speaker grills getting clogged. The speakers and the top door sill are somehow fused into the door so their not removable. I'll post more pics tomorrow, I'll be painting the passenger side door, glove box and drivers kneo bolster tonight.

[jbthompson]

Okay, I'm back after an evening of deconstruction and painting. Last night I did the passenger side door, glove box and drivers knee bolster. This was by far the hardest part so far. This project is much bigger than I thought!

Upon removing the glvoe box and knee bolster, there are screws that are not shown in my hayes manual which led me to disassemble more of the dash than I thought I had to or wanted to. I'm very much a hobbyist, and the most mods I have done was to paint my door handles, so this is a little intense.

[GINA]

Originally Posted by jbthompson

The speakers and the top door sill are somehow fused into the door so their not removable.

Not unless you take a flathead screwdriver and pry the crap out of it


Don't do it, it hurts when it shatters in your eye.

[jbthompson]

Okay, here we go. I sanded off the rubber crap off of the drivers knee bolster, glove box and passenger door. I wet sanded these pieces, and since I don't have a yard and hose, the bathtub worked well The sanding is the most challenging aspect of this job, it takes a LONG time and I am finding that the textured plastic is very hard to get all of the rubber crap off. I spent probably 4 hours sanding and maybe 1 hour painting.

As you can see in the pictures below the painting is complete on these pieces. I am disappointed in the glove box, I got a weird texture on it while sanding and it looks a little strange, I may redo it later--don't have time right now.

I don't know if anyone else is using Duplicolor Vinyl/Dash paint, but I've had four cans of it and the nozzles SUCK! I am having the hardest time getting it to come out smooth. There are a few darker spots that you can see in the right light because of this, but I think it's okay.

[jbthompson]

Okay, tonight I'll be doing the drivers door, center console and armrest. That should be it, I'll be letting the pieces dry for a week (I hate the smell in my car and I'm going out of town). I'll hopefully return triumphant tomorrow! Let me know if oyu have thoughts/questions!