Painting center console - question - which parts to PAINT and NOT-paint
 

I know you can paint whatever you want... but my question is - what parts of the center console are normally painted.. whether it's from bumperplugs.com or the guy doing it himself in teh garage...

here is why I ask... I have my car in the body shop to be painted for a minor collision. i have asked about having the center console painted, and to get costs down, I took it out, totally disassembled it down to it's components, took off all the clips, etc.

I have provided them the following parts"

1) the actual console - big long piece.
2) the little piece that wraps around the brake lever / drivers side and snaps into the console
3) the center piece that contains the window / seat heater buttons
4) the ash tray
5) the two plastic side pieces that snap onto the back of the console/s sides..

I *know* I'm going to have # 1, 2, 3, 4 painted.

I'm curiosu about #5. if you aren't sure what area I refer to in #5, see this pic below.

http://986forum.com/forums/attachmen...achmentid=9459

see in the pic...on the right hand portion, there is that large space right beneath where the console lid is...there are actual black plastic pieces that snap in there..they are normally black. even on my car with the full leather interior, those pieces are not covered in leather, they are just plastic pieces that snap on.

I could leave them black, OR I could paint them. you don't see them that much, as it's somewha hidden behind the seats, but when you are in the car sitting, I think you'd see it. it might look good. I"ve searched this site, and google, and don't see any pics that show any cars with this part visible in the pics - so I can't even see examples of it painted/unpainted.

I'm not sure if it would look better to have that black - to add more contrast with the black / ocean blue - or if it would look better to have that all painted....

I'm assuming that when you buy a kit from say, bumperplugs.com - this section is NOT painted...

would you guys paint that section or leave it black?

I got my painted console from Bumperplugs, and those pieces below the console lid were not painted. In fact, when he sends you the console, those pieces are not even on the console that comes to you....you have to transfer the ones from your console to the painted one he sends you.

I personally never even noticed it until you mentioned it, and do not notice them being black in the car, as you never really look straight down at it. Up to you whether or not to paint it, as I don't think it makes much of a difference either way. In the pic below, you can see a small corner of the piece below the lid. As you can see, once the console is in the car, you can barely notice it because it is blocked by the seats, and I have that passenger seat moved all the way to the back too...
http://i45.tinypic.com/nv4djd.jpg

part of why I ask this is - how much they charge me will be tied to how much I paint. I'd like to keep my costs down. this is a third/toy car and i'm ONLY doing this b/c the car is in teh shop and I figured, I might as well do it now..as I would not want to pay the full ~$400 to get it done from bumperplugs...

I likely can shave off some more costs if I opt to NOT paint that rear section... and if you don't really even see it... why bother painting it.

out of curiosity - when you get a center console through "bumper plugs" - does that also include painting the ashtray and the little piece that surrounds the window /seat heater buttons, or is that a separate piece/charge?

thanks!

23109VC,
I also have a dark exterior color and when I painted my console I did not paint the rear side pieces. As Boxtaboy states, you can barely see them because of the seats. The front side pieces I covered in leather. I have the ashtray delete tray and I left that black since I thought tossing keys, etc. into the tray would eventually scratch the paint. PM me if a picture might help.
If you do paint your console make sure the patch of felt on the seat belt buckle receptacle is intact. It's there so the receptacle does not scratch the console as the seat slides back and forth.

Regards,
mike

Yep, when you get it from Bumperplugs, it includes painting of the ashtray and the piece that surrounds the window/seat heater buttons. He charges you extra only if you ask for the ashtray delete tray. The cost is all relative I guess, since if you order your console painted from the factory, it's like $700 bucks, so $380 is not that bad, and they do come to you painted flawlessly. I've had mine in for more than 6 yrs already, I think, and not one scratch on it. I'm sure if you're good with a paint gun, however, you can do a good job too.

thanks for the input guys! I'll be sure to post pics when I get it back..early next week I hope!