Paint your own center console?

[truegearhead]

Has anyone ever painted their center console to match their exterior color? I know you can buy them for $500 bucks but I'd rather just take mine to a paint shop along with a few other pieces. Has anyone done this? Any suggestions on what paint to use? Pedro this would be an awesome DIY article for the brave!

[Flavor 987S]

Owners here have done thier own, but you can't beat Bumperplugs quality and customer service. Eric is one of the very best vendors to the Porsche community. With his core exchange program, you could be done by mid next week, too. High price and higher value.

[986_c6]

I would like to know about diy routes also...always think that painting plastic parts would chip or flake, even after good layers of primer.

[healthservices]

The hard part is getting the rubbery paint off

[Bmod986]

Don't mean to stray from the main point of painting, but vinyl wrapping the center console is a cheap alternative. I will be vinyl wrapping my console soon in gloss white aluminum to match the aluminum door handles. Look at 3Ms vinyl wrap i got a free sample pack and the stuff if pretty good.

[tommy986]

where did you order your 3M vinyl wrap?

[Bmod986]

Originally Posted by tommy986

where did you order your 3M vinyl wrap?

i got the sample pack from:

3M Graphic Solutions - Request Samples, Graphic Film and Overlaminates, Commercial Graphics US:****Request a Product Sample

It has there whole selection and im still deciding where to buy it from trying to find the best prices. I will let you know were I get the best deal.

[feelyx]

I think this would be the best option.
Eclipse Your Car - transfer

[blue2000s]

Originally Posted by truegearhead

Has anyone ever painted their center console to match their exterior color? I know you can buy them for $500 bucks but I'd rather just take mine to a paint shop along with a few other pieces. Has anyone done this? Any suggestions on what paint to use? Pedro this would be an awesome DIY article for the brave!

1) Pick a paint color that you like. Matching colors to Porsche's in spray cans along with compatible primer and clear coats can be found online
2) Remove the soft touch material by sanding
3) sand the entire surface with a fine grit paper, 400 or so
4) prime then sand, 400 grit
5) color then wet sand, 1500 grit
6) clear then wet sand, 1500 or 2000 grit
7) polish with increasingly fine rubbing and polishing componds, 3m makes really good stuff
8) wax

[Banana S]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

1) Pick a paint color that you like. Matching colors to Porsche's in spray cans along with compatible primer and clear coats can be found online
2) Remove the soft touch material by sanding
3) sand the entire surface with a fine grit paper, 400 or so
4) prime then sand, 400 grit
5) color then wet sand, 1500 grit
6) clear then wet sand, 1500 or 2000 grit
7) polish with increasingly fine rubbing and polishing componds, 3m makes really good stuff
8) wax

I just painted my inner door sills this weekend, and I would suggest a small revision to the instructions above. The rubbery "soft touch" material dissolves with 91% rubbing alcohol. To remove the material more quickly, I "wet sanded" the surfaces with 150 grit sandpaper and 91% rubbing alcohol, wiping off the residue when I changed sandpaper squares. Once all of the "soft touch" material was gone, I then wet sanded the surface again using 220, then 320 grit sandpaper, again using the rubbing alcohol as a lubricant.

I didn't want a glossy finish, as I was just trying to match (more or less) the existing black plastic trim pieces inside the car, which have a little bit of texture. So once the sanded plastic was down to a greyish sheen, I then painted it with a simple all-in-one "primer + paint" matte black spraypaint, using 4 or 5 thin coats (I lost count). The sills turned out better than I expected.

[Tomikaze]

Just thought I would add to this... i found that MAZDA SUNLIGHT SILVER from 2003 is a bang on match to the Alumalook trim in my car.



That's only a few coats with no sanding or clear. I'll post photos of my finished piece soon.

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by Tomikaze

i found that MAZDA SUNLIGHT SILVER from 2003 is a bang on match to the Alumalook trim in my car.

IDTS. That does not look like a color match to me.

[Tomikaze]

Maybe the photo doesn't do it justice. After a few coats, sanding and clear coat it's going to be hard to tell a difference. The metal flake content is the similar. The shade of silver is very close. That test piece is rough and flat with no clear.

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

IDTS. That does not look like a color match to me.

[achillies]

03S . Bought an early console from Woody (no soft touch). Primer/Sand/Primer/Sand/Paint with rattle can from AutomotiveTouchUp/Cleared/Sanded w/1200/Last layer of Clear

It is good, not perfect but cost less than $90.

[Tomikaze]

Look good.

Originally Posted by achillies

03S . Bought an early console from Woody (no soft touch). Primer/Sand/Primer/Sand/Paint with rattle can from AutomotiveTouchUp/Cleared/Sanded w/1200/Last layer of Clear

It is good, not perfect but cost less than $90.

[Tomikaze]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

IDTS. That does not look like a color match to me.

IDK... looks pretty close to me.

[Geof3]

Originally Posted by Tomikaze

IDK... looks pretty close to me.

Looks spot on actually! Nice work!

[thstone]

Take a look at these:

Guards red painted and grey vinyl interior parts - center tunnel, horseshoe, etc

center console ideas

[since95]

I was going to paint my console but I decided to vinyl wrap it instead. I think it might hold up better to wear and tear than spray paint. I think the wrap was $10 on Amazon. The shift knob I did paint, 3 coats of color with 2 coats of clear. I also decided to try my hand at a little leather work too.

Sent from my SM-J700P using Tapatalk

[dghii]

Looks pretty cool. How hard was it to wrap? I like the idea for sure.