Plan on painting interior trim peices SILVER

[John V]

I just finished my console / ashtray / ashtray surround painting project. I'll try to snap some pictures tomorrow. I stripped the factory "soft touch" paint and the underlayer of dimple-texture using 220 grit and then 400 grit wet sandpaper. Cleaned with soap and water then alcohol. I built up several layers of primer with standard rattle-can high-build primer, and sanded it smooth with 1000 grit paper.

Painting was done using a rattlecan of Arctic Silver mixed by Paintscratch.com. I used four light coats of paint, and then sanded lightly with 1000 grit to even the finish. About six light coats of clear followed by two heavy coats of clear, then let it dry for 24-48 hours depending on my buddy's free time (he did a LOT of the work since he had so much previous experience painting model helicopters).

I then sanded the clear coat with very fine paper. Not sure of the grit, but it was just coarse enough to knock off some of the top-layer orange-peel - maybe 1500-2000?. Final sanding was done with even finer paper (the stuff feels like a sheet of printer paper, it's so smooth). Finally I used compound and a microfibre towel to remove any fine sanding scratches.

We then applied clearbra to the areas of the console near the seatbelt receptacles as well as the ashtray surround since it sees a lot of finger traffic.

Overall it turned out excellent - probably not to the standard of Eric the plug guy's product, but for someone who can't afford his prices (which given the labor involved are WELL worth it), it looks phenomenal. Pics to come shortly.

[djomlas]

yea do post the pics, id like to see this

[John V]

Originally Posted by djomlas

yea do post the pics, id like to see this

Here are a few.

[CJ_Boxster]

WOW that came out really nice, If i were to see it inperson i would assume its factory. Now all thats left are the door peices and the rest of the dash.

[ohioboxster]

Wow is right. I never dreamed that it could look that nice. When I hear about people painting interior trim I dont picture that.

[John V]

Originally Posted by ohioboxster

Wow is right. I never dreamed that it could look that nice. When I hear about people painting interior trim I dont picture that.

Thanks for the positive comments, guys. A friend who has a lot of experience painting models helped me out with this project. You just have to take your time and have good attention to detail. We both agree the pieces turned out great - very high gloss.

The only other pieces I may paint are the "wings" that house the convertible top / defroster / etc buttons. Also thinking of covering the armrest lids with leather, but that'll probably have to wait.

[insite]

i did my vents, airbag strips, guage pod, door-pull trim, etc. it was a HUGE pain in the a$$, but it looks awesome. this is the only pic i have here at work.

[djomlas]

yea dude wow is the word.
im gonna be doing mine soon, so ill be posting pics as that goes along.
im not gonna be doing silver, ill be doing the aluminum color
and wow that red one had wayyy too much red going on in thre, maybe even to the point of being distracted? just a little tacky for me. BTW, how did u paint the airbag strips?

[98Boxster98]

I pretty sure, dj, Ocean Jade Boxster owners are forbidden by law to identify other Boxsters as "tacky."

[John V]

Originally Posted by djomlas

im not gonna be doing silver, ill be doing the aluminum color

From 1997-2002, the interior "aluminum" look stuff was actually Arctic Silver.