If you use the duplicolor metalcast the base coat for it is a silver that matches factory silver almost perfectly. Looks great if you want the same color inside as outside. If your tib is silver that is. Thats the silver I used on my interior and It's held up great for almost 2 1/2 years now. No fading or chipping.

PS it also matches the factory silver accents on RD2's interiors well enough that you won't see the difference with anything less than having the sun inside the car with you



Cupholder and shift indicator are painted with the basecoat here and the ac controls/clock/knobs/vents are all factory.

 

Sorry for bringing up an old thread but could someone make a sticky on how to paint your interior. I know its somewhat straight forward but i've been lookin through all the th reads on it and am getting mixed answers and people are doing lots of things differently. I want to paint my dash basically exactly like NightShark. Very high glossy black. I don't want my paint like the last pic of the pillar gauges in yellow where you can see the pores and looks not smooth at all. No offense to the guy who owns that car. So basically im just wondering how to paint to get my dash lookin exactly like nightsharks...im guessin it deals with lottts of sanding.

 

^^It's all in the technique, temperature and humidity. If you follow directions on the manufacturer's can and use a high quality clear coat like duplicolor or shriners you will be set.

Too much paint = runs and sags

Too much humidity = pores

Too high temp = dull paint

Too little paint = rough surface or showing through.

Too Low temp = shriveling of the paint

Too little humidity = dull paint





Just sand it down to 800, no need to go any higher because a light coat of most paint is about 600 grit or so. Apply some adhesion promoter as the can directs, apply paint as can directs, and apply clear coat as can directs. 2 light coats = you can still see through the paint. medium-wet coat = kinda shiny.

 

Hmm...when i actually get myself to do this I will probably be annoying the shit out of you guys. Im the kind of person that doesnt want to screw up and just do it right the first time. If i do this in the perfect conditions it should turn out like nightsharks (ive wanted what NS had forever but for some reason never saw it as glossy and nice as his. I wish he could tell me what he did exactly, probably the same as what your telling me though)...oh and what about the sanding after each coat i heard about from redz i think it was in another thread?

 

It's not necessary for a good finish, but it helps. you must make sure it's fully dry and use 1-2000grit sandpaper lightly. I wouldn't do it if you're spraying with cans.

 

Oh, I'll be spraying with cans. I dunno, I guess i'll just really take my time and try to do it it in the ideal conditions.

 

k so i went to a specialist. for one a heat gun will heat it up but those arent the right type of rays for the paint to dry. he didn't reccomend me to use it and especially keep it out of the sun cuz the uv rays arent good for it to dry in. he said the best thing to do would be to take a fan a put it in front of your parts and have it blow the air away from the parts.


<<<<---------(air)<<<<<--------- OOOOOOO(fan)OOOOO XXX(parts)XXX <<<<-----(air)----<<<<

get it?

so suck the air over the parts. the only other way is if you have one of those special lamps they use at the store to dry the paint fast to check and compare color.

and another tip. buy car clear. it cost me 35 bucks for a quart with hardener.(compared to 5 cans of clear for 5 each). benefits are if you get a fuzzie or something, and believe me you'll atleast get one, you can wet sand and buff it out to glass finish, where as the clear stuff duplicolor make will, believe me i tried, will not come completely clear/scratchless.

oh and if you do go with duplicolor clear, dont get engine enamel. its not meant for that purpose. painter said its not meant for uv rays and any sunlight that will hit it will affect it(thats why the enamal stays under the hood out of the rays. so a tip if you do go with the enamel, get some 5% window tint.

and believe me give the parts their time. i tried reinstalling 3 hours after last clear coat when i lost patience and did it in the winter(turned out like s**t) and ended up leaving smudges, and stratched it cuz it didn't completely harden. but after a week that crack was hard as a rock. so just give em some resting.

last thing be careful. i found out the hard way. w/o the light dimmer plugged in my lights automatically turn dimmest as possible, so just plug it in and tuck it up somewhere. that goes the same for your heat. just hook up the parts for the time being that way you can hit up air conditioning etc.

one more thing, lol, if you're doing the side panels, yes that passenger door is a beotch with that texture but trust me its worth the effort. i spent three hours on it. (id get home from work at 11pm and go to work, i dont really sleep much. A.D.D.) sanding wise if they're textured go ahead and start with the 100 grit(kinda wish i'd of gotten 60 grit though) and sand your heart away. then i hit up 220.(220 is what i started all other parts with.) then go to the magical 320, 400, 600,(800 if you want but not really necessary.) trust me and do the wet sands up to atleast 600. my first time around i was a cheap idiot and strictly did the 220 only and oh boy that was an interesting finish. yes there were fine lines. so wet sand that crap. quick diy wet sand= soaking the sand paper in water for like 10 min before using it to sand)


voila. good luck and wear a paint mask.

 

Thanks. I'm still not entirely sure what you mean with that diagram. I might just be completly missing something but when you say "take a fan a put it in front of your parts and have it blow the air away from the parts." your saying to put it in front and blow over but ur diagram has the fan behind the part blowing the air away and then u have like a continuous current coming back to the front of your parts...? i think im just picturing it differently that you but i think i get what your trying to say to do.

 

yeah so instead of blowing the air at the parts, blow it away from the parts. a good example would be a car paint booth. all the fans they have suck the air out, but then again one could say, "thats to get the fumes out", true but its also part of the drying process. in a sense its sucking out the components in the spray paint that keeps it in liquid form so that it'll evaporate into the air faster, thus quicker drying.

oh and the clear coat im going to be doing i got from napa good priced and the air spray gun im using i got from harbor freight for like 8 bucks. it hooks up to a compressor im going to borrow. or if you want to they even sell a "plug into the wall paint gun" on sale in the start of march for like 15 bucks. your choice. but dont rush the coats and remember you can have the best of materials but a professional isn't know for their painting skills but for their prepping skills. dawn soap and water is king

 

2 things... you can skip the 320 grit sand-paper, that's just using too much sand paper. And wet sanding means sanding and keeping the surface wet. If you soak the sandpaper for 10 minutes before using it, you will just reduce the life of the sandpaper and not get any benefeits of wetsanding after the water dries. the idea is you keep the sandpaper's grains opened up by washing away the dust with the water. It makes the sandpaper last longer and lubricates the surface.