Alternative interior options

[ph0en1x]

Okay so in my car, the interior isn't very vibrantly black, and of course its old but it just scratches way too easily when Im working in it, and buying a new dashboard(since mine is cracked) and new door panels, etc, are far too expensive to justifyably purchase at this point in time, What other options do I have to keep the interior with the black textured OEM stock look, without having to buy every part brand spankin new? IE. is there any kind of resurfacing and painting process I could do that would last and look right? Or perhaps sheets of some sort of material that I can coat the whole interior parts in to look nice? I've looked around on some forums and haven't been too lucky finding info about this, but I figured asking would probably help and I could get a lead on something.
What sucks is that I bought a brand new console, and in a week of it sitting on the counter, and me putting it in the car, It's already got a bigass scratch on it. FML :( Expensive parts getting beat up so easilsy is not fun. Please Help! D: Thanks!

[ILoveMyRHS13]

You could always Flock your interior.

Give this thread a whirl, there are a few Flockings in there.
http://zilvia.net/f/chat/293805-interior-thread.html

[g00se]

You can vinyl wrap the interior, but I believe that it tends to crack unless you get the quality uv resistant kind. Try 3m I am sure they have an application that fits.

[5pecialist]

It is possible to buy professional dye (not the crap stuff in spray cans) in bulk and spray it through a professional paint gun. I've seen it done with great success, but you'd need to buy all the equipment to spray it and have a place to do it (I can't do such things in my complex's parking lot).

[Nick_04K]

At my local paint store they have some stuff in spray cans of TONS of colors for interior plastics and vinyls with samples next to it...They look like they worked well for them, I cant remember the name though. I personally have redone my entire interior with duplicolor satin black interior vinyl and fabric paint though. It looks perfect IMO, just like it was brand new factory black panels. I prepped all my stuff really well though. I used an industrial degreaser from the local home improvement store.. followed by some TSP (tri sodium phosphate) that you mix up yourself and then scrub the pieces with really well.. Then I gave the pieces 3 coats of an adhesion promoter (also in spray can) And then 3 coats of the duplicolor paint. It wasnt exactly cheap.. but for the way it looks i think it was well worth it.

[ph0en1x]

the main issue i have with any of these options is how well will they all hold up in the houston heat that i deal with. Im worried that vinyl wrap might bubble in the heat, or that paint might become dry and brittle, and then eventually chip off.

the flocking sounds like a good idea, but im by no means very artsy, and i feel that would take a very long time to do across all the interior parts, but may provide a good look

all in all, i think vinyl wrapping may be the most cost efficient option, but im scared of it holding up in the heat.

nick_04k - is it holding up for you well? Im pretty much looking for it to look like stock black interior, and if it worked for you maybe ill give it a shot. Did you do the whole interior and how much (roughly) did all the materials run you?

Thanks to everyone for all the help, this has been really insightful and opened me up to a lot of new possibilites :D

[lazysk8er2]

I used plastidip for some trim

[Nick_04K]

I honestly dont believe you would have problems with using the paint at all...Given that you prep it all in the same fashion i did. It's holding up extremely well in my car though. It looks exactly like oem plastic still...and the car has been outside in the sun all day everyday here. I have my dashboard, under dash pieces, kick panels, all front pillars, door panels, center console and pretty much everything else in the car coated with this stuff. Even the back seat...Its just in the car for looks and will never be actually sat in though. (same as most 240's) As for the price im afraid i cant help you too much though. It really depends on how much you spray..IE how many panels and how many coats. But the adhesion promoter and paint are both roughly $7 a can. Im guessing 2-3 cans of each could probably do all your front seat forward plastics. And the industrial degreaser and TSP vary alot on brand, size and store too.

[ph0en1x]

nick - any chance i could bug you for some pictures? id love to see the way it came out.

im sure it couldnt end up being more than 100-200 dollars for everything, which is a whole lot better than 1100 for a brand new dash and 700 for each brand new door panel :smash:

i decided to rule out the flocking idea, but vinyl wrapping is still a good possibility, as is painting. Any idea about how much wrap it would take to cover all the interior plastics? it would need the whole dash, door panels, back seat panels, all the pillars, console, ac trim, radio trim, and kick panels

[Nick_04K]

I dont have any right now..but the car is being finished up in the next few days and ill shoot some good ones with everything cleaned and in some good lighting. Definitely not more than $200. Probably alot closer to $100 for what you will need. I sprayed three coats of adhesion and color on eveything in the car though.. and things like the back seat needed 2 cans of duplicolor by itself haha. I probably should have just rite dyed it or something but i was just having too much fun with the paint!

[ph0en1x]

sounds pretty rad, cant wait to see it.

luckily i have a couple a pillars and the old console laying around the garage, so i can test these things out before i commit to either of them.

do you remember at all what kind of paint you used? like the name of it?

[Nick_04K]

Sorry for taking soo long. I've been super busy the last few days... I just took the pics barely though. Ill download them to my computer and up to here tonight hopefully!

[lazysk8er2]

1100 for a brand new dash and 700 for each brand new door panel

hmmm you must have like 400% tax rate in texas cuz ive never seen those numbers before if you find a parts car in good condition.

plus they sell new dash overlays for like 200 bucks shipped online

[ph0en1x]

i was referring to new parts straight from nissan, because its very hard to find door panels that are nearly mint condition.

ive found plenty of dashes for less than 200 and door panels around 50-75 each