Painting the interior

I just bought a Kenwood DPX 8020MD stereo and a Razo shift knob from this guy in Hong Kong, and both of them are "brushed alumimum" color, so I want to paint some of the stuff in the interior to make it match.  What kinda paint would I use?

[AceInHole]

I would wonder if you could get a "brushed aluminum" paint... LoL.  As for paint, they make an upholstry die and interior paint especially for cars but the ones i saw weren't cheap.  For plastic pieces I'd just use automotive paint over a good primer, then clearcoat it.  Worked decently on my S13 when I painted the trim....

[sspikey]

im curious if i sanded the dash down real well so that it becomes smooth not like the little leather print on it would it look cool?

[my240likenoother]

sand it lightly clean it with water no soap prime it and paint it make shure that it is in a warm area

I saw this spray paint that said "Silver Smoke Metallic" and it looks kinda like brushed alumimum, well, at least the top of the can did, it said it's for alumimum, and I was gonna paint the center piece down to the arm rest, and the two pieces on the door, (by the way, I got a 97), how do you guys think that'll look?  Any pictures of something you guys did to your cars would be nice for me to get an idea.  Thanks.

*the can is for exterior/interior, not alumimum, just wasn't typing rite

[AceInHole]

At most it'll look like silverish plastic.... I can't really picture that, let alone picturing it looking right. &nbsp;Guess there IS one way to find out <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

if nebody has pics of theirs painted they should post it. vancouvers14 has his done in red. i just want to do mine in a black black, cuz i've got a dark grey interior.

DO NOT ATTMEPT TO PAINT IT YOURSLEF...YOU WILL FUCK IT UP ONE WAY OR THE OTHER...HEEEEED MY WARNINGS.....nah..but i'd really suggest you take it to a profess. to do it...trust me you'll be more satisfy...unless you are really really good with paint...i know i messed my Shit up BAD BAD BAD....i'm lookin for a whole new center console...i think thats what you call it anyways...

[sspikey]

that bad? pics?

it's really bad when i have picture i'll post em...i thought i had masking tape really good around the unwanted parts...and i thought i smoothen it out pretty well...and i thought that my garage didn't have any bugs flying into it while the paint was drying..haha..it's jsut a pain in the ass...oh well guess the next interior i do paint i'll take more time to prep it up...

[sspikey]

the best thing is to stick them in a container of somekind. really works well. at least on model cars when i airbrush them <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

[West]

I just used some silver paint from pep boys along with some clear coat finish. Although it turned out kinda rough, not as smooth as I would have like. Let me know of what paint to get becaue I want to do it to my new s13.
http://www.zilvia.net/pages/rides/markwest/MW24-Interior1.jpg

[240booster]

#### WEST THAT LOOKS GOOD!!! I was wanting to go bright yellow and all i though i could do was buy the overlays so u mean all i really need is a can a paint and some clear coat. Do i need to sand the plastic down or just paint away?? TIN

[West]

Clean and paint away but I would look for a paint that is suspose to be used for plastic. I did 3 layers of Silver and 2 of the Clear just so you know.

[sspikey]

ive seen it a couple of times in mags they sell dash paint kits. dont know if theyre good.

[whateverjames]

if you've never painted stuff like this, do not practice on your car! (practice on someone else's) &nbsp;or find something you can mess up first to see what not to do. i bought the metallic silver and clear coat to do the same thing about 6 months ago right before the big meet in KC, and i totally screwed up the center console and, i put so much paint on, i could not sand it down without hurting it, paint thinner wouldn't phase it, i had to buy black paint and spray over it. &nbsp;so either get it done professionally or practice on your mom's car or riding lawnmower <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

My firneds told me, the trick is to spray from far away, like 3 feet, it doesn't matter if the paint doesn't cover it all the first, or second, or even third time, just keep doing it a little at a time would make it look good, and that way, you are sure it won't drip and mess up your dash. &nbsp;West, that looks REALLY good.

[my240likenoother]

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/013/61/Mu/IE/pr92759.jpg

just do like i said &nbsp;above

[vancouvers14]

that's mine...

http://wsphotofews.excite.com/011/dV/Im/Ne/Cu51621.jpg

[sspikey]

i like the flames on the sterring wheel

vancouver, how do you take out the part behind the door handle, i know there is a screw behind the handle, but after taking that out, how do you take the piece out?

can somehow please tell me, because I am going to do that right now.

[Jeff]

ha, i was trying to figure that out too, I can't take that #### door panel off.....

I was just trying a minute ago, and I just could get that piece off. &nbsp;I got a 97, and I was able to take out the windows control piece, and piece around the shift knob, but couldn't get the center piece around the stereo out. &nbsp;I took out two screws on the bottom and saw one behind the ashtray, and pulled out the fake buttons next to the rear defost and the harzard lights, and found one screw behind each of them, I took them all out and still it couldn't come out. &nbsp;Can someone tell me how to do that? &nbsp;I didn't install the stereo myself, and my friend did it for me, but he's away and won't be back til second week of January, and I want to do it now, since I won't have much time after the break is over. &nbsp;Thanks

[Jeff]

lol, i took that thing off so much...Ok, ill tell u from the beinning step by step...put the key in the ignition, and put your car into 1st gear (if u have an automatic) then lift ebrake. Then take that stupid middle part thing around your stick, then the whole airconditioning unit comes out, iit should just snap out. then disconnect the 2 things connected to the airconditioners. Then you pull out your ashtray.and you should be able to see all your scews u need to take out

[vancouvers14]

its 4 screws if i remember correctly for the stereo piece. &nbsp;you have to remove the door panel to get the door pieces off.

Jeff, How can the air conditioning thing come out when you remove the piece around the knob? &nbsp;The air conditioning thing is above the stereo

Jeff, I am not sure if you know I am talking about the 97, because the piece around the temperature thing is a separate piece than the stereo. &nbsp;this is really confusing the #### outta me.

[silviase]

Azn if you're looking for that show car finish you need
to wet sand it and clear coat it a few times then buff it
try to use a real clear coat not one out of a spray can
if at all possible

[vancouvers14]

if you want a show car look, get it upholstered.

[vancouvers14]

and everyone, just buy a fsm. &nbsp;theyre pretty cheap and it shows you how to do everything.

[sspikey]

FSM?

Couple more questions:

Do you think it looks better if I paint the air vents on the center white, ashtry white, and everything else red like Vancouver's, or should I go with plain red?

One more thing is if I leave the stuff outside to dry when it's like 30 degrees, would that be a bad idea?

Thank you.

[SRskillaDET]

240sx.org's group buy has that brushed alum interior kit, it's pretty expensive, but it looks better and is less of a hassle than painting

[my240likenoother]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from Azn GTR on 11:37 am on Dec. 29, 2001
Couple more questions:

Do you think it looks better if I paint the air vents on the center white, ashtry white, and everything else red like Vancouver's, or should I go with plain red?

One more thing is if I leave the stuff outside to dry when it's like 30 degrees, would that be a bad idea?

Thank you.
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>


no no no
you need to do it in a warm area like in a garage or in the basment needs to be warm or it wount dry right

[AZN GTR]

Someone please answer this:
Do you think it looks better if I paint the air vents on the center white, ashtry white, and everything else red like Vancouver's, or should I go with plain red?

[vancouvers14]

painting the air vents is very tricky. &nbsp;youll have to completely disassemble them to do it right. &nbsp;in the end, just do what you feel like. &nbsp;

you definitely need warm weather and a lot of patience. &nbsp;my interior took 30 hours, and i didn't do the vents or a lot of other pieces. &nbsp;your whole interior could take 100s of hours.

fsm= factory service manual. &nbsp;sold at nissan dealers. &nbsp;specific to your car and year. &nbsp;diagrams and instructions on every part in the car, every screw, every wire. &nbsp;mine was $65 cdn (95 240).

[sspikey]

thx vancouverS14. woohoo another canadian owner!