Painting Interior Plastic

[nubuilder]

Well, I have some good news.

I found a donor Suburban with almost all the parts I want. I just can't get the window switches (driver's would have 4 windows on it). But I'm getting the dash trim bezel, all the air vents (6), inside door handle trim, overhead console, pull-out cup holder, and the floor air deflector (not painting it, just need one to modify for my custom center console).

I'll be picking these up on my way to the Black Bear Performance meet the end of April (or sooner if I get antsy/the time to do so).
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DarrenWS6, thanks for the info and I'll be waiting to see the outcome of your test on your tail light.

 

[DarrenWS6]

DarrenWS6, thanks for the info and I'll be waiting to see the outcome of your test on your tail light.

Its still a project lamp but I got a few new photos posted on my thread in Paint and Body.

Congrats on that doner vehicle!

 

[Zembonez]

Having a donor makes this a lot more fun. You can experiment and paint away now! We expect pics.

 

[nubuilder]

Finding a donor is nice, but there won't be much experimenting except for on the backs of some of the parts. I'll have to wait and see.

I would really like to work on them, but I just don't have the time to make an extra 5.5 hour trip to get them. I'll just have to wait until my BBP tune the end of April. Oh well, at least I'll have something to do while waiting (but I'll probably be looking at everyone else's trucks anyways).

There are 2 paint supply shops in town. I'm just going to check them out next week and see if they carry Bulldog, SEM, and Dupli-Color (extended product line).

Don't worry, there will be pics! Lots of pics!
It just might not be until June when I'm out of school, but we'll see. I'll probably get some free time somewhere and have an urge to paint the stuff.


On a side note, I can't believe how hard it is to find a 97-02 4L60E 4x4 for $150-250 for a rebuild. Everyone wants $350-450 for ones that "work, but has 100k on it". But I've expanded my search both in distance and in prospective vehicle. I'm now looking at S10's and Blazer's (along with the usual Suburban, Tahoe, and full-size trucks) from the same years (they used the same tranny).

 

[64shortbed]

here are some pics of my trucks dash and door panels and above consol. i painted them with engine dress up paint. the silver is a cast coat aluminum and the goldist green color is a cast iron. both are dupli-color engine enamel ceramic paint.

 

[nubuilder]

Looks good!

I'm assuming you have a gray, silver, or black truck? And a '97? - Was the passenger airbag an option in '97 or was it standard by then (I know '96 didn't have it)?

That is almost exactly what I want to do. The only difference is that I'm going to paint the entire dash trim bezel Emerald Green except for the buttons and button mounting pieces (just like you did, leaving them black). I like the black you left on the overhead console (nice two-tone to it) and how you painted the passenger airbag are. I was thinking of doing something similar. I was thinking of just the rectangle cover, but I like how the factory lines separate the are off from the rest of the dash. I think it would look unbalanced with all the green on one side of the dash.

How did you prep the air vents and get in all the corners?
Does the passenger airbag area you painted come off or not?

 

[64shortbed]

Looks good!

I'm assuming you have a gray, silver, or black truck? And a '97? - Was the passenger airbag an option in '97 or was it standard by then (I know '96 didn't have it)?

That is almost exactly what I want to do. The only difference is that I'm going to paint the entire dash trim bezel Emerald Green except for the buttons and button mounting pieces (just like you did, leaving them black). I like the black you left on the overhead console (nice two-tone to it) and how you painted the passenger airbag are. I was thinking of doing something similar. I was thinking of just the rectangle cover, but I like how the factory lines separate the are off from the rest of the dash. I think it would look unbalanced with all the green on one side of the dash.

How did you prep the air vents and get in all the corners?
Does the passenger airbag area you painted come off or not?

mine is a 97 and its white with a black bottom. as far as the air vents i poped them out and took them aparts and painted them and put them back together. and the pasanger air bag i just taped off and painted it in side the truck. and i dont think the passanger airbag was standard cause ive seen some with out it i believe

 

[nubuilder]

Thanks for the info on the airbag. I think in the SUV's it was more common to see the passenger airbag. I'll have to see if my donor Suburban has it or not (it's a '96 though). Might be another part I need!

I definitely do like the two-tone look. I just don't think I can do anything that will look good with my truck. I think it would look good to leave the vents tan. It would be nice for the dash, but then all I would be painting on the passenger side would be the very thing trim around them. Plus I wouldn't be able to paint the side defrosters for the windows either. I guess I'll just stick with painting them green. But I definitely like the idea of painting the entire airbag section.

 

[nubuilder]

A local shop has SEM adhesion promotor. Is $9.99 a good price on it?
The guy recommended sticking with SEM for the paint too, but I'd like to use Dupli-Color.
Shouldn't that be fine?

 

[phoenixracer2010]

Hey im in the process of doing the same on my blazer and just got off the phone with my mechanic and we have a shop up the road from were the shop is i will pm you the type of paint that i will get for my project.