a buddy of mine is going to be painting his dashboard (the upper part that meets the windshield). what kind of paint and prep work needs to be done to do this properly? i know it's not like painting parts on the console since the material is different but i figure someone here will know.

Easiest way is to take a bucket of water and a little bit of dawn dish soap, clean the dash completely (if youve used armor-all, do it a few times because the reisdue will be hard to get off), dry it and let it air dry for a few minutes. Tape off the parts you DONT want painted. When it is completely clean and taped off take some vinyl paint that you can get from autozone, meijers, walmart, ect... (I personally use the Dupont brand) and apply it in thin coats, allowing about ten minutes between coats. After three of four coats you should be good to go. Make sure the temp is above about 65 or the gloss can look a little messed up and you'll have to get the paint can warmer to mix it right (let it soak in warm water). The only problem Ive have seen with the paint is if you arent careful it can scratch kinda easy. Ive tried wet sanding before but it didnt help much. But the good thing is the scratches have been able to be touched up very easily. If you need anyting else jus lemme know man.

What I did was took one of those scowering pads you use to clean your dishes and scrub it clean with soap and water and then dried if off and whipped the area I wanted to dye with acetone to get off any oil and residue, because that is what will cause your vinyl dye to chip or peel.

Make sure not to touch any part of the dash while tapping it off. If you do just hit it back up with acetone.

thanks for the help guys.

when doing this guys it is 100% necessary to remove the entire dash or just paint while in the car??

i don't see why you couldn't leave it in the car as long as you taped everything off that you didn't want painted.

ok im gonna jump in on this one, since I did it for a living. DONT leave it in the car, unless you're not a picky person, the angle it takes to get the front of the dash with the windshield in the car is near impossible. We had to pull the windshields out of the old school buicks and shit that you couldn't take out. Here's my ex-girls mustang which came out incredible, and you couldn't scratch the paint off with a screwdriver (yes i tried on a spare panel)

1. After removing the panels use a wax and greace remover (acetone) but be careful how strong it is you don't want to melt anything, and using laquer thinner can spread the factory die and just make a mess and ruin the pannel.

2. Use an adhesion promotor. You can find them at any paint stores, they use them for prepping plastic bumpers, chrome trim, etc. I used Bulldog adhesion promoter on hers. I did 3 coats, it comes out clear and will dry leaving the panels with a wet look.

3. Spray your color. I used a PPG exterior paint, and it covered nice and smooth. Didn't use a primer, since the adhesion promotor said it would not require it.

4. Clear it, and your done, once again I used exterior grade paint, no spray can dyes.

BTW the adhesion promotor can be found in aerosol cans, or in a can to be sprayed through an air gun.

Here are some pics of her's just to show you how it comes out.








also a pic of mine, i didn't do the dash, and don't have any really good pics but still gives you an idea.

nice pics and info, thanks.

gosh damn...that is sexy...R34 u roxors!

That mustang trim looks damn good and its due to proper prep work. I have drove down that road...interior dye and I would never do it again, imo its just plain tacky. oem colors are the best.

-EE

that's very impressive work R34. where can the average guy source this stuff from, though, b/c I don't have a shop to order supplies like PPG from. I may want to do this someday if the interior ages too much.

one good thing about our interiors, the plastic never seems to crack like I see on other cars. my dash still looks like new. I do use a UV protectant on it though.

I used a diluted mix of Simple Green degreaser, then washed with dawn, and let air dry.

Then I used SEM Color Coat Vynil Dye. Worked great, and never scratched off. For hard plastic surfaces, its best to use the SEM Adhesion Promotor. I did mine in Satin Black, and it turned out looking stock, although in a custom design.

when I painted my interior I used acetone after washing the panels 2 coats of a plastic paint from home depot and 3 coats of spray on clear i think it looks good

no clear on this one
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sorry no offence but SEM blows, we used to use it and it was hit or miss really. I've taken a key and screwdriver to the test panels i did and can't scrape it off, just leave surface scratches in the blue from the mustang. It's pretty tuff i promise you. When I used SEM if it wasn't laid out perfect you would kick yourself in the ass. My biggest suggestion though is don't go wild and paint everthing in the car unless you don't plan on being in it much because no matter what you use it will age faster than normal interior. Thats why I went with OEM black with red trim, and in her's left as much stock tan as possible.

You can get the materials at any local paint store, SOMEONE will carry it, sometimes you can find the bulldog or similar at advanced, but I've never tried the other brands. The paint, you will be best off with a good brand, maybe try a local body shop they may sell it to you or reference someone. If not you can order online as well.