DIY Interior Panel Prep & Paint

[mothersuperior]

This is meant to be a rough guide on how to prep and paint your interior panels in case you're interested in going the DIY route. Picked a nice afternoon to do this.

The paint was wearing off in different spots on the center console and gearshift surround of my Japanese runabout. I was quite annoyed at having to see the blemished areas daily so I decided I had to do something about it.

Why DIY ?

I could've taken the easy way out and left it at the paintshop but I thought this would've been do-able.

Anyway, it's nice to not have to think about work or anything else and just engage in pure, mindless handwork for a couple of hours.

What You Need

400 grit sandpaper wet/dry

1500 grit sandpaper wet/dry

2000 grit sandpaper wet/dry

Some dollops of dishwashing liquid

Dishwashing sponge

Isopropyl alcohol (optional)

Microfiber cloth

Primer

Paint

Clear coat (if you want it shiny)

You can get these at your local hobby store or most good hardware shops. Shouldn't cost you more than $35 in total.

Prep

Preparation is paramount as to how the panel will turn out in the end. Patience is also key. Don't rush the process. Ever. It will show in the end.

Process

I sat in me bathroom with the console panels and proceeded to rub it down with the sponge and some dishwashing liquid. This process helps to remove traces of protective sprays or other car care products you may have used in your maintenance routine. You may also wish to purchase some isopropyl alcohol from your local pharmacy to strip the traces of protective sprays or products.

Once you're done with cleaning the panels, leave it wet. Wrap a strip of 400 grit sandpaper around a small wooden block. Wrapping the sandpaper around the block helps to make the sanding process more even.

Proceed to rub off the existing layer of paint. Make sure you do this well as any trace of paint left on the panel may cause the fresh primer/paint not to adhere.

It's good to wash off the grit resulting from the sanding process every now and then with some fresh water.

Take a look at the panel on the left after sanding. This is a borrowed image because I forgot to take a photo of my panel during this process. )

Priming

Once you're done with the wet sanding, use the microfiber cloth and dry the panel.

We're ready to do the primer layer now. Choose a nice, well ventilated spot to do this. Remember not to breathe too much of the fumes :Cry:

Take some newspaper and lay it on the ground. Don't place the panels too close to each other. Spray the first layer of primer in short, even strokes. Don't worry about covering the panels entirely. Remember, build your layers slowly. Light mist coats are what you want to achieve. I use Tamiya primer and it takes about 5 mins to dry to the touch and about an hour to fully cure.

Approximately 4-5 light mist coats will allow you to achieve this result.

Post Primer Wet Sand

If you run your fingers over the perfectly dry to touch primed surface, you're likely to find it somewhat pitted and rough. Take it back to your workspace (in my case the bathroom) and use 1500 grit sandpaper and some water to lightly sand the surface. This helps to take the roughness off the surface. Remember, don't rub too hard. You don't want to remove too much surface primer.

Once you find the surface smooth enough to the touch, proceed to dry the panels with the microfiber cloth. As a precautionary measure, you may choose to clean the surface with some alcohol before we hit the spraybooth again.

Paint

Time to slap on some paint! After all the hard prep work, you've gotta be happy to arrive at this stage.

Again, apply the same instructions as the primer layer. Spray the first layer of paint in short, even strokes. Don't worry about covering the panels entirely. Remember, build your layers slowly. Light mist coats are what you want to achieve. I use Tamiya paint and it takes about 10 mins to dry to the touch.

This is what the panel will look like after approximately 5 layers of paint.

To be continued...