Repaint Dash...?'s

[kmbkk]

OK, I picked up an 02 EP3 recently. The interior needs to be redone (including carpet, headliner, door panels, etc..). The previous owner painted the dash pad white (to match the exterior) and the dash pieces red. It really looks ricey so I'm going to redo it all. I've never painted a dash pad before, does anyone have any thoughts on this? I know I'll need to clean it first. I've painted cars before, but never interior pieces, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/kmbkk/th_IMG_0044.jpg?t=1275252890
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/kmbkk/th_IMG_0045.jpg?t=1275252890
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/kmbkk/th_IMG_0046.jpg?t=1275252890
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/kmbkk/th_IMG_0048.jpg?t=1275252890
http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx322/kmbkk/th_IMG_0038.jpg?t=1275252890

[kmbkk]

Bump...anybody?

[Chromium4500]

Man, that just sounds awful! Pics or ban.

LOL! Sorry, but I really don't have anything useful to offer. I REEEAAAALLYYY want to see this abortion though. pwetty pwease post pix?

The best idea I have is to take it to a professional body shop. They may be able to strip the paint off without damaging the plastic underneath? Is the dash flat or does it still have the parallel line texture that you can see/feel through the paint? If the previous owner who abused your poor EP3 that way sanded the crap out of the dash before painting it you will have no choice but to just paint it a less terrible color combo... like back to black...

Seriously though, pictures.

[sirsol66]

Your best option would probably be to either strip the paint off and dye the dash, or flock it. Flocking would be pretty cool IMO, i've seen it on a few subarus and its a really unique (in a good way) finish.

[dirtyduck17]

OK, I picked up an 02 EP3 recently. The interior needs to be redone (including carpet, headliner, door panels, etc..). The previous owner painted the dash pad white (to match the exterior) and the dash pieces red. It really looks ricey so I'm going to redo it all. I've never painted a dash pad before, does anyone have any thoughts on this? I know I'll need to clean it first. I've painted cars before, but never interior pieces, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've never used this product myself but I heard of it doing what you need done. It's called "Get Off Clean" from Go Clean Products. The chemical was originally introduced to remove highway stripe paint from vehicle paint. They have a guarantee to work without damage to paint, glass, rubber or plastic. They only caution the use of it on head/tail lamp plastic because it can cause fogging.

Heres a link to research yourself. LINK (http://www.gocleanproducts.com/about.php)

[kmbkk]

Pics added.

[dirtyduck17]

Holy Rice-a-roni dude!!? Good luck.

[VIZHUNZ02SI]

what color is that
is your hatch lamborgini orang and white?

[juan martinez]

Oh god, my eyes, they hurt now. So sad. Best thing to do, just trash it all and order all new clean interior.

[kmbkk]

Oh god, my eyes, they hurt now. So sad. Best thing to do, just trash it all and order all new clean interior.

That's pretty much my plan. I've located a donor car and can get almost all the parts for $500.

[kmbkk]

what color is that
is your hatch lamborgini orang and white?

No, the car is just factory white. The dash is white and dark red.

[kmbkk]

My original plan was to strip the paint off. However, the more I think about it the more I'm tempted to just change out the dash pad.

[EpThreeD]

I'm not sure but can you sand it down, smooth it out, primer, and repaint it?

[kmbkk]

I'm not sure but can you sand it down, smooth it out, primer, and repaint it?

I can, and that's one option I'm looking at doing.

[introvert]

Some of the stereo installers I had working on my car a while back managed to break both door handles and gouge up the little silver covering pretty bad. After purchasing new handles and door handle covers, I decided to try painting the gouged up covers to see how painting worked with the plastic.

I picked up a can of Rustoleum Gloss Black Plastic paint. It said that no primer was needed. I have to say that the paint job didn't come out nice. I cleaned up the handles with dish soap and water, dried, waited a few minutes prior to applying the paint. It was difficult getting an even coat because the paint wouldn't adhere to part of it and bubbled or dripped too easily on other parts. I even gave it a second coat to see if it would improve, but it didn't.

Decided to sand it down using medium/light sandpaper. First I got it down to near base then I used a light sandpaper to remove the remainder of the paint. Sanding it ended up bringing up plastic fibers. Couldn't figure out how to get rid of those so I ended up using lighter and lighter sandpaper to try and smooth it out. Gave it two more coats of the Rustoleum. The paint finish improved somewhat, but the sanding gave it a texture that wasn't very appealing. I ended up just throwing them away and replacing them with the new covers I bought.

Not sure what kind of skills or paints you have at your disposal, but if you do want to paint I'd have to second the vote for dying it. Some kind of paint removal other than sanding might leave you with a paintable base, but that's still a gamble. Otherwise I would suggest just replacing it for the best outcome.

[talonXracer]

I think you will be FAR HAPPIER if you just got the replacements at a salvage yard or where ever you found them. You will never be able to get that dash pad to ever look good again, the center console can be sanded down and painted, a darker grey would look far better, or strip it and get the oem accesory Cf overlays.

[maksym]

You can try this... http://www.flickr.com/photos/one9us/sets/72157611507515699/, for the dash!

[02_epdriver]

WTF!!!! Best to get the the dash you lookin at. What was that guy thinkin? Ugly or fugly, LOL.

[StraightEP3]

Im saying go for a replacement interior @ 500.00......you'll save time and probably money in the long run. Good luck man, keep us posted on the progress.

[username011]

Black is so boring..Id keep silver but dump the gray silver and get a brighter silver like bmws have for their trim, that is what I painted on mine and it looks great and refreshes the whole car..plus EPs are known for their silver trim when I drive it in video games I can always see the silver trim in the interior and its just cool.