interior painting question

[Chuck Burt]

how do you take off those panels that cover the power locks/windows buttons without taking the wires with them?

[darkthoughts5000]

mine came off with a flat head screwdriver. it was on there with only 2 clamps, be careful not to break anything though. takes a gentile hand... something my wife tells me im not to good at with my car at times. the wires are gonna have to come out if you want it done right... but dont be afraid. if you got that far, its not hard to do. they are simply put in there by connectors, use the flat head screwdriver and carefully detach them. the buttons are also gonna have to come out but thats easy too. just use you handy-dandy screwdriver again, and take those off as well. before you do any disassembly though, it might be a good idea to mark what goes where... if you dont have a photographic memory that is. i engraved a "W" for window on the window button and connector. and then i also marked "L" for lock on those peices. youll only have to worry about 2 connectors on both sided... the driver side window buttons are one piece and as such, only have one connector. keep everything in an open space while you do your painting, then when its all dry, assemble everything very carefully. scratching something would really suck at this point since your so close to the end. everything back on, you ready to impress. hope you had fun reading my little novel here and i hope it was informative... class dissmissed :D

[Chuck Burt]

cool thanx any other parts that come out real easy?

[darkthoughts5000]

the side passenger and driver vents come out extremely easy!!! the front panel also comes out easy , but the traction control and fog light buttons need to come out, but dont worry, if you already did your window/lock door panels, then this is a snap. the connections are exactly the same... clips and all. the most trickey part ive had so far is the interior panel of the steering column. you know, the part closest to the actual window for your speedometer. theres probably an actual term all the rocket scientists at GM use, but for now, its the "interior panel of the steering column" dam*it!!! that sucker is just a pain in the... well you get the picture. probably the easiest way to get it out is to totally remove your steering column. me though, i just fiddled with it and removed a plastic cover on the left side of the steering column. its directly behind your turn signal... trust me, where the seems are, it comes off. unscrew the 2 screws on the underside of the panel, and then pull forward and rotate left. be very careful as even tilting the steering wheel all the way down doesnt help much. youll even have to bend the sucker to get it out (hence the reason why i said to be careful). after its out, its also a sucker to get back in... which the carefulness will have to be 10 times more as you dont want to scratch the paint. but once in, it looks great. a painted interior makes everyone who gets in your car compliment it... unless you chose to go with the color pink. which if you sell mary kay, all the power to ya. :D