Interior Painting Question

[NOS2006]

I've searched through the site and I'm only wondering why nobody seems to have painted the armrests and the lid to the center counsel...?

[meissenation]

I have. The center console is a soft plastic. The weight of your elbow resting on the console will cause problems with the paint... atleast it did for me. It could've been I didn't let the paint cure fully, I let it sit for 48 hours before reinstalling it, but who knows maybe it needed more time. The most recent pics I have doesn't show it, but here's one:

[Red]

i painted mine also. I only regret painting two things, the center console top and the shifter knob. I let mine sit for about a week and it looked great at first, but when it hit 90+ if i touched it it got sticky and looked like crap. The rest of the hard plastic looks great still and wasnt sticky, just the softer rubber pieces.

I loved the way it all looked, but now i have to get a new shift knob and console top.

Also, the reason you dont see much besides the hu plate and the vents is because most people like it with a little paint. I personally thought mine looked awesome with the whole center painted. I also did the vents and hu plate. Will do a little to the doors later on.

[oh my Goth]

im working on my passenger side arm rest and center conole right now. the first time i tried it everything seemed fine and looked great but they didnt seem to dry. the console started looking like crap because the paint was cracking a bit and it was kind of sticky. same thing with the arm rest, it was sticky. so im doing the center console for the third time now and i dont know what im gonna try this time. this is the second time im doing the armrest and im doing it different so hopefully i can finally have it painted without being sticky.

[NOS2006]

Let me know how it goes, OMGoth...

[1DangerousV6]

yeah the soft plastic is pretty hard to paint..i tried to do mine but it didnt work out right so i stripped it..theres a certain kind of paint you can use..or something before the paint..but i forget what its called..i had all the rest done pro for $75

[FlamespikeMST1]

you can apply glazing putty to the top of your armrest. wait for it to harden up, sand it down, apply again to fill in any pin holes,sand again, primer and paint. it will give it the fiberglss look though, but thats about the only way i know to paint soft plastic and let it last

[oh my Goth]

and where might one be able to get this glazing putty? this seems easier than what im trying to do.

[NOS2006]

Yeah, where can that be bought? Home Depot or Lowe's?

[FlamespikeMST1]

sorry for my absence, but yes it can be picked up at any hardware store, autoparts or body shop store, its mostly used to fill in the tiny pin holes left in bondo, reletively easy to use as long as you read the instructions, and doesnt have any issues sticking to plastics.
after your first layer hard sand with some 200 grit. lay another layer, then with some real fine paper go to town, use your hands as your "smooth tools" just like feeling up your first woman, pay close attention to detail.
primer and paint. easy as pie

[oh my Goth]

does any prep work need to be done or should i just go ahead and put it on? ill give this a try when next week when schools out. has anyone here done this before? i would like some help or tips you guys can give me before i do something stupid and mess it up again

[FlamespikeMST1]

the only thing i would suggest in prep work would be to clean if off real good, then alcohol the surface and air dry whatever your gonna putty.
tips....read the directions and be patient, lol
not really all that difficult

[Red]

here is a pic of mine. You can see on the shift knob that it got sticky and didnt stay perfect, it is a little hazy and darker. The center console isnt that bad unless your up close. I just learned to have my hand in my lap instead of elbow on it. I also did the vents and stuff, but you cant see them.

Too much to some people, but i love it.

[FlamespikeMST1]

i like it, doesnt seem to be too much, the console looks very similar to what it will look like with the glaze over it, very shiney

[dmw319]

ive never been into painting the interior. :/ but thats just me.