Interior car Tuning

Although aftermarket interior modification parts look nice a custom look is within reach if you are prepared to put in a little effort and paint the interior yourself.

Preparation is the most important part in any paint work.

Whatever is between the part and the paint (i.e. chips, scratches, grease etc.) will show through the layers of paint.

That said, some colors are more forgiving than others.

Take your time. The final job will last longer if you spend longer over it in the first place. Good preparation is VITAL!

Ok, first things first, you’ll need:

1. Time. I can’t stress enough how important it is not to rush things.
2. Paint, this will no doubt be in aerosol form. You will need some plastic primer (also known as adhesion promoter), base coat (you can use normal car paint) in whichever color you wish to paint and some lacquer (gloss or Matt, it’s your decision.)
3. Something to ‘key’ the part. In the trade we call it scotchbrite, it’s basically a rough pad used to remove the shine from a panel, and it leaves fine scratches for the paint to sit in/grip to. You could use something like 1500 grit wet and dry paper for this, but probably the best thing I can think of would be the rough part of a washing up sponge.
4. Warm soapy water, or preferably a solvent based cleaner (something like white spirit – if you use this, wear gloves).
5. Hot air gun or a hairdryer. This just makes life easier.
6. If you can get one, a Tack cloth. This is used to pick up any little hairs/bits of dust both on the panel before painting and on the paint during painting. You can make do without a tack cloth, so don’t worry if you can’t get one.
7. A Mask, preferably a vapor one.
8. T-Cut or another finishing compound. And a soft cloth.

Now you have the materials needed, let’s begin…

Stage 1 – Preparation

Remove whatever part you plan to paint. Be careful not to scratch or damage it, you’ll only be making yourself more work.