a brief interior paint how-to and some pics of my truck!
#1
09-07-2005
a brief interior paint how-to and some pics of my truck!
i wrote this writeup for some guys on rps, so dont complain if you see pics ive already posted here ;o)
so ive had a couple requests to do a writeup on interior painting.... i'm not talking about colormatched accents here and there... i mean the ENTIRE interior :o) i never really expected to do a writeup on this, so i didnt take too many "during-the-process" pictures but i'll try to explain as best as i can.
my truck interior came from the factory as a dark gray, with black accents. i decided i wanted an all-black interior with colormatched silver frost accents. i went from this:
to this (these pics were taken before it was 100% finished, some interior panels are missing):
Supplies:
-SEM Vinyl and Fabric Paint (8 to 12 cans should be sufficient)
-Bulldog (or duplicolor) adhesion promoter (4 to 6 cans)
-masking tape
-duplicolor colormatched small cans (depends on how much stuff youre planning on colormatching. 5 to 7 cans should do it)
-duplicolor clearcoat (3 to 4 cans)
-degreaser
-dishsoap, sponges
-rubbing alcohol
expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $200 for the supplies. (all that paint is pricey)
DO NOT use any vinyl and fabric paint other than SEM (ex: duplicolor v&f) I physically tested quite a few brands, and the SEM holds up FAR better than any i tried.
i pulled out every interior panel and painted it in my garage, EXCEPT for the dash, which i masked off and painted right in the truck.
As far as prepping is concerned, don't skimp on this step.
-spray down the part with a degreaser of some sort. scrub with a dish sponge. rinse.
-scrub the part again using soapy water (dishsoap works well). rinse. dry.
-wipe the entire part down with rubbing alcohol.
once the part is clean and dry, the painting can begin. try to avoid painting outside. i painted all the pieces i pulled out in my garage, with the garage door half-closed to allow for ventilation, but prevent too much breeze from kicking up dust anywhere. dust is your enemy ;o)
-following the directions on the can of adhesion promoter, do 2 to 3 coats. remember to keep the adhesion promoter layers very light, or they can create runs that can screw up the finish.
- once the part is prepped with adhesion promoter, spray a light coat of SEM vinyl and fabric spray. i'd suggest doing several very light coats, with a few minutes drying time between each one.
once i was done painting each part, i'd take it into the house. now, you dont HAVE to do this, but the results will be better if you do. SEM vinyl and fabric spray bonds increasingly well OVER TIME. for this reason, i didnt put each piece back in the truck when it dried, ESPECIALLY high traffic panels (like the door panels, kick panels, etc.) I left most parts out of the truck to dry for a minimum of 2 days before i reinstalled the part. some parts, like the lower kick panels, i left out for up to a week.
the dash wasnt too bad to paint. just make sure you take your time masking everything off. here are some pictures of the dash being painted, all masked off:
you can do the colormatching DURING the interior painting process, or you can wait till youre done. i did it at the same time. here are the steps i took for the colormatched pieces:
-sand the part down with 320 grit, then 400, then 600 wetsand, to a smooth finish.
-a coat or two of adhesion promoter.
-several LIGHT coats of duplicolor colormatched spray
-let dry for a MINIMUM of 1 hour
-1 very light coat of duplicolor clearcoat. let it get tacky for a minute or two, then hit it with a second HEAVY coat, and a third if needed.
i generally let these pieces dry overnight, and then reinstall in the truck the next day.
so thats basically it! if there are any questions, let me know, as i probably missed something from rushing through the writeup. i painted mine in march, and to date its holding up perfectly. the finish that the SEM leaves looks completely stock. people cannot even remotely tell i've painted the interior. be prepared for this project to take awhile. it took me about 2 weeks, since i'd pull a couple interior panels out every day after work and paint em. if you want to tackle it all at once, i'd say give yourself a minimum of 3 to 4 FULL days.
finally, here are some pics of my truck:
so ive had a couple requests to do a writeup on interior painting.... i'm not talking about colormatched accents here and there... i mean the ENTIRE interior :o) i never really expected to do a writeup on this, so i didnt take too many "during-the-process" pictures but i'll try to explain as best as i can.
my truck interior came from the factory as a dark gray, with black accents. i decided i wanted an all-black interior with colormatched silver frost accents. i went from this:
to this (these pics were taken before it was 100% finished, some interior panels are missing):
Supplies:
-SEM Vinyl and Fabric Paint (8 to 12 cans should be sufficient)
-Bulldog (or duplicolor) adhesion promoter (4 to 6 cans)
-masking tape
-duplicolor colormatched small cans (depends on how much stuff youre planning on colormatching. 5 to 7 cans should do it)
-duplicolor clearcoat (3 to 4 cans)
-degreaser
-dishsoap, sponges
-rubbing alcohol
expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $200 for the supplies. (all that paint is pricey)
DO NOT use any vinyl and fabric paint other than SEM (ex: duplicolor v&f) I physically tested quite a few brands, and the SEM holds up FAR better than any i tried.
i pulled out every interior panel and painted it in my garage, EXCEPT for the dash, which i masked off and painted right in the truck.
As far as prepping is concerned, don't skimp on this step.
-spray down the part with a degreaser of some sort. scrub with a dish sponge. rinse.
-scrub the part again using soapy water (dishsoap works well). rinse. dry.
-wipe the entire part down with rubbing alcohol.
once the part is clean and dry, the painting can begin. try to avoid painting outside. i painted all the pieces i pulled out in my garage, with the garage door half-closed to allow for ventilation, but prevent too much breeze from kicking up dust anywhere. dust is your enemy ;o)
-following the directions on the can of adhesion promoter, do 2 to 3 coats. remember to keep the adhesion promoter layers very light, or they can create runs that can screw up the finish.
- once the part is prepped with adhesion promoter, spray a light coat of SEM vinyl and fabric spray. i'd suggest doing several very light coats, with a few minutes drying time between each one.
once i was done painting each part, i'd take it into the house. now, you dont HAVE to do this, but the results will be better if you do. SEM vinyl and fabric spray bonds increasingly well OVER TIME. for this reason, i didnt put each piece back in the truck when it dried, ESPECIALLY high traffic panels (like the door panels, kick panels, etc.) I left most parts out of the truck to dry for a minimum of 2 days before i reinstalled the part. some parts, like the lower kick panels, i left out for up to a week.
the dash wasnt too bad to paint. just make sure you take your time masking everything off. here are some pictures of the dash being painted, all masked off:
you can do the colormatching DURING the interior painting process, or you can wait till youre done. i did it at the same time. here are the steps i took for the colormatched pieces:
-sand the part down with 320 grit, then 400, then 600 wetsand, to a smooth finish.
-a coat or two of adhesion promoter.
-several LIGHT coats of duplicolor colormatched spray
-let dry for a MINIMUM of 1 hour
-1 very light coat of duplicolor clearcoat. let it get tacky for a minute or two, then hit it with a second HEAVY coat, and a third if needed.
i generally let these pieces dry overnight, and then reinstall in the truck the next day.
so thats basically it! if there are any questions, let me know, as i probably missed something from rushing through the writeup. i painted mine in march, and to date its holding up perfectly. the finish that the SEM leaves looks completely stock. people cannot even remotely tell i've painted the interior. be prepared for this project to take awhile. it took me about 2 weeks, since i'd pull a couple interior panels out every day after work and paint em. if you want to tackle it all at once, i'd say give yourself a minimum of 3 to 4 FULL days.
finally, here are some pics of my truck:
#2
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#12
09-07-2005
nope hasnt ever chipped or peeled, and its been 6 months. if you kick it hard enough, you can scuff it off. the decal in the back is a clothing logo for a company called ambiguous. it was originally intended tocover the holes... but i got my 06 emblems today and i'll be replacing the decal with one of those shortly :o) my plans for an exhaust are a magnaflow si/so with a dual chrome tip coming out before the rear tire.
#13
04-09-2006
I know i just arised an old thread, but at least the member is still active and my question is ontopic.
Did you order some darker pieces such as the floor carpet and roof material? What did you have to buy if you had to buy any parts off of ebay/from ford.
I have a paint hookup luckily since i work for a company.
Aaron
Did you order some darker pieces such as the floor carpet and roof material? What did you have to buy if you had to buy any parts off of ebay/from ford.
I have a paint hookup luckily since i work for a company.
Aaron
#14
04-09-2006
the black carpet i got at www.stockinteriors.com about a year ago for ~$129.
the headliner and explorer visors were upholstered at a local shop using ford oem ebony twill; same fabric used on my 03's seats and upper interior door panels :o)
only things i needed to get from ford was a pack of random grommets to replace some that broke removing every panel. sheesh ;o/
the headliner and explorer visors were upholstered at a local shop using ford oem ebony twill; same fabric used on my 03's seats and upper interior door panels :o)
only things i needed to get from ford was a pack of random grommets to replace some that broke removing every panel. sheesh ;o/
#15
04-10-2006
damn man, i dont wanna know how much the headliner would cost for me. I bet they sell a dark one though, don't they?
*edit* do you think there's a way to dye either hte headlinger or carpet? For carpet i think it might be one layer and bendable? So i could stuff it in an apartment washer with dye and change its color? Or does it have some thick layer underneath? I see the cheapest i can get it for is about 125 bucks. As for the headliner, I saw pretty much none on ebay. Someone was selling a 22 dollar "kit" that looked like you just adhered a new cloth layer to the headliner. What exactly did the local place do for your headliner?
Aaron
*edit* do you think there's a way to dye either hte headlinger or carpet? For carpet i think it might be one layer and bendable? So i could stuff it in an apartment washer with dye and change its color? Or does it have some thick layer underneath? I see the cheapest i can get it for is about 125 bucks. As for the headliner, I saw pretty much none on ebay. Someone was selling a 22 dollar "kit" that looked like you just adhered a new cloth layer to the headliner. What exactly did the local place do for your headliner?
Aaron
Last edited by Red_Ak_Ranger; 04-10-2006 at 02:01 AM.
#16
04-10-2006
the carpet might be hard to dye. its a layer of carpet, with another layer of reinforncement, then jute-pad bonded to the bottom.
i actually tried to dye my headliner before i went the reupholstery route. it didnt come out how i wanted it. i mean it looked black, but it didnt turn out GOOD, and its texture got all nappy.
for reupholstering, the fabric cost me about $70, and the labor cost about $100 for the headliner AND visors.
the shop basically took the new material, and adhered it to the headliner using heat and adhesive spray. i actually attempted this myself too, but its much harder than it looks. the headliner has all these curves and stuff, and its really hard to adhere new fabric without getting wrinkles in the corners and around the curves and such. MAJOR pita if you arent familiar with reupholstery.
i actually tried to dye my headliner before i went the reupholstery route. it didnt come out how i wanted it. i mean it looked black, but it didnt turn out GOOD, and its texture got all nappy.
for reupholstering, the fabric cost me about $70, and the labor cost about $100 for the headliner AND visors.
the shop basically took the new material, and adhered it to the headliner using heat and adhesive spray. i actually attempted this myself too, but its much harder than it looks. the headliner has all these curves and stuff, and its really hard to adhere new fabric without getting wrinkles in the corners and around the curves and such. MAJOR pita if you arent familiar with reupholstery.
#19
09-27-2006
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09-27-2006
#23
09-27-2006
thanks for the revived love guys! hehe.
zach - no... i didnt put any clearcoat on the dash/door panels/etc. it will definitely crack or peel. the SEM paint I used is matte, but it has a slight gloss to it. basically looks factory in person. i've never had anyone even remotely able to tell that my interior is painted.
that link you have there is for the SEM classic coat. I used the SEM color coat in landau black;
http://www.sem.ws/category.php?category_id=36
zach - no... i didnt put any clearcoat on the dash/door panels/etc. it will definitely crack or peel. the SEM paint I used is matte, but it has a slight gloss to it. basically looks factory in person. i've never had anyone even remotely able to tell that my interior is painted.
that link you have there is for the SEM classic coat. I used the SEM color coat in landau black;
http://www.sem.ws/category.php?category_id=36
#24
09-27-2006
#25
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