I've been painting my interior parts, did the bezel last week, and doing the door handles tonight. I've got about 6 coats of clear coat on them, and I'm wondering how much it would take to get a nice reflection like what you see on the outside of the truck. Also, I want them to be as smooth as possible, so would it be good if I sand them down with 400 grit and then apply one more coat of clear coat? Or should I just wait a few days and go over it with a compound and wax? Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

wet sanding is your friend. you should have enough clear on them, just get some high (numerically) grit wet sanding paper, id start with 600 and move to 1000 to finish it out. then wax it when youre done

 

Out of curiosity, what paints are you using? I'm thinking about painting my bezel black. I just paint it black and clear coat it and it'll look like a nice true black?

Thanks!
~SuperCrankShaft

 

Thanks Bob, I'll try that this weekend when its hardened up.

Matt, I'm using all duplicolor paints. 2 coats of primer, 3 coats of color, and 6 coats of clear. Might've gone overboard on the clear. Anyhow, it will look like a nice true black if you do it that way.
I found the paint job to come out smoother when you sand it down. I used a 120 grit paper on the plastic before priming, then 500 grit paper after that, it turned out pretty good.

 

when painting your bezel make sure to remove the the factory coating...it's a rubbery type compound that ford uses to help prevent glare, scratching, breaking and other damage to the bezel as it is one of the most frequently contacted/touched surfaces in the vehicle...other than the armrest and steering wheel....you can also look in the how-to section or the interior forum on my how-to for painting the interior of your truck....i haven't got any pics in there but it is very detailed...