i want to paint my radio bezel and i need to know if i need to sand off the rubber coating to get a good thick coverage, or can i just paint on the rubber coating and get the same results? i just finished painting the area around my instrument cluster and now i want to make the bezel match

 

I sanded mine, but not all the way through to the plastic.
I just smoothed it out.

 

A little help

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ht=radio+bezel

 

take off that rubber stuff, if not the paint will eventually peel off with it

 

i just washed it with dish soap, dried it completly and started with 2 light coats 30 seconds apart and then i put down a bunch of coats every 30 minutes til i was pleased with the color. then i sealed it with 3 heavy coats of duplicolor clear enamyl

 

I think its best to take off the rubber coating.

Just last week I sanded my bezel down lightly, not planning to take off the rubber coating, but very small pieces of the rubber coating came off, in some parts that I couldn't even see...I thought it was fine to just prime and paint over it, but it totally screwed up the paint job.

So I had to scrape/sand off all the paint, primer, and then the rubber coating and do the whole process over again. Its quite a chore!

To be safe, just sand down the rubber coating too, you'll come out with a smoother finish too.

My color matched bezel is drying as we speak from the first coat. I'll post up the results in a few days.

 

In the link to your post when you painted, you listed 180 grit sandpaper....??

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ht=radio+bezel

 

thanks guys i tried this once and i used a paint remover product it pulled the rubber off but also dried out and scared the plastic under it, totaly runined i ended up painting it back to black and put back in the truck so i could put my radio back in

so now i'll go get another and try again should i start with like 80 gritt sandpaper until i get to the plastic and the scuff it with like 220 gritt? does anyone have a bezel in pretty good shape not 4x4

is there any aftermarket bezels with no rubber coating? i got to buy a new one anyway, that would save alot of time

 

Here's a painting process I put together from searching this forum, talking to members, and my own experience.

Some might feel all this is uneccessary, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Last thing you want is your paint to chip or crack down the road and have to do the whole thing over again.

Any feedback is appreciated.

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Painting Interior Process

Clean part with simple green or your favorite degreaser. Scrub with a dish sponge. Rinse, dry.

(This is to get off all the armour all you've been putting on)

Scrub the part again using soapy water (dishsoap works well). Rinse. Dry

Wipe the entire part down with rubbing alcohol.

Sand part with 320 grit automotive sandpaper. For the radio bezel, be sure to sand down the rubber coating as well with the 320 grit.

Use 400 grit, then 600 wetsand, to a smooth finish.

If you want you could use 1200 grit to make it a really smooth finish.

Clean (can use rubbing alcohol again)

Use Duplicolor adhesive promoter, 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.

Use Dupicolor bumper primer or SEM vinyl and fabric spray, several light coats.

Wait for coat to tack or dry then add another coat.

Make sure to use either of these kinds of primers because they allow flex..if you don't the paint will chip or crack when your part moves and expands while driving.

Make sure you lightly sand down any bumps or scratches before painting. Let the primer FULLY dry before starting to paint.

Paint 3 coats. Wait for paint to tack or dry before adding more coats.

Finalize with 3 coats of Duplicolor clear enamel.

Be patient and wait a couple days before installing your interior piece if its in an area that you touch often. You want to be sure the paint is completely dry.

 

Whats under the rubber? is it just a shiney black?

 

i used the sand paper for the vents on top of the dash because they were potty.

 

If you screw up, I got a spare

 

adam to the rescue!!!

 

Yea just a shiny black...but you'll probably end up roughing it up a lil when sanding off all the rubber. Don't matter since your gonna paint it anwyays and it's smooooooth

 

How bad would it look if you peeled off all of the rubber stuff and you just left it a shiney black?

 

Its pretty tough to take off just the rubber coating...your probably going to end up scratching up the smooth finish when trying to take it off.