Painting interiors

[Ceipher]

Anyone know what the best way to paint a cars interior is? I've got the inside completely stripped and the outside done. Should I just spray it like you do the outside? should you worry about colour sanding and all that? How do you get good coverage on the rollcage? Any tips would be great thanks

[Joe Craven]

I've brushed and sprayed. If you spray, wear goggles and a good appropriate respirator. The paint fumes get so strong that it becomes difficult to see in there. Both methods work fine and if you thin the paint correctly, brushing looks pretty good.

[RR]

Ditto on the fumes when your spraying. Dont brush it, looks so much better when sprayed, addes a lot of value to the car, looks pro. Take you time with the cage, its a little bit of hassle.

[RSTPerformance]

You might get a little bit more of a "rush" paiting without the mask Certainly adds some giggles of excitement, but I do hate the after effects

Paint the floor with some trunk paint it won't show the dirt/scratches as much... Just my opinion

I need weight so I might use bed liner next time.

If you can paint the cage with the windows out... it is a lot easier.

Raymond Blethen

[ITZ34]

I painted the inside of my car this winter.
First I cleaned thoroughly, then sanded with 360 grit paper. This is a pain, because of all the irregular surfaces, and the cage etc. Try to mask EVERYTHING, because the overspray is nasty, and be sure to wear a good mask and take frsh air breaks, because inside the car the fumes build up. I used spray cans (Krylon) and it came out great. Went from black to a very light gray. A lot of work, but well worth it.

DC

[ITZ34]

PS: After I painted, I coated the driver's floor area with spray truck bedliner. This adds a little non slip surface, and the black hides the dirt.

DC

[lateapex911]

I agree with the spraying. BUT, remember that the prep takes a minimum of 10-20 times longer than the actual painting.

Use the green or red scotch pads for the contours of the floor rather than paper to get a ready to paint surface if it is already smooth.

Windows out is the best way BY far.

Never spray without a charcoal cartridge respirator. Even spray cans, that stuff is nasty in volume. If you have a gun, turn it down for the tight areas, use a circle pattern. Do the tight areas first, and the middle, work your way out. A little planning goes a long way.

And, go NUTS with the vac first, because there are so many places where dust will hide, and as soon as the windstorm of the gun gets close, POOF! a huge cloud of dust in the fresh paint. Vacuum, blow gun, vacuum, blow gun again, vacuum, tack rag, prime, sand, clean again (vacuum, etc.) color, then clear if you like. Result will be professional.

I like a lighter interior, makes the video exposure situation much better, and is easier to spot loose parts and fluid leaks.

Finally, the stick on non slip black sandpaper like stuff works great on floor areas that see a lot of use.

------------------
Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

[Monkeywrench]

Has anyone tried Dupont Imron (the 2 part expoxy paint) on the interiors? If so, how does it hold up?

[MMiskoe]

Be careful w/ the epoxy's, my experience w/ them is that they are like spreading marshmellow fluff. They may be bullet proof, but they don't flow very well.

I used a SEM product, Rust Sheild I think was the name. Not a really high shine, but no sanding prep required, just wiped everything down w/ solvent to get rid of oils (after vacuuming 4 times). The only place it has come loose is where it gets rubbed by somthing. It comes in light grey and black. I used the grey, sprayed it on, touched up areas w/ a brush.

This topic came up a few months ago, there may be more in the archives.

[joeg]

I thought Imron was a Polyurethane.

In any event, it will work fine for interior work if you follow all the suggestions (clean, clean, mask, etc).