Has anyone ever found...
 

... a rattlecan paint that's a tight match for the interior console dark silver-metallic trim paint used on the radio surround, shift surround, etc?

I'd love to get hands on some, if you have. Give tell.

I never did find anything. Ended up being a custom made color air-brushed on to get it perfect.

I actually went the cheaper route and used a fairly close match from Oreilly's. Just a hair bit brighter, so I repainted both pieces to match.

Do you have a brand and color number or SKU code for the o'reilly's solution? Or a pic of the can?

Paint places around here won't mix anything less than a quart... and that's about $50 cheapside. :(

Will have to dig through my pile of RX stuff. Has been a few years since I did that. I want to say Duplicolor brand.....

If you can stir it up, I'd be thankful. Got a project going that could use to see that same color.

Glen,

I have a small spray can of metallic gray paint in my garage at home that I used for this very same purpose. I got it at Advance Auto Parts. I checked several places for a close match and ended up using this stuff from Advance. It's a pretty darn close match, and I think it looks super nice. I believe that it is a Dupli Color brand can of paint. I'll get the exact paint color for you tomorrow afternoon. I'm away from the homestead at the moment. I'll put up some pictures of the finished product for you to see.

Jamie

Muy bueno, sir! Duplicolor.... I'd be embarrassed to say how much of the visible parts of my car is painted in their paint... except that it looks so damn nice!

No rush... I got days before I'm ready to spray.

Glen,

Don't have a chance to get pictures right now. I will post them up a little later. The info for the paint is as follows:

Dupli Color Perfect Match Premium Automotive Paint
Duplicates Original GM Colors
BGM0522 Storm Gray Metallic
(14 WA391E)
Replaces T414

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/wcs...2_pri_larg.jpg

I'ma be off to see the local autozone/pep boys, I think.

Thanks, Jamie!

(an archive-worthy response, me thinks)

Part of me is toying with painting the panel black, to match the original ashtray that sat in that location. Will now be my fallback position should the Storm Gray Metallic not work out.

Tried the paint out today; the match is so perfect it's near-impossible to tell where you've sprayed while painting; you have to go by gloss.

Once dried it looks exactly like the factory silver to my eye.

Excellent.

Pics DD!
Same can as Glazed posted?

Re: Black - you DO know that the Black OE shift panels are still available....

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Yep, exact same can; still widely available - - rack stock at AutoZone, probably others too. Once I get some more sunlight, I'll do some comparison shots. The match is really, really close between my test-sprayed piece, and the good-condition shift ring I got thru you.

I actually have a perfect '79 black shift panel squirreled away, in the 'just in case box'. I would have condsidered painting it & using it for this project, but it wouldn't have had the proper '80 chrome trim ring.

Best I could do as the sun goes behind more clouds... sorry for the focus.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/P4240016.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/P4240017.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/P4240018.jpg

Apparent difference in brightness in mainly due to gloss; the "Test Piece" is the flat plastic lid of an electrical tape container, and it has no texture to it at all. The shift surround is ever so slightly matte-textured, possibly due to age.

Here's some shots comparing to the FB shift surround (which has a much heavier texture to it than the SA parts)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/P4240019.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/P4240020.jpg

very very nice, those spray cans sure come handy when trying to make your interior look better don't they.

Thanks DD - real test will be installed with the radio panel in a photo! post if/when you can -
-and thanks Glazed for posting info!
cheers
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Not sure if I'm going to repaint the radio panel just yet - - gotta get things back together for a cruise coming up this weekend, and demounting my aftermarket radio is a PITA, though necessary to get the surround out.

If I do, I'll be sore tempted to re-paint the surround at the same time to ensure an absolutely perfect match... but I'll be sure to photograph the contrast first, for proper documentation.

Next up; I think I've found a perfect remedy for the chrome strip inserts on the '80 SA armrests, which lose chrome as they age. I've been getting by with chrome tape over them for years, which looked good under all but closest scrutiny - - the corners tend to pucker.

Will report back if it works.

Score! I ended up painting those same two pieces(window swithch holder and radio surround) flat black, but wanted to go back to the original color. I could never find something I was happy with. Thanks Glazedham and DD!

DD, hows the paint feel when you touch it? Is it kinda coarse or is it a nice gloss smooth finish?

EDIT: Found the answer in your post DD.

Im excited, I want to re-do mine as well, thanks a lot guys!

~T.J.

is S1, S2 surround the same as S3? I'd like to repaint mine as well.

The S3 is a completelly different color than the S1 and S2.

^ Damn you. I was hoping this was the miracle paint for the S3 as well. I'm still searching........and searching.....

I used the paint on my S3. It's pretty darn close. I actually like it better than the factory bright silver color.

Maybe there is a similar option for the S3 to match the bright silver? My interior plastic in my SE is good so I have no reason to experiment.

OK, Here's a side-by side:

My old thrashed original shift surround (or what's left of it) next to another that I just painted with the Dupli Color paint pictured on Page One:

Top is the fresh paint: Looks a lil darker here...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0087.jpg

Side by side. At first, the new paint still looks a touch darker...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0088.jpg

...but that can be deceiving; look what happens when the light angle is changed slightly:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0089.jpg

Which apppears darker is strictly a matter of light and angle, near as I can tell.

I didn't have a chance to shoot the unpainted shift surround next to the painted stereo surround (or vice versa) as by the time one was painted, the other was already sanded down.

But here's an indoor, flash-lit shot of the completed console refresh, both pieces freshly painted (and with screws by mazdaverx!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/IMG_0092.jpg

To me, by look, feel, and gloss, it tightly resembles the fresh factory paint prior to 30 years of sunfade and smog. I'm completely pleased with the finish.

so how bout the chrome trim solution??????

That's something I'm writing up right now in my "Project Resurrection" log.