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Just wanted to post up my experience with using the Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric paint on my interior panels. So in short my interior was ugly, stained, scratched, and tan... I was faced with 2 options and that was to either paint the panels black or buy a used set of black panels. With the vinyl paint costing less than $10 a can I figured I’d give it a shot, worst case it turns out terrible and I buy the used black panels.
At first i was worried but after the paint dried it was better then I expected. Very durable, deals with bends and curves great, and it stretches with the panel. Best of all the panels look brand new. 3 light coats of Promoter and 3 to 4 coats of the Vinyl Paint. Dries within 20 minutes and was installed after about 4 hours of sitting in the sun.
Original ugly tan interior
First Coat of Vinyl paint
After paint dries
And finally installed in the car
Really happy how everything turned out. Hope to have the rest of the interior back in this weekend. The only thing the paint did not work out well on was the headliner and sun visors. It took the leather and seemed to soak in and wrinkle up... So another option is to wrap it rather than pain it. Either way, if your thinking about doing it I recommend at least trying it. I know I was extremely happy with the outcome
For the headliner, I would just get that re-made by a shop or something. Also, it may not be too hard to track down a black headliner, but they can be a bitch to ship.
I did a scratch test on a panel and from what I can tell this paint is on there pretty good. I’ve even taken the panel and twisted and bent it to put stress on the part and paint stayed on without flaking or chipping so that’s a good sign.
I’ll have to see how it looks at the 1 year mark next year to see how durable it really is. But for a quick color change on the cheap I’d recommend it to others
I saw a local guy that had done this and I was impressed. However, I also saw it the first week he did it, my concern is also on long term durability.
As for painting plastics as amp mentioned... I would go with SEM Satin Black Chip Guard. It matches pretty well. Just make sure you do EVERYTHING... Door plastics, gauge hood/cluster face, HVAC and shifter panel.
I’ve been tempted to try this as well. I’ve got a very good condition interior as my car has only 52k miles. I could easily spend $2,000 buying a full black interior, in the same condition as my own, to swap over. It’s ridiculous.
I would love to do this but there’s always that fear that it’s not going to hold up. In my case I’ll also need a black carpet, so there’s that. I wonder if there’s a local place that would dye my stock carpet? A nice clean carpet will also be pricey...I just can’t win lol
Way to be brave dude. Let’s see how those door panels turn out. How much of the Krylon did you use so far? Did you buy a bit too much paint or is four cans seeming about right?
I’ve swapped my interior to black years ago. A few things I’ve noticed/remembered.
First off it holds up extremely well. The only time it would scratch or get a nic in or something is when I’d be working in the car and get careless with tools, in the case of the bins. It was easy enough to mask off and do touch up however.
The headliner did not work well at all so I reupholstered it myself with a micro suede/alcantara material.
The door cards are what continue to impress me over the years. They have held up so well I can’t believe it. You cannot tell they were refinished at all. The paint stays flexible and very durable, even if I hit it with my keys or what have you.
Now my interior plastics are another story, I got to refinish those again lol
How much of the Krylon did you use so far? Did you buy a bit too much paint or is four cans seeming about right?
Nick
I bought 4 cans and laid down 4 coats on each part. I used 3 cans total so far (Havent done the door cards yet) but wasted a full can on the headliner trying to fix it. I’d say 4 cans with 3 solid coats would get all your interior panels no problem.
Im going to do another scratch test next week once it’s fully cured and see how it holds up, but like I said it seems to be really durable
I’ve swapped my interior to black years ago. A few things I’ve noticed/remembered.
First off it holds up extremely well. The only time it would scratch or get a nic in or something is when I’d be working in the car and get careless with tools, in the case of the bins. It was easy enough to mask off and do touch up however.
The headliner did not work well at all so I reupholstered it myself with a micro suede/alcantara material.
The door cards are what continue to impress me over the years. They have held up so well I can’t believe it. You cannot tell they were refinished at all. The paint stays flexible and very durable, even if I hit it with my keys or what have you.
Now my interior plastics are another story, I got to refinish those again lol
I think the multiple coats here are key. Probably after 2 coats you have decent coverage but you won't have a hard enough layer to protect it from future chipping/scratching.
Also, the parts have to be CRAZY clean. Using TSP is a great way to do this. Years of people hosing down the panels with Armor-All, dust, grease, etc. will cause problems and can cause the paint not to stick well.
I think the multiple coats here are key. Probably after 2 coats you have decent coverage but you won't have a hard enough layer to protect it from future chipping/scratching.
Also, the parts have to be CRAZY clean. Using TSP is a great way to do this. Years of people hosing down the panels with Armor-All, dust, grease, etc. will cause problems and can cause the paint not to stick well.
Dale
I wonder if you could do a top coat of some kind of like ceramic paint treatment or something? I mean, it's a painted surface after all. Won't that provide additional protection from staining, scratching and make it easier to clean in the future??
I cleaned my parts with lacquer thinner since I always have some on hand, worked well. I didn't use any special paint that I can remember, it was some Rustoleum product.
Door Cards?
