Question for those who have refinished 1993-spec dash panels…

I bought a new set of dash panels from Ray awhile back (cluster/hood, HVAC panel, shifter panel), they sat around awhile before I installed them and when I did I noticed that the HVAC panel is a shade or two lighter than the other two panels. This mismatch bugs me although the finish of the panels is perfect otherwise. Meanwhile, I think the HVAC panel is NLA now so there is no option to just purchase another although even if I could there would be no guaranty that the color shade would be any different than what I have now.

I have been thinking about respraying the three panels so that they match, but I don’t want to sand off the “soft” texture coating that now exists. What I am wondering is whether there is a spray paint that can be applied directly to the panels as they are now that will not cause a bad reaction, peeling, etc. of the OEM finish. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

Go here.

https://www.rx7club.com/interior-ext...ishing-810859/

 

When new as in 1992-1993, that soft coating would either start to peel or became soft. So soft, that if you push on it with your hand, it would record your finger prints.
Now if yours were actually made back then, maybe it has finally dried up or cured. Who knows, only you.
Back then we had to remove the crap from the plastic with a special modeler paint remover that would not harm the plastic.
It required coating the pieces very wet and wrapping them with something like Saran wrap overnight. Next day you had to rub off the crap.
Only then we painted them.

With the original coating being old, you will have to experiment.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.

My panels are only a few years old, picked them up as new replacements from Mazda around 2015 or so. No flaking or scratches, they look fantastic except that the HVAC panel is a different shade of grey from the other two.

Reading through the thread on refinishing the panels, it seems like the first step is to remove the original finish. But, I don't really want to do that, I was just wondering if paint could be applied to the panels as they are now to even out the color. If this is not an option, then I will just live with the color variation I guess.

And, I can't believe my poor grammar in the thread title!! Advise -> Advice If a mod sees this, please edit!!

 

jza,

Thread title corrected per your request. Please keep us posted on your potential panel project.

Cheers,
George

 

 

Your dash looks a lot like my old dash...

 

I wouldn't do this. The 93 OEM finish (IMO) was the most attractive, but had adhesion issues from the start. If you can't live with the color variance, then I would remove the original finish before applying anything new. And IMO, for a refinish the hard plastic needs to be sanded to something like a 320 grit. As for materials suitable for that, there are multiple threads in the "Interior/Exterior" section. I've had good experience with PLASTI-DIP, but there are others.

 

After removing the rubber paint, of course the plastic needs to be sanded with a very fine grit paper that will not scratch the soft plastic.
Then apply the proper primer for plastic before painting.