So I'm done chiseling out the sound deadening tar from under the carpet. I want to spray paint the interior flat black, but I'm not sure about how to prep the surface. Small parts are down to bare metal, but most is covered in paint or that gray primer. I'm gonna use some kind of durable paint, but I don't want it to chip or flake.

Do I have to take everything down to bare metal? Or can I just do some light sanding?

Edit: Oh yeah. How did most of you guys fill up those small holes in the floor?

 

Light sanding will do the trick. Feather in all the scratches, or build them up with some primer, then sand them smooth. Use a 3M scuff pad on the large and bumpy areas... much easier and quicker than sand paper.

I would avoid using flat black. Nothing shows more dirt and is harder to keep clean than flat black. Chassis black would be a better option IMO.

 

You couldn't use a worce color for the interior. Will make the car much hotter and on a Mazda race car you don't need any more heat inside the car. The lighter the color the better. Light colors also show things like oil leaks, cracks, etc,etc. Lite grey Rustoliem is my pick.

 

let me second on Light gray, works great, easy to find stuff I drop on the floor too

If you're not going for total show quality, wipe it down some with some paint prep, and shoot it.. It's a race car anyway, right? After the first time you slide it into a wall or ding it up, you'll forget all about the little run on the passenger shock tower

PaulC

 

I second, or is that third, the light color choice. The trans tunnel will get extremely hot from the engine, and exhaust, etc. For Solo during the summer, I usually wear shorts, and it can really cook your leg if you get it too close to the tunnell. So I would hate for the car to sit there with the flat black and get 20* hotter than already is. Remeber that the car will be backing in the sun, weather at a Solo II, Club Race, track event, etc. I would stick with white, grey. If it is all stripped anyway, you can just hose it out, soap it down, and rinse, like new, just touch it up at the end of the season, and good durable finish.
As far as the holes, Definitely not the most elegant solution, but just used some sheet metal, like 1/8" or 1/16 steel paint it and rivet or liquid nail it over all the holes. You would be amazed at the dirt that will come in through the holes. Also, from experience, if you have aftermarket fiberglass fenders, or have removed the inner fender liners, check for holes there. I have a Mariah body kit, fiberglass fenders, and didn't use the fender liners. We ran an autocross in the rain and the tires were drilling water in through holes in the front door sill. Needless to say, Monday, I contributed to Home Depot stock and bought some more sheet metal to fill some more holes.

Cheers,
Travis

 

I've been down both roads. I once painted the floor boards in a GT-2 rex black. The idea being the same as looking out of a dark house. When you do that, you can see much better than looking out of a well lit house. The car was so hot after a race, that you could fry an egg on the floor boards. That was the last time I tryed that. Grey paint with a brush looks just fine, with no over spray and its so easy to touch up at the end of the year.

 

I'm just about done with mine. I wiped it down with brake cleaner to remove all the surface junk. Used Rust o leum Smoke Gray. Looks good, very similar to the factory color. I think it will be easy to clean, just wiping it off. I don't know if all the models colors varied. My buddies 82 was all a single color (gray), mine was 3 different colors of gray.

 

Thanks for the advise guys. Gray it is. I guess I'll just give it a once over with sandpaper first.

Silkworm: What do you mean by "paint prep?" Is that some kind of chemical I can get in the paint section?

 

If you go to an auto paint store, one brand name is "Acryli-Clean". You just want something that will remove the grease and dirt from the surface before you start painting. It's a chemical, basically, and you can also find some that will etch the surface to help paint adhere better.

 

I beat the SDG(sound deadening goo) out of my car in the middle of the winter. Was cheaper than buying dry ice. Used a 6" grinder with a wire brush on it to remove the left over pieces of SDG. Wiped over everthing with acetone, primered it and painted it. I used $0.88/can walmart paint. A lovely shade of gray called "Dove Gray". I like the results even though it isin't very rust proof if left outside in the rain.

Here's my interior

 

MPM, nice job on your interior! In in the middle of the same kind of project and had been wondering what to do to about prep. Thanks for all the info guys

 

Real quick, I'm heading out to the races as we speak, but I use 3M adhesive/grease remover as paint prep..

HTH

PaulC

 

im assuming you did already seam weld the entire body right?

 

Thanks.

 

No, I don't have a welder. I want to have it seam welded, but don't know how much it would cost. In fact, I got this car non-running for REALLY cheap and I'm not even sure how straight the body is. I'm on a budget right now so I'm not even sure if I'm gonna look around and price it out.

 

hmmm i think you can rent a welder for a day or 2 and be done with it, 99% of the work is prep work for seam welding your car up.

BTW: http://www.teamfc3s.org/forum/member...hp?img_id=5156 very nice