Painting dash panels...
 

I have a 1995 Chevy S-10 Blazer 4x4 4dr.

I have a lot of time and little to do... and I'm leaving for BCT soon for the Army. With my time, I decided to paint some of the dash panels in my Blazer.

I know what parts I want painted... I just want to know if there are any tips anybody can give me (specially cuz the dash panels in the Blazers are kinda grainy as-is)!!!

Like... Should I sand everything down to get it to bare plastic??
What paint I should use??
What should I use to prime the peices??
What kind of protective coating should I use (if any)??

Stuff like that.

Anything would be much appreciated! :D

This is what I did:

Take the panels off
Sand them (400 grit I think). I didn't sand it much, just a little.
2 coats of primer.
2-4 coats of RED spray paint

Pretty easy ;)

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...4004_large.jpg

I also lightly sanded, used 2 coats plastic primer, 4 coats rustoleum paint, and 5 coats of clear. Ill see if I can find a pic.

Found a few. Sorry about the crappy quality...

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i...7/DSCN0657.jpg

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/i...7/DSCN0658.jpg

Craig... Im diggin that! lol. But there are a few things that I want to paint up that you didnt.

I want the panel around the dash like you have... But I want to do the glove box door and the top of the arm rest, and the cover on the steering wheel.

But here is my #1 issue...

What would I use to paint the steering wheel cover and the arm rest on the center console??? They arent hard plastic... They are softer ya know??? Like, what paint will move with the material on there so it wont just chip off or break?!?!?!?!?!

You may want to just get some dye for the console, something made specifically for vinyl.

High wear items like the steering wheel and armrest are going to wear down no matter what you do, so if you are dead set on doing those, even if you use a dye or whatever... be prepared to have to do them again within a couple years depending on how much you use your truck. Just something to keep in mind.

Also, I've had the best luck with using a plastic adhesive primer on these parts. It helps the paint stick to the part so it won't just peel back up. And make sure you wash the parts as well as you can. Soap/water, wax/grease remover, etc. If you've armor all'd your dash pieces, scrub them very well.

Well I don't want to do the steering wheel itself... just the front of it, where you hit the horn. I don't blast my horn all that much lol.

And for the lid of the arm rest... is there like, a finish I could put over the paint to protect it even more??

I wouldn't paint the armrest, how about finding someone who could make a replacement cover out of a vinyl the color you want, there are plenty of different coloured vinyls around, or even better a colored leather cover.

I just want to do everything myself and spend as little money as possible.

Isn't vinyl paint more flexible with the material its put on though??

There is paint that is made to paint leather and stuff. I think Rustolem makes it