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

Yeah, it's more flexible than regular paint... but it's still a coating that can and will wear out. A new cover for the arm rest is probably your best bet, but if not... just be prepared to have to redo it.

I figured you meant the horn area... and my statement still stands, it is a higher wear area. You probably don't even realize how often you touch that area, even if you aren't hitting the horn.

as far as the arm rest...just go to the local craft/fabric store and pic up some vinyl and adhere/tack it to the arm rest and there ya go..just dont buy a be-dazzler while your there!!!

Nicee! I'll have to look into that then. Can you get that at like, any old hardware store like Home Depot?? Or does Auto Zone sell that stuff?

Home Depot should have it.

Thank you everyone!!! I did it and it turned out great!!! I bought 2 cans of Rustoleum Plastic Paint Glossy Red from Autozone. I washed each part with hot, soapy water... let them air dry... then applied 3 coats to each peice. Here is a picture of the completed project!! (I also added 2 strips of red LED's in the leg area up front and in the dome light!)

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...824_112228.jpg

that looks great...i hope in your description you accidentally left out "...i sanded and primed.."
or you may have some problems down the road.

otherwise like i said...great job

Flip01002003, that is the exactly the same colors and designs I am going to do to my 95 S10 Blazer. I think I might change colors or not. I am going for black carpent later on.

Looks great, makes me wanna do that to mine too. Ive already got enough spray paint on the passenger side as is lol

I actually didn't sand and prime anything, just cuz I didn't know what it would do to the texture on the plastic... but Im not even gonna be able to drive it after the beginning of next year cuz I joined the army, so whoever I sell it to, it's their problem lol.

I was thinking about it, and after I did everything, I thought of a few things I SHOULD have done... like putting a big chevy bo-tie on the glove box lol. I'll get around to doing something like that though.

The only reason I, myself, chose red was cuz my blazer is red. My buddy had a blue one... that would look badass with a blue paintjob and blue LED's.

Post up some pictures if you guys do some stuff. I'd like to see other people's work!!!

I would dye the armrest and call it done...cheap is how i like to do thing also

I have black 95 s10 blazer with gray interior. I have the pictures of it on my thread My 1995 Chevrolet S10 Blazer LT 4.3L 4-doors 4x4 project in builds thread. I was thinking about black/red for the interior but I don't know yet but if you know of any better color let me know

I would do a blue paint. It would match the black and grey for sure. Then throw some blue LED's in there too. I would have done that if my Blazer wasn't red, cuz that would look SLICK as hell!

Ok I was thinking of black and red or black and blue right now but don't know yet.

I see other Blazer in town that have blue and black interior :/ So I might go with grabber green/black interior. What you think?:icon_shrug:

Like CraigSnedeker said, sand down just a little. You don't have to go crazy! but the main part of the whole process is the primer. Be sure to get a plastic bonding primer. Paint it once let it dry for 24 hours, and then repeat. Its important to let the primer cure, although it feels dry to the touch it takes 24 hours to cure completely. Then your ready for paint, do the same process as the primer, applying as many coats as you want. just remember less is more, insted of coating everything heavy! I have a first generation 4 door blazer that I just finished the dash on, feel free to take a look. Also Dupli-Color makes a Vinyl, and Fabric coating, looks like a can of spray paint but its designed for Vinyl and Fabric. Hope this helps!