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Painting my Dash

4K views 35 replies 11 participants last post by  oldskool71 
#1 ·
I'm thinking about painting my dash...
I've got the itch and I feel like taking all the panels off (half doors inlcuded) and painthing them black to match the cluster and center console.

Any tips for removal or painting...

I'm thinking about using krylon fusion. It's always worked for my fenders. As far as removal, I'm gonna take out as many screws as I can and hope I don't have any left over after putting the panels back in.
 
#2 ·
Yeah... Sounds like fun. I did the very same thing to my TJ after I had my seats redone. The half-door panels are pretty straight forward. You'll probably have to buy new retainers for them cuz you'll break a few taking the panels off. No worries, they sell em at the parts store. The only thing I didn't remove from my dash was the airbag and the vent corners. I just taped everything up, put down masking plastic and shot em. All in all everything turned out great.

Here's a tip: If there has EVER been any Armor-All applied to any of the interior panels, do yourself a favor and purchase a good automotive grade prep cleaner (available at an automotive paint store). Wash everything twice with good old Dawn dish washing detergent and water. Let it dry. Then wipe it down with the prep cleaner. Otherwise you may end up with fish eyes in the paint.

Good luck and have fun! :cool:
 
#4 ·
i agree with the prep work ^
take some before and after shots if/when you do this, i was considering it too since my whole jeep is blacked out except for the lovely "spice tan" interior.

im not going to put down krylon because it has always worked well for me, but ive found rustoleum to be a better paint in my opinion. i rub my flares on stuff alot and have had to paint them 3 or 4 times(not that it fades off, i chip it off), while my bumper and other accessories have been painted only once with rustoleum.
again not giving them a bad review, just dont jump in heads first with one brand. i may try my speaker covers this weekend and see how they turn out... any opinions about using paint remover on the plastic is it dosent go so well?

i assume you will not be priming yours if you use krylon?
 
#5 ·
to pull the center piece of the dash (piece around the cd player and the ac/heater controls), simply remove the top piece by the windshield defroster.. it pulls up and its held just by few metal tabs.
Next there are 2 more screws in the center underneath the piece you just removed. Then there should be another screw behind the ashtray underneath the ac/heater controls and then that piece pulls straight out too. Its held in place by the same screws as the first piece you removed... thats it for the center piece on the dash. To put it on.. simply read instructions back in reverse...
 
#7 ·
im doing mine as we speak. rustoleum flat black(in the silver professional can) is adhering extreamly to my spice/tan and looks excellent. ive done the driver speaker cover so far and im satisfied enough to continue with the rest.

took it out, washed it in the tub with dish soap, wiped it dry, cleaned with acetone, let dry, and misted it from about 8" with the spray paint. ill put up pics later tonight.
 
#15 ·
Finished

I finished the dash a couple days ago and did the doors today (i'll take pics in the daylight tomorrow).

Only problem was the grab handle- it's still kinda sticky... and it's been a few days. I'm guessing this is because it's actually some type of rubber.
I used satin black Krylon Fusion and it was fine except for that handle - how did the rustoleum work on that?
 
#16 ·
i havent gotten to the doors yet, but i didnt plan on painting the handles anyway. i taped off all the rubber trim like for the light switch and steering wheel, i really hope rustoleum holds up; i know its not made specifically for plasic(however it adhered well), but it is a real quality paint and i like the finish/texture.

and hey if it doesent, there is always krylon :p

did you paint the already black pieces?(spedo cover, steering cover, center piece)
and did you paint the actual center console? as soon as i get more paint tomorrow im gunna get back on this(1 can wont get you very far...)
 
#17 ·
black is black

I did paint the center console for the radio because it was already unbolted from long ago when someone swagerjacked the old radio out.
But I didn't do the spedo cover or the center console on the floor... they are already black when i started and as far as i can tell, look fine.

it took me about 2 1/2 cans for the whole job.
just a quick $7 fix and it looks purdy
 
#19 ·
I did paint the center console for the radio because it was already unbolted from long ago when someone swagerjacked the old radio out.
But I didn't do the spedo cover or the center console on the floor... they are already black when i started and as far as i can tell, look fine.

it took me about 2 1/2 cans for the whole job.
just a quick $7 fix and it looks purdy
and geez, put up some pictures!:bottom:
 
#18 ·
just a note*
the air bag cover is the thing keeping everything stuck to the "frame".
it dosent have bolts, theyre little things youd have to grind off(which i did, and will replace with nuts/bolts).
my entire dash is in my driveway getn prepped right now, hopefully ill have finished pictures up by tonight.
 
#23 · (Edited)
alright. Go to www.photobucket.com and make an account. Upload photos there by simply pressing the "choose files" button. Find the images you want to upload and then they should show up underneath as such.




Double click the img url (double click like you do to start up a program.. you double click on the icon and the program starts...). Simply look at the image above and double click to where the red text is pointing to.... click on the http://i205pl[/COLOR].....

This should automatically "copy" it.

When you come to this forum, right click and press "paste" and the new url should show up on this page with some "IMG" tags around it.
 
#29 ·
thanks for posting those pics for me and helping a lost soul tiger...

it's holding up well, the only rough spot was the grab handle by the glove box... i said before it was sticky so crap started sticking to it.
it's good now, i had to give it a quick touch up with the paint and now it seems solid

this is why i didn't paint the steering wheel-
 
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