Interior Dash Change

Hey guys, I was hoping to get some insight on the durabitlity of vinyl/dash paints. My dash and other vinyl/plastic bits on my interior are colored and ugly shade of grey. I want to have the color changed to black, sort like some Alfa's have. I was wondering about the durability of the paints because the car is pretty new and I dont want the color coming off or gettin discolored in a year or two. Anyone know about this process? Note that Iam not going to do it myself but rather by a professional. Thanks!

just depends on how you take care of it ... 
 
if you leave it in sunlight its not gonna last, paint or vinyl.... 
oh and dont your armor all crap that ish is the devil to dashes and it smells like cat piss!

I take the very best care of my car that money allows, but i do have to park it outside for half of the year. Iam just wondering if the paint will hold up to the element as the normal dash would. Oh yea I never use armor all only meguairs or lexol for me.

If you have used cleaning products on your dash you are going to have to get those out of the vinyl since it will come up when you dye it and tiger eye.

The best way to do this is scrub the vinyl with a mixture of simple green (to clean it up) and lava soap (the grit preps the surface).  

Secondly, you are going to need to use a adhesion promoter. Any adhesion promoter from a auto parts store should do.  Let the dash dry for an hour after you clean it.  Then hit it with 2 medium coats of promoter 5 minutes apart.  Then you go to the dye stage.

I would use SEM automotive dye.  I wouldn't use anything else actually.  Landau black will give you a very nice euro look, if you want a more glossy look go with GMC black.

Spray a thin coat and let it try dry.  This will be your base coat.  If you are getting tiger eyes which is more then possible you can eliminate them by building up thin layers of the dye.  I had this happen on my GS and was able to save it with using that technique.

Here's what you need to know about dye:

1. Your prep is going to determine how it turns out.  If you use shitty prep (like the previous owner of my M45) then it will flake off in layers.  I literally rolled packaging tape up and stuck it to the door and pulled up to get it all off.  It just flaked right off.  Conversely if you prep correctly the area will be able to a lot of abuse.  How much abuse? I had the tops of my doors dyed in black for a year and a half.  I would toss wheels in the back and slam the door on them, throw window scrapers in the back in the winter... ect... point is: With prep it will last, without prep it will not.

2. If you dye one piece, thats fine.  If you dye multiple pieces, it'll be impossible to make all the black be the same shade because the coats will not be the same thickness.   

3. If you spray it too thick, or don't let each coat dry, it will turn GLOSSY.  Very, very glossy.

There you have it.

Wow....Thanks a lot for the info. Well I guess I cant really do it then because i dont want all the parts comin out diff colors. You guys think vinyl would work?

vinyl what? wrap? Vinyl like fake leather or vinyl like the sticker? Either way i'll be able to point you in the right direction.

I am not quite sure, I really just want my grey peices in my ride black. I am looking for a decent cost, and good durability because sooner or later i will have to sell it and i dont want it looking all shitty 5 years from now. So if you can point me in the right direction.

Go with the dye then.  They dye will be a LOT cheaper then having the doors wrapped in vinyl.  The trick to getting the pieces the same shade is count the number of passes you make with the can on each piece.  You should get it close enough to the same color.  Just be sure to prep it like I said.  If you do it will last a very long time.  Also one thing to keep in mind is that if you prep it properly, 5 years from now you would only have to lightly recoat the pieces not do them all over again since the base would still be in tact.

WOW sam , you got eyedeas !!!:biggthumpup:

Wow thanks a lot bro.....I am get on this when I get the balls to do it. Thank you very much though!