Painting or changing the color of your car’s interior can be a daunting task. Most vehicles use plastic or vinyl for the interior materials and they take a little more care than a normal repaint on the outside of your vehicle. We decided to share our top tips for painting the interior on your vehicle.
- Cleanliness is Important- If you’re working on a vehicle that is older or has been driven a lot it’s no doubt the interior isn’t factory fresh and may have dirt, vinyl shine product residue, grime, or debris on the surface. The number one issue we’ve seen with poor interior repaints is that the surface wasn’t prepared correctly and the contaminants on the surface cause adhesion of the paint. We suggest starting with Eastwood PRE Paint Prep or SEM Vinyl Prep and wiping the surface down with a clean white rag or towel to see what comes off. Continue to clean until it is extremely clean and no dirt is coming off on the rag. If you’re having adhesion issues or experiencing fish eyes in the finish you certainly have something on the surface.
- Adhesion Promoter- Unfortunately most vinyls and plastics can’t be abraded to help paint adhesion like metal. Interior vinyl and plastics of a vehicle have a grain on the surface that you can’t sand or scuff as it will likely change the look of the panel. That is why we highly suggest applying a Sand-Free Vinyl Prep Adhesion Promoter. This will assure your interior paint bites into the surface and won’t peel off easily.
- Light Coats Are Important- Vinyl dyes and interior paints aren’t the same as exterior car paints. You can’t lay heavy, wet coats on and they might not cover as well. We suggest applying multiple light coats to cover the surface and fully cover the base color on the interior parts. If you’re trying to dramatically change the color of the vinyl or plastic it may take a lot more coats to cover and not show through the paint. We advise a minimum of three light coats to cover fully.
To find all of our interior restoration and paint products you can visit our site HERE.