best kind of paint to use on the dash?

im new here, and i was just wondering what the best kind of paint was to use on the dash and side panels? ive seen some people just used regular spraypaint and said it worked great. just lookin to get some info

thanks

matt

bigdaddyborso52@hotmail.com

Id go either with SEM or VHT. See the thing about regular spray paint is that it just covers the original color. SEM and VHT make what are called dyes. These dyes are chemically formulated to absorb into the area your spraying on and change its color ( Its kind fo more internally changing the clor, while regular spray is externally changing the color.) Regular spray paint can chip off easily. Bu these dyes are very tough and do not chip off as easily.

about how much am i looking at to do the dash and door panels

Believe it or not its not that expensive. It like 8-9 buks a can. I cant tell you how much you need because i dont know exactly how much area you want to cover.

Where can these things be bought? I want do this to my Cavalier's dash, I'll just buy 3-4 cans to be safe, i dont care if i have some left over.

Check on google for SEM or SEM Dye, im sure youll find it, if not post back.

If you want to go really complete, call Just Dashes and they'll put together a kit for you. It comes with two quarts of dye (that's TONS) cleaner, a paintbrush for cleaning down in the grain, a proper 3M scotchbrite pad, rubber gloves, their version of armor all, respirator mask, and even an aerosol spray system. If you're doing the soft stuff like vinyl, that's all you need and its $129. If you are doing hard plastic you should use adhesion promoter which is a large spray can that is about $15.

The secret (according to them) is to start with a spotlessly clean surface. I don't know what the cleaner was that they sent with my kit, but it was designed to dissolve the years of dried-on armor-all. I would suspect that Simple Green would work just as well, but don't let it get dry on the plastic. It will sorta bond to it if you let it dry and mess up the job.

Anyway, I pulled about 15 panels out of my station wagon (including all the plastic side panels in the cargo area), cleaned, scuffed, primed with adhesion promoter, and dyed in about three hours. It dries incredibly fast and I only used less than one quart of the two-quart kit. But its nice to know that I have color-matched dye for future projects. They include so much in case you're trying to change the color of your interior. That would take several coats, but since I was just restoring faded color I only used two coats.

I sound like an advertisement for Just Dashes, but I was very impressed with how comprehensive the kit was and how great the results were. I'm sure you could duplicate the results with SEM or VHT, just be very careful to clean it religiously. Use a cut off paint brush to get down in the grain and scrub.

Where can these things be bought? I want do this to my Cavalier's dash, I'll just buy 3-4 cans to be safe, i dont care if i have some left over.

VHT can usually be bought at the parts store with the paints. SEM can be bought from their website which I think is semcoatings.com or something like that. You can order a color sample kit from SEM as well. Its just a free mailing that has a card with the color patches on it for you to match.

Use SEM colorcaot or VHT Vinyl dye. We use SEM colorcoat @ the Uphostery shop.

http://www.sem.ws/category.php?category_id=36

To prep the surface, strart with a good cleaner. I use Auto Magic's special cleaner concentrate (number 713)

http://www.automagic.biz/cleaners.htm

Follow this with a good wax and grease remover. This wil removew the wax, grease, and armor all...a lot of the hard to remove things that can screw up an uphostery/dye job on a dash or panel. For vinyl, follow this with Vinyl Prep via package directions. SEM makes a very good Vinyl prep availble in a qaurt or a spray can. Sometimes a second application is requires depending on the panel and it's condtion. After this the Vinyl panel is ready to spray.

For plastic, follow the wax and grease remover with a plastic prep (SEM and Dupont make good ones.) After this sand the plastic with a 400 grit sand paper. Follow once more with Plastic Prep. At this point you have a few options. YOu can use ONE of the following...DO NOT use all on the same job.

You can use

a)Adhision Promoter, SEM makes a good one
b)SEM Flex Bond
c)SEM Sand Free

I usually use the Sand Free or the Adhesion Promoter. Apply what you choose via package directions. Now your ready to re-dye your dash and panels! Use SEM Colorcoat or VHT for the Vinyl (I use SEM), use the SEM (not the VHT) for the Plastics. If you do it right it will turn out very very well.

SEM is around $8-10 a can...you can follow it with one of the 3 SEM clears for added protection or a change of sheen/deepen the color. I usually use the Satin Gloss Clear.

It sounds like those will work better than what I have, but I have used Krylon Fusion Paint for Plastics and it has given me beautiful accents for that tuner look. That is what I saw recommended everywhere I looked but you went pro with the SEM and VHT.

I just used some ammonia and water to clean and prep my surfaces, no sanding done (as per instructions)
and sprayed ~4 coats of the Krylon finished off with a heavy coat of clear,
Again it worked great for me, but I don't have much to compare it to.
i just posted some pictures of what I've done in the photo gallery

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39895
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39896
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39897
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39898