How to - Paint interior door caps

[smbMG]

Right then, the time had come to finally put my interior project into motion. And those of you who know will know that I have been intending to paint certain trim on the interior of my TF to that similar of the sunstorm SE.

This is a before shot of the interior before i carry on




I had since replaced my steering wheel to that with the ally sections on the top and bottom.

Tools/materials you will need are

Philips screwdriver
small flathead screwdriver
pliers
wet and dry 1200 sandpaper
Plastic primer spray can
relative colour spray paint can
clear lacquer spray can

To begin with the door cards must be removed which are straightforward and a how to guide is here courtesy of Rob Bell's site.

Once the cards are off then the door caps need to be removed to make the job of painting them easier.

This is the reverse of the door card



As you can see the door cap is held in place by 5 circlips and should not be glued. To remove these clips I used a small screwdriver to lever 3 of the prongs away from the plastic dowell and the clip should then be easily removed.

Once all 5 are done the cap should be removed easily. You should be able to use the clips again if they are not damaged and the prongs can be bent back easily. Ised a set of pliers to lever them back in as so.



Once both doopr caps are off the cards you should lay them somewhere taking into account the use of spray cans. I used several sheets of newspaper on my garage floor near the garage door to open when spraying to allow some ventilation.

To prepare the caps for painting they must be given a once over with the wet and dry sandpaper to ensure the whole surface has had the shine taken off it. Once done give the caps a wipe down with a damp cloth to ensure there is no dust on them.

Next is the plastic primer. Lay the caps down witha bit of paper so that they are flat and to ensure you can easily spray all sides.

Begin to spray with sideways motions building up fine layers of the primer until all the caps are covered like this



Allow the primer to dry for as long as you feel is necessary. The longer the better really but i left mine for about 5 hours or so, however 24 is recommended.

Once the primer is dry the next stage is the painting. As previously use the wet and dry to gently rub down the primer to ensure the paint has more grabbing points to enqure a quality finish. Again wipe down the caps with a damp cloth and ensure they are dry prior to painting.

Then as with the primer use the colour spray can to spray fine layers a little at a time until the caps are nicely covered like this



Now you should leave the colour paint to dry and harden for 24 hours before applying the lacquer again to ensure a quality finish.

The next stage is to apply the clear lacquer to ensure a shiny finish and seal the paint. The instructions on the tin are to rub down the paint to ensure the lacquer sticks. However i did do this and i feel it affects the overall result so i am not going to bother when i do my centre console.

The rubbing down prior and after priming are important though.

As done before apply the lacque in fine layers until a good shine is visible like this



and then leave to dry for 24 hours if possible or until you are satisfied all the layers are hardened.

Once completed the caps can be fitted back onto the door cards the reverse of taking them off. The clips that were taken off should now slide onto the dowells from the caps and then pushed on with the pliers making sure the cap is flush with the card.

refit the door cards and then voila!



Next on the agenda is the centre console, which has currently been primed and awaiting painting!

Oh and note the new shorter gear stick and expensive MOMO gear knob!

EDIT: and now the centre console is done!

[Stiff]

Very nice! I may have a bash at doing mine.

[Petevick]

got your link Stuart

[legendasboy]

thank you for your how to. i've finished mine and saved several buck, i was going to buy one from ebay and the all work was only 15 quid so very cheap.
here it is sorry for the bad picture and i still going to put some bits in it Heater konbs, rings new silver knob and lighter and new steering 2