Interior Painting and Design
Interior painting is one area a do it yourselfer can achieve professional results without having access to expensive equipment such as a spray booth. There are several substrates in most interiors that are painted and color co-ordinating to the outside can sure complete a project. The first thing most of us do after seeing a car we like is go up and peak inside, so why disappoint.

The trend of most street rods is to follow the paint scheme inside and use innovative textures / dash designs and layouts to create an inviting environment. If you are building a new street rod from scratch, the interior is best left to an expert that specializes in this, however if you are looking to paint /color change, save dough etc - read on.

All painted plastics can be repainted, there are extra steps needed when the plastic is new or has never been painted. Vinyl can be repainted and leather permanently re-dyed, it’s a matter of using the correct procedures and products. Fiberglass is used for most street rod dashes and often door sills etc., and can be refinished like the outside (see my previous articles). When choosing colors – put a sample against the exterior color, some will work and others will look awful. Since most street rods of older vintage have limited interior space, for upholstery and carpets try to use light, airy colors like creams, light grays, light tans that soothe and accent it with some bold colors on the hard surfaces and piping to liven things up. If your car has a graphic – extending it inside looks very trick. This is your mobile living room so make it look relaxing and inviting!

The secret to lasting plastic painting is prep, most new plastics have some mold release wax residue that requires removal. Start with soap and water, follow with wax and grease remover and do a final wipe with isopropyl alcohol. Tip: Occasionally on newer vehicles/parts you may run into recycled material which feels, and is, extremely greasy due to the Olefin resin that suspends the thermal plastic. It may be necessary to heat the part (130F) and scrub it with Ajax while it is hot as this “sweats” out the wax residue and brings it to the surface. To check it, run water over – it should not bead but slide off. Smooth cleaned plastics can now be water sanded with fine grit then wiped clean with alcohol. Textured plastics can be scrubbed with a gray Scotchbrite pad and Ajax and water, then rinsed and dried.

All the major paint companies make a plastic primer, they are usually clear and require one medium light coat just prior to painting and take seconds to dry and are not sanded, kind of like spraying a coat of glue on ( note: always follow the manufacturers recommendations for their product). Most plastics can also be primed with an epoxy primer if you need some filling, although these won’t stick to recycled plastics {TPO}.

Vinyl is fairly easy to paint, prep as you would for plastic and use an automotive interior vinyl paint, these are available from Sherwin Williams (who is a big OEM supplier} , PPG, SEM and Marhyde who have special vinyl lines. The best leather dyes I have used were from England and imported by Parasol (888-702-0778). Fibernew also has excellent leather dyes although I don’t know if they will sell to the public. The application of these products requires a spray gun, a cheap touch up type gun is ideal although a “Preval” type sprayer could work in a pinch. There are clears available that dry matte/.semi gloss etc that should be used on high wear areas like steering wheels. The latest trend with the import crowd is to paint everything using a gloss exterior clear, which reflects of the windshield and is blinding on a sunny day – don’t do it.

The biggest bane to leather is Armoral or similar products as it plasticises the leather over time causing it to crack. I watched a pro restore a Rolls Royce interior that was cracked beyond belief. After soaking it with wax and grease remover to get rid of years of Armoral and letting it dry overnight, he sanded the leather with 120 grit sandpaper, neatly masked the trim and re-dyed the leather. It looked and felt like new when he was finished!

Plastic chrome that has gone south can be a real eyesore on an otherwise stellar interior. There are some shops that specialize in plastic re-chroming (like Leader Plating in Mississauga (416-746-1492). I am really excited about a new chrome paint that will soon be available in Canada. Developed in Italy it looks just lie chrome but in a spray application – more on this when I get my hands on some.
I was at Peter Duff’s recently and he had just finished some one-off instrument faces for his friend’s Ridler contender – they looked awesome - subtle touch but very kustom. There is also a lot of custom molded fiberglass that is starting to appear in prize winning interiors, it just takes some imagination and lots of time and patience to create a masterpiece

John