MisterT

i don't want to paint every thing, but am looking at painting the gauge cluster area and the black piece that surrounds the outside (where L.E.D. is mounted for those with alarms). I hear to use Krylon primer/paint/and clearcoat. Someone on SoundDomain painted his silver and it looks great. My concern is matching the silverish color of the area that surrounds AC controls. Any suggestions? Also, with the Krylon paint, I hear there are only a few choices. Any other paint as good?

MisterT

asylum24

krylon is good yes but a friend of mine just went to walmart and picked out some auto paint and sprayed it on.. it wasnt krylon but something else and it looked good even without a clearcoat on it... matching color im not sure but i seem to remember it having a wide range

MisterT

I ended up putting the **** back together. I don't know if it is worth the price of messing up my interior since I never tried it. I have heard and seen some disasters of people who have tried. One guy with a Chevy Beretta especially! He really screwed up his interior! It looks good though. Also, there is a site and I will find out where, that sells custom gauges. You can get indiglo and reverse indiglo lights and have a design on both the speedometer and the RPM gauges or get writing on one and graphics on the other. I like the dragon with wings jumbo size on the RPM gauge and the Mazda name on the Speedometer. You can even choose a different font for the numbers!

MisterT

aceraj

I would advise using a clearcoat. If you dont the paint will get dull after cleaning all of the finger prints off of it.
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Trogdor

I know where I live there is a store that makes custom spray paint by taking the serial number of the color and mixes a can to match. I'm from Winnipeg and if there is a store here that does it, you should find one anywhere else. I did my trim around the raidio/ac controls and it looks sweet. Color matched to the car. You just have to remove the piece and spray it and definately clear coat it with a couple of coats.

hihoslva

Your best bet is to paint everything.

I wanted to do the same as you - paint my gauge cluster/surround to match the rest of the interior trim. But finding a matching paint is nearly impossible.

So I decided to paint everything a nice bright silver.

First of all, forget the Krylon Krap. Good for projects, but SEM Bumper Coater is BY FAR a superior product for your plastic. It's made for exteriors, so it's very durable. I used Light Titanium Metallic on my stuff almost a year ago, and it still looks perfect. The color is awesome, and it has the same "sheen" as the original stuff - smooth, but not glassy/glossy.

I also used a can of SEM Trim Clear over the top of the titanium for protection. It doesn't add any "gloss", which is exactly how I wanted it.

The whole project took maybe 4 hours total over the course of a weekend. I took the parts off Friday afternoon, painted them the same day (probably 7 LIGHT coats of silver, and at least 3 of clear). The paint dries VERY fast when sprayed lightly, so in 5 minutes you can recoat. Then I let it all sit until Sunday so it was nice and dry, and re-installed everything.

I painted my gauge surround(s), center console/radio trim, window switch trim, door handles, glovebox latch, and even sanded the center e-brake trim (to get rid of the texture) and painted that, too. It all came out great - and does NOT have that "ricer spray paint" look at ALL:











SEM paints can be bought at good body shop supply stores, or see if a local body shop can order you some, which is how I got mine. It's about $8 a can, but WELL worth it. You can see on the gauge pic that I had 26,000+ miles on the car - well, the mileage is DOUBLE that now, and the paint still looks exactly the same. Worth every cent.

If you need any tips on parts removal or whatever, feel free to post, PM, or email me. It's pretty easy to do - and I'm very happy with mine.

~HH

MisterT

Wow HH, you did a fantastic job on your car!! it looks professional done. That is what I am talking about. Thanks for the info. I am going to have to check in to that!

MisterT

I went to Autozone today and all they have in Krylon interior paint was Blue, Yellow (yikes), Dark Green, and white! I want to use the silver like yours HH. I will try the body shop thing and see if they carry any of the stuff you mentioned. Also with the window control panel, does it come off easily? Someone at msprotege mentioned they had trouble and didn't want to mess it up. You also use primer and fine sandpaper too? Hell, I just need to read the How To Thread. Sorry!

Lastly, the bezel is painted or did you order a metal one?

hihoslva

First things first.

SKIP THE KRYLON.

Trust me. Do whatever it takes to get the SEM paints. They are well worth it, and perfect for this project. Paint your park bench with Krylon. Paint your car interior with SEM. If you do not use an SEM paint, I will refuse to help you any further with this endeavor . I'm only half-kidding .

All of the parts are fairly easy to remove once you know the little tricks to them - including the window button panel. And I can help you remove any part you need. I even painted my door latch handles so they would match the rest of the silver.

I painted NOTHING still on the car - EVERY painted part was removed before painting.

The gauge bezel is painted - there's no metal. All the silver is SEM paint.

I did not use any primer for this project, and frankly, it's not needed. I just sanded the parts - very lightly, and I didn't stress over every square millimeter of surface. Basically, I used a 150 or 220 grit, I think - just to get a little scuff on the surface and remove any oils or other substances. Then I cleaned the dust off with a little alcohol, and let the part dry a few minutes.

The SEM paint is awesome. If you lay out all or most of the parts, by the time you are done coating the last piece, you can go back and recoat the first one.

The object to a good finish is to LIGHTLY spray the pieces. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, but if you've never really used spray paint before, you wouldn't know.

Basically, each coat should be a DUSTING and NO more than that - do NOT concern yourself with coverage, and getting every little spot - this is how you get runs and drips. Just dust the part, get the lightest of coats on there, and move on. It'll dry within a few minutes, and you can dust again. Keep going like this until it's all coated and an even color. This is how you get that deep, even color that doesn't look sprayed on - the combination of SEM paint and the right technique.

This can get a little lengthy - so T, please feel free to PM or email me if you need specific part removal or other info. Removing the pieces is easy once you know the little tricks to a few of them. Unless the rest of the board really wants me to post the stuff.....either way - if you need help, lemme know.

~HH

MisterT

Wow, thanks for the info. I have seen people who did their's in blue and yellow, but IMO silver looks good. Hell, the MP3 had silver throughout even the seats!! Thanks again for the help!

PhatTrax

What major paint shop can this SEM paint be purchased? Also, is it the same color as the Protege5/MSP's silver bezel?

hihoslva

You're going to have a hard time matching the interior factory color.

The effort you spend trying to find and/or mix the right paint would be better spent painting ALL the parts the same new color - which is what I did. Instead of spending weeks looking for a paint that might match up, I just painted everything for a guaranteed match. That, and the color I used is brighter and better-looking (IMHO) than stock.

I don't know at what "major" paint store you can find SEM Bumper Coater. But any body shop should be able to order it for you. In addition, they have a website - www.semproducts.com - and if you do a google search or the like, you'll most likely find hundreds of places to buy it online.

~HH

MisterT

Good info there hihoslva. Personally I like the silver that you used better than the silverish/bronze color of the factory. I just thought originally that it would be easier to get an exact match since it is pretty much a pain in the *** to take out the center piece do to the AC controls. But once said and done, it will look nicer with the lighter silver along with other trim pieces painted to match. A lot of people use interior spray from Autozone and/or Pepboys and use primer, paint, and then say to put lots of clearcoats on top of that! Your way seems easier, less steps, and it is holding up.

hihoslva

The SEM paint is by FAR a superior product in every way. Useability, finish, and durability.

I found out about it from a local, respected stereo install shop. I was there (getting my windows tinted), and saw them using it for some interior dash panels they had fabricated. They told me it's all they use for parts like this, and seeing the finish sold me immediately.

They have some nice different shades, T. - who knows, you might decide to go with a darker, more gunmetal look. When looking for it, hopefully the shop will have an SEM color chart, so you can see what else is available.

BTW - I also painted my badges with the same SEM paint (gunmetal color). Now this is exterior stuff, and it has also held up perfectly. The front badge has taken a beating, and the paint did chip from road debris. But the rear badges look just like the day they were sprayed, and are going into their second New York winter (snow, ice, salt sand, etc.).




Accept no inferior substitutes to SEM.

~HH

nai8o5

i'm doing my protege's interior right now and am about half way done, the only interior paint i've seen is folia-tech, has anyone used this compared to SEM?? so far i've done the complete center console, gauge cluster and the trim on the bottom where the car door closes...............i'm really interested in different paints available, i went through 3 cans of folia-tech already which is 18$ a bottle! like i said it looks really good and get a lot of compliments, but it doesn't seem to me like it's the best quality.........