Posted November 24, 2001 by OverKill_SI
Subject Vehicle: '92 Honda Civic Si hatch
Materials needed:
Phillips screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver
Butter knife or equivalent
TSP or another degreasing agent
VERY fine grain wet sand paper
Newspaper
Masking Tape
Clear coat (Recommended)
Paint (whatever color you want)
NOTE: Before you get started and start spray painting everything, I would like to say that I take no responsibility for the accuracy or outcome of the information below. I've laid down the steps that I took for MY interior. Use common sense and if things don't turn out the way you want, don't blame me :D
1) Ok first off, clear out a nice roomy work space, spread some news paper down, make sure there is no dust or anything in the work area or anything that could potentially hamper your detailing job.
2) You'll need to remove all the items you want to paint. Center dash, vents, kick panel stereo covers, door cowlings, whatever... Take all that stuff off and dump it into a nice big bucket of water and TSP. Let them suckers soak a minute or two and then rub them down to make sure you get all of the grease and grime out of them. Then let dry for 10 minutes or so..
3) Next, take the fine grain sand paper, wet it down a bit and sand over the entire surface you want to paint. This isn't really removing previous paint job or stock color but more making tiny grooves which allow the new layers of paint to bond to something..
4) Again, wash her down with a little TSP and water to make sure you get all that dust crap your fine grain sand paper might have made! Just cause you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.. Again, allow to dry for 10 minutes or so. You can skip this step or add this to Step #1 but I prefer to do it this way that way I know things are done in order and done properly.
**Let everything dry for 30 mins to an hour before you handle it. You don't want to rush when doing this**
5) Take your spray can (I recommend something like MotorMaster: Exact Match from Canadian Tire) and place it in your hand, point it to the newspaper to the RIGHT of the object you are going to paint. MAKE SURE you are holding the can back from the object about 1 foot to 1 1/2 feet. Press the nozel on the can and in a smooth motion move to spray over the object from right to left, do NOT go too slow and attempt to get this all done in one coat or you will mess up the job. Allow this sucker to dry for a good 30 mins even though the can might say 5-10.
6) Repeat Step #5 as often as you like. I used 4 coats of paint on my dash to get the deep dark shine and then used two layers of clear coat (MotorMaster: Clear Coat from Canadian Tire, same section as the other Exact Match paints are).
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