Red Factor
Home News History Modifications Pictures Links Email
Dash Repainting
These pictures where taken on March 7 to March 10, 2003
Trying to find something new to do to my car I ran across another person's Grand Prix and noticed that they had the entire driver's side of the dash painted a different color. My first impression was "wow" and then "how was that done". After doing some question asking and looking at pictures I decided to do it to my car.
I went out to Wal-Mart and looked from some spray paint. I didn't find any because I wanted to paint my dash red and there are hundreds of different shades of red. I tried to find the best match. Wal-Mart didn't have any so I headed to Home Depot. They did not have any of the right color either. I then headed to Sears and I found a color that was almost identical to my car. It was called Apple Red. I wanted to buy it when I saw it but realized that it was a multi-purpose spray paint creating professional looks for wood material. I looked and looked but didn't find anything for plastic, so I took it.
When I got home I took a plastic bucket and tested the paint on that. After a few coats and a decent dry, I concluded that it would work fine on my plastic. So I started to disassemble my dash. First I took off the center piece that fits around the radio and AC controls. After that I then took off the center console top by first removing the gear shift. On the gear shift there is a little staple looking clip on the front, if that is removed the shifter slips right off. After that was off I pulled the console top off, disconnecting the two light fixtures that were attached.
After that I then took the bottom plastic cover off underneath the steering wheel. There were a total of 6 screws. Two on the bottom under the dash, two on the top of the plastic piece and two on the left side of it. I also removed that very right vent. You need a torx wrench to remove the single screw inside of the vent. After that is removed, just pull off.
I then took off the door patches that cover the lock and controls to the power accessories. When disconnecting the relays from the plastic, make sure not to break off any of the clips. With a car of our age, any of the plastic pieces become brittle.
After all of that was off I proceeded to the final piece and most important. The dash above the steering wheel. To remove this all you need is a wrench to unscrew the bolt to the left of the radio. After that, carefully pull off the dash cover. If will come off easier than you think.
Now wash all of the pieces from all of the dust and dirt. I just used my bathtub and filled it with warm water and dish soap. Then I used a fan to blow dry them.
Now that you have them to paint, you can sand them and then paint them.
Note: if your car has the rubber cover over pieces of the dash, do not try to remove that! It will not sand off either!! Only way to remove that is a long and stressful procedure of pealing it off. I started to do that and realized that it would take me days to do this, so I just lightly sanded the pieces with a 600 grit sandpaper. After that I sprayed them with primer. Now I know that primer is mainly used for rust, and I don't have rust, but it is good for a different color change and the paint will stick to primer better. I used red primer, applying about 3-4 coats and then I let it dry.
After they dry then you can apply the top coat to the dash pieces. Make sure you do not spray too heavily on one spot since the paint will cause little annoying bubbles. Use even steady strokes. Even if some of the primer color still can be seen, just use more coats instead of one heavy coat. After those are dry then it is optional to add a clear coat. I didn't have to add a clear coat since the paint was reflective enough to begin with. I added it because it will protect the color from the sun with years to come. After all is dry, then you can put the vents back in and all the other items you didn't want to color.
Now that the painting is all done and dry, start putting the pieces back on. Make sure you connect all of the lights back on and be careful not to be too harsh when installing the painted pieces. It does not take much for these pieces to break. Here is what my car looked like before and after the repaint.
Old
New
Was it worth the time and effort. I think so. I enjoy driving around knowing that not many, if any, people in my town has done something like this. It also adds a new feel to the car. Approximate time spent on this project is about 3 whole days.