Unicus

iTrader: (3)

I'm going to be doing suede on certain parts of the interior, saw it years ago on @abarclay 's Z and since then I've been in love with the idea. Looks like the shop he got it done at is a good minute away, so I might do it myself. That will be over all of the "ping pong paddle" surfaces.

Something else I'd like to do is repaint every silver item in the interior. The piece around the shifter/boot edge, the pieces on the steering wheel around the CC/radio buttons, etc. All of that silver needs to go.

Next would be where the previous owner scratched some of the black painted items. On the door, the piece that houses the window controls and suck, that black piece is scratched to ****. Either he had a dog or very long nails...I don't judge.

Anyway, I'm looking for paint suggestions for the silver and black. I've never painted ANYTHING in my life, but I want to give it a shot myself. I'm more than willing to throw down for high quality paint/primer/sanding equipment but I'm not certain what to do for which surfaces.

Thanks fellas.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

look into hyro dipping the interior plastic pieces.... i think it will look alot better than painting them

dcains

iTrader: (15)

I did hydrodipping on mine:

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i knew someone that i see post regularly did it, couldnt remember who.... thanks

dcains

iTrader: (15)

BTW, if hydrodipping is your choice, do not even think about sending your parts to JM Autoracing, a vendor here. I sent my parts there first, and it was a nightmare experience. Had to have them stripped and redone again by a reputable shop.

Unicus

iTrader: (3)

Did you sand everything down first or just send it in? The guys at carbon fiber element had done good work in the past, was thinking of sending it in there. I haven't looked into dipping, I thought it would be as expensive as having the items professionally painted so I didn't look into it as much.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

I just disassembled everything and sent it in, and the poor prep work by JM Autoracing was part of the bad result. Looking back, considering all the extra time (from having the process done twice) and the expense, I should have sent the pieces to Carbon Fiber Element. I may still, as I have an extra set of all those parts. ~$1K, though.

Unicus

iTrader: (3)

That much? damn. That's why I was thinking of painting. I'm trying to get the stuff out of the way now (over the summer) that's more work and less cost, like interior LED's, painting and disassembling/sanding parts etc.

EDIT - not too familiar with hydro, would more small parts cost more/less than just the large things? I'll be getting dipped what you'd done, but a lot of other small pieces additionally, from tiny HVAC controls to the steering wheel control switches (headlights/washers etc)

dcains

iTrader: (15)

Yeah, real CF is pricey, and the hydrodipping is less than half the cost. Vinyl wrapping is another alternative, but not one I ever liked.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

Hydrodipping is usually priced by the square inch. Don't recall what I paid, and some shops may just quote you by the piece. I used this shop, but if you have someone local, that would be my recommendation:

http://www.shawnaughtydesignz.com/hydrographics.html

Unicus

iTrader: (3)

Oh, I wasn't planning on getting real CF on the little parts. I figured it would be too much of a pain. Not sure what would be the best option for all the little silver pieces, was honestly considering high-grade spraypaint. I'm just afraid to pick a bad texture.

Something I've noticed about the silver is that some appear to be finished differently. The circle below the shifter has no protection, while the door handle is a glossy (but clearly same paint) of that silver.

I wouldn't want to wrap pieces that small.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

On something like the door handle, powdercoating would probably be the best, as regular paint might not be resistant to the wear that piece will get. For the other stuff, regular automotive-quality paint should be fine.

Unicus

iTrader: (3)

How resistant is hydrodipping? Looking around now and finding reputable shops near me, most likely going to ship the pieces at some point.

There are a few different ways I want my interior done, some CF (very likely hydro,) some black, and some a darker blue to match the blue accents I'll be doing all around the car (I'm getting rid of the NISMO seats and even the red stitching eventually. I don't like the colour red. at all.)

dcains

iTrader: (15)

The top coat on hydrodipping is automotive-grade clear, same as the paint on the body of,your car. At least that's what it's supposed to be. The crap JM Autoracing used looked like,it was from a spray can. Best to find a local shop so you can see what they're doing and look at their work.

Unicus

iTrader: (3)

Okay, before I give this a shot (I think I'll start with the silver pieces) I still have some questions for the painting. Do I need to remove the old paint or just paint over it? I don't care how much/long it takes, I want it done correctly. Thanks a lot for the help!

I'll look into dipping next payday.

jdmfetish

iTrader: (3)

so these pictures are the work of http://www.shawnaughtydesignz.com/hydrographics.html

So you are saying its pretty durable if you are a careful person in general, and unless you damage it , it should remain looking pristine ?

dcains

iTrader: (15)

Correct - I sent the parts to Shawn after JM Autoracing F'd them up. I used Shawn because he makes that CF pattern, although he also sells the film to other shops, too. As mentioned, the top coat is the same as the clear coat on the body of your car, so it's pretty durable. When I got the pieces back, I did a little wet sanding, then a polish and wax. I wax the pieces every once in a while, but don't really need to. The finish is far more durable than the rubberized crap Nissan used, which is why I did this.

dcains

iTrader: (15)

If the old paint is in good shape and not peeling, you can scuff it up with some fine sandpaper, prime and paint. I wouldn't paint over that rubberized crap Nissan used, unless it was in perfect condition, and that may be a risk for future peeling. Or, it might be the new paint protects the rubber and it will be OK - don't know. Many others have painted their console pieces, and there are threads her you can search. I resprayed my spare pieces, which were in nearly-perfect shape, with SEM interior paint, but they're stored in a box, so ho knows? If you hydrodip the console pieces, you're going to want to sand them smooth to remove that texture, so the rubberized coating will be removed anyway.

mcubed45

Every older Z is like that. There's this shitty rubberized paint on the door controls and center console. The layer under the top coat is a light gray so every little nick shows up as the paint starts to come off from normal usage. You have to sand off the areas that are bad before painting/dipping or whatever you decide to do.

Unicus

iTrader: (3)

Alright, that sounds good. There isn't much I can do until I fix the seat issue though, I need to get rid of the red. I'm going black/black/blue or black/white/blue for the entire car, so the seats have to be the first thing to go.

I'm stuck between buying some new brides, seat covers, upholstry shop, etc. Searching around but it's all quite the pain.