AlloyZ

The window switch surround that has that cheap, mushy coating on it needed to be repaired due to scuffs and deep marks from the prior owner.
I took them off successfully, scraped off the coating with a flat blade knife; it took 20 mins just to do this one step, got antsy and scraped to deep through the primer coat and into the next black layer of plastic

Then sprayed them with Dupli color Vinyl and Fabric, looked like second degree sunburn ( blistering on aprox 40% of the piece). So I broke out the power tools (lol the smallest,gentlest hand held power sander I have)
With this said tool I took them down to a new smooth surface free of and primer or paint/gel like coating, and finished by vigorous hand sanding with 100 grit then 220 grit sand paper.
I have yet to attempt to repaint them...
Option 1 : primer---2 coats , sand lightly
Vinyl Paint Black --Two coats
Clear Coat???


Option two; PlastY Dip? NEVER USED IT BEFORE??? how to?

Option three: Sealant/sand able glaze---sand down glaze---paint w Vinyl
paint 2 coats- Then clear coat.

Option four: Wait, leave them sanded and order small amt of Di NOC

Option Five : Get new ones from NISSAN stealership? part number ? Link?


WHAT WOULD YOU DO, maybe some pictures of your work and ideas would help alot...Thanks

NEW TO Z from Mopar

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

Option #5

JCITY

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like a mess to me...

Why are you using the vinyl/fabric paint?Odd?

Whats your budget?How important to you to make it look RIGHT?
From what I can tell from your level of expertise on this kinda thing,more painting is just gonna make it worse.
Ordering replacement parts(Nissan) is got to be expensive.
Since you have a SILVER Z,you may consider carbon fiber covers on those
easy to scratch door pieces.Clean the surface.Peel off the 3-M tape,install.
You are done.You may try the Z-STORE/MOTORSPORTS.They have some good ones.Will look great with your silver Z!

TPete19

iTrader: (15)

Sounds like you may not have cleaned/degreased before you sprayed the first time. I think you'll still be able to paint them. Remember that prep is by far the most important step when painting. So 95% of you time will spent there. Always degrease the piece before painting.

AlloyZ

budget? I'll get OEM replacement pieces if needed....the window switch surrounds where imperfect when I started as stated.
I am doing this a fun DIY,if it doesn't work out not a big deal, thanks for the input.
I have sanded them down to a nice smooth finish; I don't see why they would not be able to be painted and provide a smooth feeling and perfect looking piece.
Maybe I willl use Krylon and why I used this paint is b/c a DIY on MY350z for the cubby and gauge surround was what I followed that is the paint used and it looked stock in the pictures posted so I would like to replicate that.
I'll let you guys know If I wrap it, paint it, or replace it...Thanks

JCITY

iTrader: (2)

???What gets me is there seems to be a trend forming of guys asking for "input" on what to do but they already had their minds made up prior to their post.
Just looking for validation of their idea?Or...?

DavesZ#3

iTrader: (26)

Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. Required when painting anything plastic to get paint to stick.

Italianjoe1

iTrader: (6)

How exactly do you remove those pieces, just pop them straight up?

AlloyZ

Yeah dude, just looking for ideas, perhaps someone had the perfect fix also nice to hear what people think bout different ways to do these mods....

.....FOR the CONSOLE and Cubby areas, I finished them today with clear coat,,,they look 100% OEM but better quality,
On the window switch surrounds ... I ended up using a sealant glaze from NAPA, sanded the glaze down (wet sand from 400 to 1000grit.) then used Krylon Fusion -finished with clear coat. Looks about 95% perfect I am very happy with these results.

Also the window switch surround pulls directly up. The passenger side handle much be removed for the other side to be removed. I used the MAC tools body panel pullers and worked great you could used a butter knife but be careful not to scratch any thing with it......for the center console look in the TECH forum for a DIY , that is what I followed, helped out immensely seeing the pictures and knowing what to remove sped up the job for sure ! THANKS GUYS FOR ALL THE REPLYS !!!

AlloyZ

Yes they pop up, be gentle if it takes to much pressure to remove anything on these cars then just stop because they use ABS plastic and once it breaks.
UGH better replace the whole unit then have a wobble window switch so just be careful...look up some DIY and let the other guys take the risks first then follow their proven methods....
Thus when I start my performance mods...only gonna do what has proven results...like Test Pipes and gears/LSD things that dramatically change vehicles power and drive ability ...not 600 dollars CAI that do nothing ( they are still really nice and a great mod but probably produce no more power than stock air boxes at least on a HR .) THANKS AGAIN MY350Z

dcains

iTrader: (15)

I used Duplicolor Black Bumper Coating, and it looks (but doesn't feel sticky) like the OEM finish. As mentioned, prep is everything, and if all of the original finish isn't completely removed, it will craze and peel. I put on six coats, wet-sanding between each, and the finish got smoother and better with each coat. For the final coat, I just sprayed a very light mist, which is what gave it a slightly-textured finish, like OEM. I only did the driver's side first, and looking side to side, one really couldn't see any difference or sheen between the two pieces. Might have been easier to just buy new OEM pieces, but I'm not sure why anyone would expect them to last any longer than the set which came on the car. The bumper coating also worked great to touch up the release button on the cubby lid, applied with a small artist's brush, and it blends right in. Much better than a Sharpie, which is shiny and blue-tinged.

AlloyZ

exactly! my finish is way better than oem now, just noticed my gauge pods shine so nice now !