Anyone ever paint their door panels?

If so, how did you do it, and can you post some pictures of the final product?

I'm looking into getting some really really nice door panels from someone sometime very soon, but they aren't the colour I want.

They are a light brown, and I'm looking for jade green.

 

I haven't painted my panels on the '73, but it can be done with a product called Colorbond. I painted some pieces on my '88 Ranger and they came out nicely. Rustoleum, or it may be Krylon also has some interior paint.

 

Yes, LMC has plastic paint/dye. Colorbond is a good brand, look them up.

 

Thanks for the info. I wish I could find this stuff much closer to home because that's a long way to ship something, even though it's just a can of spray.

I'd probably end up paying around $40 in shipping just for this stuff. It looks like it would work though.

 

The Duplicolor stuff at Autozone works pretty good but you have to get them real clean.

 

Thanks! We have that here in Canada!

 

Check with your local autoparts store, they can usually mix you a vinyl dye, and also probably educate you on a flat clear coat to protect them after you dye them. I have never done door panels, but I have done a couple of dash pads that came out real nice. I used PPG products and unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the satin clear I put on afterwards, but it came out looking completly stock.

 

Very impressive. Stock is how I would like them to look, but I don't want to have to chop them up at all, just paint/dye.

Thanks for the info.

If you ever find out what kind of protectant you used on yours, give me a shout.

 

I should probably go into more detail how I did it...

First, I washed the dash pads all down with soap and water, and then scuffed them with a grey abrasive scotch brite bad to promote better adhesion. After that I wiped them all down with wax and grease remover. Next I sprayed several light "dry" coats of the color, letting it flash in between. Once I was happy with the color and coverage, I let it dry for about 20 to 30 minutes. In order to keep the color from fading with time, you need to spray the "clear" on over it. I remember having several options from high gloss all the way down to flat. I chose a satin or semi gloss because I thought it most closely resembled the stock dash pads. I mixed it accordingly, and sprayed 3 or 4 coats on and let it dry. DONE!

My point is this...the dye and the clear were part of a system from PPG that I used that they mixed for me right at my little podunk auto parts store. I would recommend stoping at a autozone, O'reilys, Napa, or whatever you guys have up there, and asking a few questions. I think you can simply "paint" your door panels, but over time they will most likely fade if you just choose a one step product.

 

We've got a Nappa and a Parts Source (same thing as Auto Zone)

That's exactly what I don't want. I think I'll try it your way and see what happens.

One question though. Using that scratch pad on your door panels didn't destroy them at all? I would assume that it would because you're literally making grooves in the plastic, which would take away from their original design.

 

everything here you see was rattle canned by the previous owner...

he used gloss black too, which is wrong...semi gloss or flat is correct. However, doesn't look bad for someone who just bombed it to sell it quickly.

the door panels in this truck were originally red...no clue about the rest of the cab though...the dash I suspect was tan perhaps...I think it had a mix of several interiors b4 he painted it.

 

That doesn't look too bad at all for what it sounds like it was put together with.

Anyone know if I can get this paint/dye stuff made so that it'll match any colour I want?

I like black interiors, but I wouldn't mind going with something a little different, depending on what colour I decide to paint my truck.

 

late model resto, 50resto.com has a lot of paint dyes for interiors, they're all specifically coded for the mustang color interiors, but they come out looking oem and come in just about any color you want. So long as your prep work is good, it'll come out looking factory. Ford themselves painted many interior plastics...for example, the fox mustang dash from 79-86 only came in one color, tan....ford then painted that to match the color of the interior that was going in.

When I get more time, I'll likely re-do everything in the interior with a semi gloss or flat. Just remember, never use gloss paints inside, manufactorers always used flat paints, or semi at the most. It'll come out looking like a can of armour all exploded in your interior if you use gloss.

 

great info guys!! I am going through the same issue with my build. My truck is black so I don't want an all black interior also. Knowing this info I can look into dying the dash pad and door panels to add some color.

 

I used the Duplicolor paint that was made for the plastics. I went from a Jade green (badly faded) set to black. They came out great, I just put several light coats on and built it up a little. I can post some pics tomorrow.