I'm getting ready to paint my interior and in talking to SEM I'm told that I need Sand Free for ABS plastic and Plastic Prep for thermoplastics. They told me that if acetone smears on the plastic, it's ABS

That being said, I did a test and can't really tell if it's smearing or just getting rid of ancient dirt.

Does anyone know for sure what the dash, door panels and moldings are made from?

Or - is there a better way to do the acetone smear test? Maybe I just don't know what I'm looking for in terms of the test.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

KsCop, I painted all the plastic in my 81 f100 , I cleaned all of it with TSP and warm water. Let it dry completely, then used SEM plastic prep and micro fiber towels. I never redipped the towel in the plastic prep. I spray painted everything with SEM 39133 flexible primer surfacer. I let that dry for a couple hours, then sprayed it with SEM color coat. I went from tan to black. All that was sprayed on was put on in a couple light coats. I am very pleased with the results, it really turned out nice. SEM is a great product. as with any paint job, preparation is key. I had no smearing of the plastic using the plastic prep. Good luck with your project.

 

I don't think the issue is smearing with plastic prep, I think it's adhesion. SEM recommends Sand Free on 'problem' plastics like ABS and Plastic Adhesion promoter on other plastics.

Their process is to clean with SEM Soap, Rinse, once water doesn't bead anymore then clean with plastic prep, then use either Sand Free or the other adhesion promoter depending on plastic type, followed by the color coats

My concern is adhesion. I'd hate to use the wrong product and have the paint peel off down the road.

How long ago did you do your interior and how is it holding up?

 

I did my truck interior about 8 months ago, I have had no peeling or lifting. Even where the seat belt rubs on the seat back arm covers, the paint shows no signs of rubbing off or peeling. The paint looks great, I'm very pleased with the SEM products.

 

I'm going to try using the plastic adhesion promoter instead of the sand free on a small part and see how it does. I have plenty of that and none of the Sand Free yet.

If that works OK, I'll go ahead with the dash panel, door panels and trim. I'm still undecided on the dash pad - leave it black for a 2-tone effect or paint it to match. I may just leave it black for now and if I don't like it, paint it then..

 

Subscribed. As for smearing, I did get some on a few of the parts I tested, like the console and the trim that runs between the windshield and the door. Those are hard plastic and are probably ABS. But the door panels and dash pad are not ABS.

 

Subscribing. My door panels are shot, so I won't be painting them. My plan for the interior is to convert it to black, so I'm going to be paying close attention to this thread. Out of curiosity how much paint did you get for the dash and such?

 

So far I just bought 4 cans of color. I'm hoping that is enough.
My Sand Free is supposed to be here today, so thinking that the dash and trim are ABS I'll use the Sand Free on those per SEM. I did get some smearing on the dash and trim. Once those are done, I'll tackle the door cards

I really want to follow SEM's directions to the letter to get the best result, and perhaps have some recourse should things go south

The plan for this afternoon is to tackle the dash - cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, prep, paint..

 

Can you post what site to go-to to get the SEM paint?

I'm looking to do this myself in the near future. I'd love to see some pictures of your progress when you do it.

 

I just bought the SEM off of Amazon.Com. TCPGlobal sells it, as does Eastwood I think.

I found that the dash pretty much took 3/4 of a can of color btw

 

Holy smokes!! 3/4 of a can!?

 

I bought the paint from this place and I believe it was better deal then at amazon:
R & E Paint Supply

 

Back in the January 2013 issue of Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords...they re-died the interior of an old 1980 Fox Mustang I think, and they used SEM products from National Parts Depot (NPD).

I was able to find all of their products that they used, and the finished product looks amazing! Plus with it being a 1980...I would think that the final color they used would be 'period correct' black for the vinyl.

Part numbers are:
909-15 - SEM Soap
C-CPA - SEM Plastic Prep/Cleaner
AP-SF - SEM Sand Free Paint Adhesion Promoter
LP-946 - SEM Interior Paint

I was thinking about going this route to make sure everything gets done right. Then once I get my new dash pad in from dashesdirect.com...then I can re-dye that if need be. Then everything will be correct, and the dashboard and all surrounding pieces will be a wonderful black...like it should've been from the get-go. IMO at least.

 

Having recently done this myself, I can say there is a difference between the two general types of plastic, and it does matter which prep you use. Specifically, I found that if I used Adhesion Promoter on ABS rather than the Sand Free, the paint will scratch off very easily.

You can usually tell which is what sort of how by the plastic feels. If it feels brittle, like it might shatter, it is probably the ABS. The big ABS pieces I recall are the dash itself and the A-Pillar trim. These take Sand Free (apply a medium wet coat of Sand Free, while still wet, apply your first coat of Sem Color Coat).

If the plastic is more flexible, that is the other type. I found this to be most everything else - kickpanels, door panels, B-pillar trim and rear window and behind-the-seat trim (I have an extended cab, so I might have a few more panels that others don't). This takes the Adhesion Promoter (one light coat of Adhesion Promoter, let sit 5 minutes, apply a second wet coat of Adhesion Promoter and let sit 10-15 minutes but no more than 30 minutes, then apply Color Coat).

A few pieces were hard to tell - the ones that first caused me to notice a difference were the plastic clip/hooky things that hold the sun visors in the forward position. I thought they were the kind of plastic not affected by acetone (I just assumed, and never checked), so I used Adhesion Promoter on them instead of Sand Free. They looked great after painting but just handling them the paint started to chip off.

One other thing I recently discovered, rubbing alcohol will take Sem right off. Most people might never discover this but I use rubbing alcohol for cleaning all the time. You have to be terribly careful with it anywhere near the Sem. I have learned this the hard way and am facing trying to repaint a part of my dash inside the truck (I'm not taking it out again).

What else has alcohol in it? Windex of course (Windex also contains ammonia). So be careful cleaning your interior windows. I have begun using Stoner Invisible Glass exclusively on my cars, it is much safer around paint and includes no ammonia or alcohol. I have actually found Windex to harm the exterior paint on older single-stage cars, nevermind the interior. Not to mention the biggest problem with Windex, it streaks like crazy. The difference in using Invisible Glass is like night and day, the stuff is incredible.

 

I use the "World's Best Glass Cleaner"


Amazon says it contains "perfume grade alcohol"...so this would cause SEM to peel?

Is there anyway to dye the dash and be able to clean it with 'professional detailing' chemicals?? I used to work at a detail shop and have access to their heavy duty degreaser, so i'm unsure if that would ruin the dye or not?