I picked up a 08 Console to put in my 2005. The gray doesnt quite match (I'm picky).

I got my paint already. I'm curious if anyone else has painted their center console in their truck. Looks like maybe just a good wipedown with a degreaser and I should be ready to paint.

Thought I would see what others had done and how its holding up. Pics would be great if you have them. Thanks

By the way here is the difference in the two grays:

 

I painted a few interior parts in my Truck over a year ago (glove box door, both dome light housings, lower dash fuse box cover, cup holder/ash try cover and the little hook thingy. I'll be doing more when I find the time.

I recommend a good cleaning then a light sanding (very light/gentle sanding) with 220 (or lighter) then a good wash again using dish soap and mildly hot water then a good tack cloth wipe.
For paint I used plasti-kote vinyl colour paint which is holding up very well. It seems to stand up very well to scuffs and hits.

I am convinced that the prep work I did to the parts made the difference between the paint chipping and peeling and how well it's held up for me.

Rick...

 

Thanks man...that helps alot. I'm not a professional painter by any means lol

 

I'm no pro painter either. I just happen to learn the hard way over the years about painting stuff including auto parts and just how easy it is to make a perfectly good item or auto part look like crap with shotty paint/prep work or a damaged item look worse.

With the Truck interior parts I was concerned with loosing the mild texture they all have. That's why it's important to not be too rough with the sanding. Be gentle with the sanding and it should be fine. The cleaning is as critical to get the sanding dust and grim off the parts.

It took some thought, but in the end I am happy with the grey/black combo.
I'm looking forward to finding the time to get to the rest of the parts I want to paint and replace with black.

I should point out that I was not very happy with the highter than I wanted gloss finish. All I did to tone down the gloss a little was clean the parts every few days (rubbing somewhat rougher than normal) with a general purpose cleaner and after about a month the parts started to get to were I was ok with it. I may try a clear coat next time on a part to see if it helps tone it down. Sometimes if you are very conservative with the clear coat it turns out with a bit of a mat finish.

Rick...

 

Rick: how do you like those led dome lights?

 

Ahh,,, not worth the investment to me. If I would have seen them in action before purchasing them I'm sure I would not have installed them. The blue'ish light they throw is kinda cool but I would prefer a BRIGHT white light.
In general I have come to the conclusion that LED lighting (interior or exterior) is not something I would purchase again or recommend. Some folks like them so as with most anything you add to your Truck it's really "whatever floats your boat". You like it,,, then great,,, who cares what the other guy says about it.
Rick...

 

I can't see the bigger picture, but that 2-tone interior looks like it might not look that bad from the 1st photo