20 replies to this topic

[ChazUwe]

Right some of you longer standing members here might have seen me post in several of the "can you spray the interior" threads over the last year or so. Well I have been umming and arring for a while but I decided to strip out the interior and give my poor VX a really good interior clean. Unfortunely it didn't result in a bumper payday of lose change. Infact I was disappointed that all I found was a 2 pence piece and some pink feathers from a feather bower (don't ask!)

But nonetheless it was nice to get everything out and give it a good clean:



I always loved Moonland/gunmetal gray from days of 205 gti's gone by, so I thought I could have the next best thing, which is an interior that colour. Because it is a silvery gray sort of colour I think it fit's in with look nicely

Once I had everything out it was an easy decision to go for it as it really was looking pretty shabby to be honest. Couldn't really have looked worse. So anyway started stripping it all down and sanding ready for priming and spraying (in my spareroom not recommended!). If I am honest it really was a ball ache of a job, particularly the central gear shrowd thingy (and I ended up scratching it putting the seat back in gggrrr). But I am very pleased with the overall results and how it looks:



What do you all think? Be kind

[bigp2]

I think it looks good (although I have sprayed my dash inserts red - so I am a fan of modified interiors).

[Joe-Turbo]

i like

[ianrm]

[GruFF]

nice, you can come clean mine out of you like

[JawZ]

Looking good mate

[ChazUwe]

Thanks for the positive replies guys. The good thing about it now is that I have done all the hard work, so if it ever needs a refresh again I can just sand back a little and add some extra coats on!

[urbanmac]

looks great. Did you velcro the panels back on?

[RobNA]

Looks good

[danyeates]

How hard wearing is the new paint? Will it scatch and rub off easily? I really like it. I think I am going to have a go too! Whats the best way of cleaning out the metal grid bit before the mat on the floor?

[Winstar]

Nice one, the interior of my VX needs a refurb, but been wondering what colour for a silver VX, Now i Know or maybe metalic black.

[vocky]

Did you velcro the panels back on?

that's my plan

[christurbo]

Looks great My VX had soooooo much velcro in it!

[benw]

Looks great mate. I'm a big fan of doing away with that crappy silver paint. Apart from looking like a poor attempt at fake aluminium, it also tends to just rub off when it gets wet!

Did you velcro the panels back on?

that's my plan

I found that the fascia panel around the stereo didn't need 'Sticking' back. The fixings on the left side (Either side of the Vauxhall badge) and the tonge on the other end (Nearest the binnacle) held it in place quite nicely.

Edited by benw, 22 January 2007 - 08:32 PM.

[jules_s]

Looks really good mate I'd scratch it to pieces within a week though

[ChazUwe]

How hard wearing is the new paint? Will it scatch and rub off easily? I really like it. I think I am going to have a go too!

Whats the best way of cleaning out the metal grid bit before the mat on the floor?

I guess to see how hard wearing it really is can only be judged with general use. I will obviously be careful now but don't think it will be any less durable than the standard items. Obviously you will want to avoid catching it with anything sharp (like a seat runner!) but general scuffs I think it will resist fairly well.

If it does get scuffed I will respray using a clear laquer for extra durability.

Edited by ChazUwe, 22 January 2007 - 10:23 PM.

[toreide]

Looks good!

I did my center console last year. It looked really bad. Figured even I couldn't possibly make it worse

[TangoAlpha]

Thanks for the positive replies guys. The good thing about it now is that I have done all the hard work, so if it ever needs a refresh again I can just sand back a little and add some extra coats on!

What paint did you use? Did you ever put any lacquer on it?

[VXT Tim]

Looks excellent.


Not hijacking but i took my seats out at the weekend



Found a pen, a rock and 20p.

Quick clean and back in.
Drivers side took about 10 mins to get out, passenger was a bit trickier 20 mins.

[ChazUwe]

Thanks for the positive replies guys. The good thing about it now is that I have done all the hard work, so if it ever needs a refresh again I can just sand back a little and add some extra coats on!

What paint did you use? Did you ever put any lacquer on it?

Hi Tim,

The important thing is to get the surface well prepared first. For me this involved pretty much sanding right back to the plastic. The original paint seemed to have a coating of something that was a little rubbery in consistancy. That was a real pain to remove. I found the easiest way was very careful use of an orbital sander (obviously being careful on edges etc).

Once back to the plastic smoothed it off with some 600 grade wet and dry (doing it wet got the best results and was easier! Must have looked a tit sanding all the bits in my bath though!!). Then lots of layers of gray 'plastic' primer. Again sanding down after each couple of coats to get a smooth finish. Assuming you have a good layer of primer and the surface is primed well just normal halfords spray should do the trick. Think the colour I used was Peugoet cossack gray.

Again don't try and spray lots on in one go, lots of thinner layers seems to give the best results. Again after allowing 3-4 coats to dry properly (over a couple of days ideally) sand down with even finer grade wet and dry. Put as many coats on as you can be bothered to and you should have a nice finish. You can sand the final coat down with 1600 wet and dry to level it off totally and then t-cut it up to a quality finish. I left mine with a slightly mottled finish as I thought it looked better than it would totally prepped

Hope that helps a little. See another angled pic below:



Apologies for my skany garage pillow!