mx5cartalk.com

Hey guys,

I own an SE and I've decided to relace the factory stereo with a Kenwood deck from my previous car.

Now I've already purchased a fascia with single DIN bracket and pocket. However it's the standard black colour. I'm hoping to paint it silver to match the same colour as the SE's HVAC panel.

So a trip down to the local Mazda dealership (Sutherland) did nothing but waste my time. I spent 20 minutes waiting before I was told that the dealer's service department and even Mazda Australia didn't know the paint code and they couldn't help me.....WTF?

Can anyone help me out here? If I cant get a paint code, then has someone discovered a similar silver colour that I can buy from my local auto parts shop?
I'd just like to keep the similar factory look going.

Thanks,


Smacca

If u have a look at your center consol, you'll actually see that it isnt just painted in silver, its actually a pattern, hence why they didnt know the paint code

A pattern, really? I know the strip that surrounds the stereo, HVAC and gear shifter is a chequered almost carbon-fibre wannabe pattern, but the finish on the stereo and HVAC fascia is also a pattern, not just painted silver?

Hmm, that changes things.

Right I got ya know...I thought you were trying to get a paint colour for the trim not the stereo/hvac. Maybe take one of the silver covers (ie the ones that sit on the sides of the standard stereo) to repco etc and see if they have a silver that matches. If not okibi did a write up about out to pull apart the hvac unit, maybe you could repaint the silver to match

Yeah, good idea.

I was thinking it might be easier to just pick a silver and spray the DIN facia. And then respray the HVAC panel the same silver if the colours don't match.

Thanks for the advice.

There are some posts on painting plastic parts and if memory serves marcusus? about 6 mths ago did this and it looked pretty good. Any of the auto specialist paint suppliers ( spray can) will be able to help esp if you have a component that you want to match- they might even spray a test plaque or they might have a chip which will give you a guide as to how close it is to other parts. Worst case is it might cost you a couple of small tins. PS etching on plastic is done in the plastic moulding die often done for aesthetic reasons and it also tends to hide minor moulding flaws- it will also actually assist if you want to paint it as an etch finish provides a little more bond than a smooth one.

Spot on Mr Morlock

I installed my JVC dvd player in the dash which is silver so I did the same thing and painted the radio surround to contrast/match. Just go to repco etc and buy a can of Plastic Adhesion Primer, then I took the JVC trim surround and matched the colour - I find using Dupli-color best to use as it lays down very smoothly as the last thing you want is orange peel effect on your trim, I'd recommend spraying a few coats of clear coat over the top for protection.
Here is a bad photo of what I did, I left the A/C Panel in the original black along with the cubby hole panel.

I did the spray job as well (as mentioned), but didn't go the colour matching. For some reason the thought didn't occur to me to ask about it.

I didn't really do much prep work either. Just a bit of light sanding, primed it, then sprayed it.

I sprayed the headunit instead

Colour matching sounds the way to go, once I find a decent paint place somewhere in the shire. Thanks again for all the hints and tips. It's great to finally find a forum where members help each other out and not just rip into each other.

I'm going to install the deck when I get home from hols next week, so I'll post a pic then.

My Kenwood deck won't exactly compliment the MX-5's interior, especially with its annoyingly bright blue lights. However, it does have a sensor built into it which measures acceleration and corning G's. Looking forward to seeing what max G's the MX-5 is capable of....