Painted Interior

[RG.net]

well seeing i havent got a job anymore, i have had some free time on my hands, and i've been wanting to paint my interior for a while now due to discolouration and such. the colour is called \"satin blue\"

i want to do the airvent rings, but i dont know how to get them out, i am considering doing the part where the tachos are but also dont know how to get it out.

what i did paint was:
centre console
gearstick frame
center console glove box thingy
top airvent frames
door handle frames
handbrake cover

any parts you think i have missed out, please tell me

cheers

Adam

[Alex]

looks alright from here
why did you choose that colour?? does it go with the neons?
also did you spray those parts or just use a brush??

hardwire in those neons already and put a switch on them, it's more stealthy, makes them easier to use and if the cops looks around it's harder to spot also makes them less dodgy

[RG.net]

i chose the colour because it was the closest to what i wanted, i wanted a rich deep blue colour but they dont have any in pastic/vinyl spray.

i just sprayed about 4-5 coats on each item in total it costed me $17

yeah the passenger side neon keeps falling out ever since the audio install, so i will probably make a bracket up for it tomorow and paint some more need to hardwire the boot neons first, then fix up the flexi neons around the speakers and then i will hardwire them. the neons blend in with the interior nicely, the blue neon on the windblocker shines on the center box and makes it a nice sky blue sorta colour.

[RaYmO]

Hey Crocaine,

Great work with the interior, Love the blue you had used.

Im not sure on the entire scheme, it looks pretty patchy against the predominant black interior.

I was thinking of Red/Black combo interior but couldnt really think of how I could execute it without it looking strange (thats my opinion anyway)

[RG.net]

hey raymo, thanks for the kind remarks, yeah it does look a little sus, i want to paint more parts but i am still unsure as to what i should paint, i was just looking at the glovebox i'm having a think about that, also the cigarette tray lid, the electric mirror surronds and the vent rings (dont know how to get them off though).

for you i am guessing you have a red na, red and black works well with red cars, but mine is blue so i had to think out of the box a little
have a look at http://www.aus-cartalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=24348 to see the red/black scheme in action, imo it looks very nice

[RG.net]

painting the ashtray lid, window switch surrond, glovebox and the doorsill thingys (forgot what they are called) pics up soon!

[marcusus]

Vent rings are tough to get off, but not really all that tricky.

You need to flat bits of something (screwdrivers preferably) that slot into the side of the vent rings at 9am and 3pm on the dial. The drivers will push down two clips at these positions. Once you've got those drivers in there, you'll need something like a coathanger to insert into the vents themselves. Pull it round and yank it. It's quite tough, because those clips are quite sturdy, but it comes out eventually.

Once you've got the vent unit out, you need to get the rings off. There are little clips that attach them to the actual vent unit. Just a matter of getting at those with a screwdriver. The problem is that you need a fair bit of force, and will do a little bit of mangulation to the vent unit where the clips click in. But the good thing is that the rings still clip back on OK, and you don't see the mangulation once you've put the vent units back in anyway.

I think there's info about it on Miata.net or somewhere equivalent.

As for the blue, I can't say that I see it matching the midnight blue, which is a shame. But then again, if you'd use an equivalent midnight blue colour, it probably wouldn't stand out as much. The paintjob itself looks great though.

[RG.net]

arrggg i cant get them out, i spent 20 minutes playing around with one of them and it wouldnt budge guess it has to wait for now

[RG.net]

well after three days its finally done! i have finished painting for now, will post up pictures later, unfortunatey i ran into a few problems

the hazard light ring is a prick to get in, anyone have any easy solutions?

i snapped the tweeter brackets

& worst of all

i snapped the cable from the hold button the the gearstick, so what i did is i got myself a manual gearstick, looks smick but still need to work out how to get the hold button working again (hold button holds it in gear and doesnt change gears until you change gear, much like a manual without a clutch)

anywhos pics up soon

[marcusus]

arrggg i cant get them out, i spent 20 minutes playing around with one of them and it wouldnt budge guess it has to wait for now

Yeah, they're a bitch, and really require some force. The screwdrivers in the side trick is tough to tell if you've actually depressed those clips.

Yes, the hazard ring light is a pain. I didn't realise I hadn't put mine in properly until recently when it basically fell out. I managed to put it back in properly, although I forget how. I was going to pull my stereo out to get at it, but in the end it managed to just work.

Where abouts do you live? If you're semi close by to me I can maybe swing by (I'm heading briefly to Mania tomorrow so I can always come by after that ) and have a look?

[RG.net]

i live in campbelltown, wont be home tomorrow though, thanks for the offer though

[marcusus]

i live in campbelltown, wont be home tomorrow though, thanks for the offer though

Too far for me to bother anyway

If you're still desperate to get the rings off, really get into the sides with those screwdrivers. Use smaller ones if you can, and give them a bit of a pry. I found it works well for someone to be jamming the screwdrivers in whilst someone else yanks on the coathanger equivalent. Just watch you don't cop a mouth full of elbow whilst doing this.

[RG.net]

nah i think i will leave them, i kinda like what i have done with the interior now, if i paint them it might look too blue


heres the latest

[marcusus]

That's a lot more blue. If I were you, I'd keep an eye on those high contact type areas, specifically scuff plates and door handle bits. They're the most likely to get easily scratched up.

[Craig]

Whatever distracts from the fact that it's an auto!

*runs and hides*