| Do-It-Yourself
Interior Painting / 94-04 Mustangs
"How-To" by
Justin
(aNgLiaM) & pictures by
Chad (CHDS PNY)
This is one of the most inexpensive
modifications that
you can do to your car, but in my opinion one of the most satisfying and is
really what Ford should have done with the interior in the first place. All of
the materials total cost around $20-$25. This step-by-step guide will take you
through the easy procedure of removing, painting and reinstalling you interior
parts.
In this guide, we go through the painting of the door bezels and the
center console. Other parts, such as the vent bezels and the driver's
console can also be painted in a similar fashion and technique.
What's Needed:
-a clean, soft, dry cloth
-bottle of rubbing alcohol
-four* (4) - 5oz Cans of Dupli-Color Import
AutoSpray Paint in your color of choice
(different brands can be used but I've had good luck so far with Dupli-Color)
Paint can be purchased from Wal-mart or a Local Auto parts store.
-one* (1) - 11oz Can of Dupli-Color Truck, Van
& SUV Clear Top Coat (color code: T125W)
(if your buy Dupli-Color Paint, DO NOT get your Clear Coat in the 5oz Cans...the
Clear Coat is too sticky and causes the smaller cans to sputter while
spraying!!!) Paint can be purchased from
Wal-mart or a Local Auto parts store.
-standard set of screwdrivers and torx-head
screwdrivers
-pair of pliers
-stereo removal "keys"
-roll of masking tape or painter's tape
* more paint may be needed depending
on the number of coats you apply and the number of pieces you paint.
OK, here we go...(note:
these pictures were taken of a 2000 Mustang Coupe, your application may vary
slightly)
STEP ONE: TO PAINT, OR
NOT TO PAINT?
Take a look at your
car's interior and be sure that you want to do this. It may seem like a silly
step but once you start painting those pieces, there's no turning back without
dishing out insane money to Ford to replace them. Here is a before picture of the
pieces before Chad and I painted his interior.
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Now that you've decided that you want to paint the pieces, pop the hood and
disconnect the negative battery cable. Since we're going to be disconnecting
the stereo (found in Step 3) and other electronic parts it's always a good idea
to help prevent surges.
STEP TWO:
REMOVAL OF THE DOOR BEZELS
The Door
Bezels are the easiest both to paint and remove. Here is a picture of our targets
for this step.
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The first step to removing the door bezels is to locate the small indentation
towards the top of the bezel (pictured below).
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Next, with a flat head screwdriver and using your cloth to protect the bezel,
start at the indented section and carefully pry the bezel from the door. It
should pop loose with very little pressure. Work your way around the bezel
until it has become detached from the door. The only thing that should be
connecting the bezel to the door at this point is the window and mirror
controls. (as seen in the pictures below)
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Next, we need to disconnect the window control module and the connection going
to the side view mirror control. The window control module is connected by two
Philips screws...simply unscrew them and leave the control module hanging. Be
sure and put the screws somewhere safe as we'll need them again when we
reinstall the bezel. Next is the side view mirror control, this is connected by
a simple plug connection, simply pry up the clip with the regular screw driver
and pull out the plug. (as seen in the pictures below)
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Next you will need to remove the remaining part of the side view mirror
controller from the bezel. This is done by pushing in the clips on the
underside of the bezel and pushing the unit through the top of the bezel. Very
easy, no tools...no hassle (as seen in the picture below).
All you need to do now is remove the bezel from the passenger side door. Just
repeat the steps above (minus the side view mirror control removal).
STEP
THREE: REMOVAL OF THE CENTER CONSOL
The
center console is probably the most difficult piece to remove, mainly for the
fact that the stereo has to come out. But before we get into the stereo
removal, let's focus on the shifter bezel. This is a very easy part to remove.
First off, if you have an automatic, you need to move the shifter to Neutral
(N). Next, get your cloth and regular screwdriver again. Start at the top
corner of the bezel and pry outwards, working your way to the front of the
bezel, when you reach the middle start on the opposite side repeating the
previous step (as seen in the pictures below).
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Next, just disconnect the orange plug from the cigarette lighter and the gray
clip from the traction control switch. This part of the step could differ
depending on your model year, however it's fairly self-explanatory. (see
pictures
below)
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in new window)
You will also need to remove the cigarette lighter assembly from the bezel.
This is done by taking a regular screwdriver and pressing in the plastic clips
while pushing the assembly out the front of the bezel. In addition to the
cigarette lighter you will need to remove the Traction Control module (if
present). Just press in the clips on either side of the module and push out
through the front of the bezel (see pictures below).
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Next, we need to remove a couple of torx screws from the bottom side of the
center console, underneath the cassette/radio deck. Again, this step could be
different depending on your model year. Be sure you're keeping track of all the
screws, I can't stress enough how important that is (see pictures below).
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Our next step is to remove the stereo. The easiest way to do this is to get a
couple stereo removal "keys." However, I have seen some people use a coat
hanger. Simply insert the keys into the removal slots, apply gentle outward
pressure (press the keys out from each other) and pull. It may take a few tries
to get the stereo out. Once both parts of the stereo are out and disconnected,
set them to the side (see pictures below).
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Now that we have the stereo removed we can start the process of removing the
center console bezel. If you look inside the DIN where the cassette/radio deck
was located you will notice a long stabilizing arm that extends to the rear of
the console area. This arm is held to the rear wall of the console by the means
of a torx screw. You will need to remove this screw in order to take out the
console (see picture below).
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larger, will open in new window)
With the screw removed we can now pop the console loose from the dash. Get your
cloth and regular screwdriver. Start at the top and work your way down each
side, the console should pop loose fairly easily (see picture below).
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We now need to remove the vents and vent directional controls from the bezel.
The vent simply pop out using the regular screwdriver, be careful not to break
the vents as you are doing this. To remove the directional control you just
need to push in the two clips on the side of the bezel and then push them trough
to the inside, there is a small arm with a button shaped knob that slides into
the guide-arm of the vent control, be sure to be careful and not break it while
you are removing the piece (see pictures below).
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We've now successfully removed the pieces for painting. Our next step will be
prepping the pieces for paint.
STEP
FOUR: PREPPING YOUR PIECES FOR PAINT
There
are a couple of different methods to prepping your pieces. One method is to
wet-sand all of the pieces to a smooth finish, cleaning and then painting. I
actually have found wet-sanding the pieces to be more trouble than what it's
actually worth. The look garnered from wet-sanding contrasts the textured look
of the dash. I actually prefer, and recommend, the non-sanded method. Not only
will it keep the slightly textured look of the dash but it will save you massive
amounts of time.
Our first order of business is to thoroughly clean each piece. To do this, get
your rubbing alcohol and cloth ready. I use rubbing alcohol because it's not
only a good cleaning agent but it also evaporates much quicker, again saving
drying time (see pictures below).
(click to
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The next step requires the masking tape or painters tape (usually blue in
color). This is for the shifter bezel. The outside lip of the bezel won't be
painted as it is actually part of, and the same texture as the dash. The trick
is to use small pieces to tape and carefully apply around the curvature of the
bezel. A butter knife works great for a straight-edge for going along the
groove (see pictures below).
(click to make
larger, will open in new window) *that last picture is a horrible one of me...blech!
Well that it for prep work. Just be sure and be very thorough with your
cleaning; remember, the cleaner it is before you paint, the cleaner the finished
product will be when you're finished. On to the fun, but most difficult part...painting.
STEP
FIVE: "GET YO PAINT ON!"
Well we've
come a long way so far and we're almost done. There's one thing I have to make
very clear before we even start painting...KEEP THE SPRAY CAN MOVING!!!
Not only will the paint start to glob up but you'll get an uneven finish and
will then end up having to wet-sand the piece and repaint it, and THAT is
a pain in the ass. Believe me. Also another very important thing to do is test
the cans before you try spraying on the piece. Just find and old piece of
plywood or cardboard and do a few passes making sure it is spraying evenly.
When you are done spraying a particular piece and won't be moving on to another
one during drying times, turn the can upside down and spray the excess paint out
of the can. This will keep the line clean and preserve your paint quality.
(click
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OK, are yall ready to paint? Great! Let's do it. I recommend starting with the
door bezels. They will give you a good feel of spraying motion before we hit
the center console and shifter bezel. The hardest part of the door bezels is
the handle section. There are two ways you can go about do this...part of which
goes back to the Step Four prep work. Some people like to take a plastic
sandwich bag and cut it down slightly, place it inside the handle and then tape
the top in a oval shape leaving the inside of the handle the stock color (see
picture below).
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open in new window)
I
prefer painting the inside of the handle. I've found that starting with the
inside of the is the best way to go on the door bezel due to the fact that it's
hard to get painted. You have to hold the piece in the air with one hand while
spraying inside the handle at a horizontal angle. After a few sprays, turn the
piece around and spray from the opposite angle, this way you get all of the
inside evenly. I recommend getting a few good coats on the inside section
before moving on to paint the rest of the bezel. Remember,
KEEP THE SPRAY
CAN MOVING!!!
Especially while painting the insides of the handles. Also
remember that each coat should be put on while the paint is still a little
tacky, this helps the paint layers stick to each other better, giving you better
end result. After you've got a few good coats on the handles you can move on to
painting the bezel itself. Make sure and paint in the flowing direction of the
piece, meaning, if the piece is longer, don't paint in short strokes going
perpendicular to the piece, this will cause "lines" to form in the paint from
the different layers. Be sure to start and end your spray before and beyond the
piece, this will prevent lines forming in the finish as well. Also remember
that less is better when you're spray painting. Many thin layers is better than
fewer thick layers. Give the piece a good base coat, but don't lay it on
thick. You should be able to see speckles of stock color up until your fourth
coat. Don't be afraid to paint the underside of the bezel (this is also a good
place to spray some paint to later check for tackiness during drying), the
curved lip on the door bezel does show quite a bit, make sure and paint the
bezel from all angles...but be sure before you flip the piece over that it has
dried enough so the paint doesn't smear (see pictures below, click the third
picture
for a paint tip).
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will open in new window)
For each piece I usually put 4-5 coats of color and 2-3 coats of clear. Make
sure, before you apply the clear coat, that the piece has dried for at least 1
hour @ room temp (65°-70°F). The next piece to paint is the shifter bezel. This
is a fairly easy part to paint as long as paint with the contours of the piece.
Your paint stroke should be a curved semi-circle shape starting at front leading
to back wall, as illustrated in the picture below. Just reverse the motion for the
opposite side (see picture below, click for a paint tip). Be sure to follow the same
procedure for doing the clear coat as you did with the door bezel.
(click
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The final piece we have to paint is the center console. Some of the angles are
tough to paint on this piece, but try to stick to the lines of the piece as much
as possible. Use the stabilizing arm to its fullest advantage, using it to prop
of the piece at different angles to get the best result (see pictures below, click
either picture for a paint tip).
(click to
make larger, will open in new window)
Be sure to follow the same procedure for doing the clear coat as you did with
the door bezel. Well, that does it for painting and clear coating the pieces.
Now just let them dry!
STEP SIX:
REINSTALL THE PARTS
All you need to
do is reverse the steps in Step Two. With any luck you still have all of the
screws and parts and this should go fairly quickly. Be sure to take care
installing your newly painted parts, while the paint and clear coat will protect
it from everyday use, abuse will cause scratches. If you would happen to scratch
any of the pieces, either during installation or mishap, all you have to do is
uninstall the piece, rough up the general area of damage, lightly finish sand
the area and repaint/clear coat. Dupli-Color also makes Touch-Up Repair Paint
in all of their AutoSpray Colors.
STEP
SEVEN: BEFORE & AFTER!!!
Here are
some before and after pictures of the finished product on Chad's 2000 Mustang
Coupe. Quite an improvement in both looks and style.
Enjoy!
(click
to make pictures larger, will open in new window)
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