Interior Painting

Hello everyone. I just wanted to share a couple of pics from my current project. I have a 07 Corolla S, nothing special. I wanted to add some accent to the interior to match the white body. It came out pretty good, just wanted to let everyone have a look. I like the way it turned out. I am not a pro by any means and didnt do anything radical. Also note that the shifter is the TWM short shifter. I love that shifter. The white ball i had special made from <a href="http://www.epcomfg.com/shiftknobs-engraved...n.html#engraved" target="_blank">http://www.epcomfg.com/shiftknobs-engraved...n.html#engraved</a> , well let me know what yall think, thanks for looking.

<a href="http://www2.winters-computers.com:7070/webimages/corolla" target="_blank">http://www2.winters-computers.com:7070/webimages/corolla</a>

You seem very proud of it.

 

Did you remove each piece to paint them?

I hope it is chip-resistant paint.

It certainly stands out and contrasts with the rest of the interior color.

I used the Duplicolor vinyl paint at first, just on the door switch panels for test. But the paint was flat to semi gloss. So i switched up and used Krylon Fusion. The fusion is more glossy, pretty much the look i wanted. Its been a week and no chips, looks like it will be pretty durable. I preped like this, pulled all that parts off and washed them with hot soapy water, just like doing dishes , after drying i scuffed them up with a scotchbrit paid, nothing shinny left on them, then i wiped them down with paint thinner just to be extra sure. Painting went well, I did put the paint can in hot water to warm it up that seemed to help alot also. Did about 5 light coats, no issues. Let it dry for about 5 hours and then installed everything back on the car. Thought about going higher , around the radio and such, but for now that will do.

The shifter ball does remind me of the old school shift balls, lol, thats is just why i got it. That company is pretty good, the ball comes with the thread insert for the car, no set screws or nothing like that. I got the numbers and pattern black, my wife went after and painted the numbers red so they match the numbers on the dash nicely.

Thanks for the responses. I was nervous about doing it because the car is pretty much brand new, but i like to be original All thats left is to get my wheels and tires.

always good to see someone thinking outside the square...did a similar thing on my '05 but just in silver. I wanted some silver highlights to match the levin trim grade we have in oz. Had a concept of turning my '05 into a semi-luxury sports sedan. But, the actual trim parts from toyota were A$750, and were unavailable 2nd hand. So, for about $150 I got a professional auto painter to do it (my attempts were baaaad!). nearly 2 years on, still looking good. Added some chrome door handles off a levin (only A$127), now looks a million bucks....

I would love to do some painting like that for my car, but with my job, they would get dirty quickly.

Just keeping the car clean is a chore itself and takes plenty of time (if done right).

Good job on the paint - you are the one who lives with it and if that is good for you, it is good for us!

I am a computer tech so the inside dont really get dirty. Now i drive about 80 miles a day, if you could tell me how to keep the dang bugs off the nose, that would be a really big help. White paint is really pretty and really pops, but is really hard to keep clean.

I am a computer tech so the inside dont really get dirty. Now i drive about 80 miles a day, if you could tell me how to keep the dang bugs off the nose, that would be a really big help. White paint is really pretty and really pops, but is really hard to keep clean.

I have seen all kinds of bug preventers - from bras, shields, coatings, etc.

 

As long as you drive, you will get bugs, rock chips, scratches, etc.

It is hard to keep white clean, but I have used touch-up paints, nail polish and even white-out.

Good luck with yours and thanks for showing us your inside paint handicraft.