After reading about a 1000 posts, I have a question about dashes stil...

[Sakiyaki]

OK. So everyone on here who has painted their dash tends to agree that taking the dash of is easy, but they all very on how difficult it is to paint it yourself, and what kind of quality you can expect. For those of you, if any, who took it to a body shop to get it done, how much did it cost you for the rings around the vents, the main dash unit (around the stereo, ac controls, under the steering wheel, etc), the pillars, and the center consol??

Thanks.

[Q4kntmare]

if you do it yourself. It can look great, you just have to take your time. and follow these steps.....1. Sand, 2. primer, 3. sand primer, 4. paint, 5. clear coat. Do everything in 3-6 coats, you dont have to cover it one coat.

[99CouGSweetRide]

it'll never look as good as having it done professionally. The paint they use and the method to apply it is so much better than the spray cans you buy in the store. I imagine getting all those pieces done at a good shop would probably cost around $175-$200..notice I said 'good' shop.

Mike

[Nemesis]

i payed to get it done professionally once, and i think it looked better when i did it :shrug:


but ive also messed my old dash learning once, melting dashes arent cool :)


just expierement with your moms car ....like me :rofl:

[rrncousarmy]

If you want a good job go with a paint gun and air compressor. Trust me. I have painted and repainted my dash like 10 times. Spray paint will never look that good no matter how hard you try. Wetsanding it properly makes it look better but it takes so much time and my fingers were all cut up. It takes HOURS.

[MercMobile]

Originally posted by: 99CouGSweetRide
it'll never look as good as having it done professionally. The paint they use and the method to apply it is so much better than the spray cans you buy in the store. I imagine getting all those pieces done at a good shop would probably cost around $175-$200..notice I said 'good' shop.

MikeTo be totally honest, the last time I redid my dash in red, and really had the time to do it right.. it came out perfect.. perfect color and smoother than the car ever was.

When I did heather's this last time.. it again came out perfect.

Keep in mind... I sand real good.. then I sand real fine. Then I two coats of filler primer, then I do about 4 coats of paint, then I do about 4 coats of clear.. and I have NEVER sanded between coats.. funny how that works. ;)

[Keliente]

I personally wouldn't waste money on having a professional paint my dash, when I can do the same thing with $20.00 worth of supplies. It has nothing to do with how talented you are, it's how much patience you have, and how well you prep the piece. I will stress how well you prep the piece. Each time I've redone my dash it keeps getting better and better; as soon as I get time off work, I'm going to do it one final time and I know it will look great. :)

[Seth]

Originally posted by: Keliente
I personally wouldn't waste money on having a professional paint my dash, when I can do the same thing with $20.00 worth of supplies. It has nothing to do with how talented you are, it's how much patience you have, and how well you prep the piece. I will stress how well you prep the piece. Each time I've redone my dash it keeps getting better and better; as soon as I get time off work, I'm going to do it one final time and I know it will look great. :)

agreed

[seedogg]

Just a little note...I redid mine with white duplicolor. Took two weeks, sanded it prefect, four coats of primer, five coats of white, and it looked great. However when I used the clear coat it gave it a yellowish tint. Probably only noticable with white, or I may have put too many coats of cleatcoat on (I think I put on three or four) or possibly I put it on too thick (even though it didn't run).

[MercMobile]

duplicolor clear shouldn't give a yellowish tint.. did you let dust collect on it? I have done duplicolor on silver pieces over and over.. and it's always perfect.

[uRiDiAN]

i managed to turn one of my front grills yellowish... can't remember if that was with the Krylon Crystal Clear or the Duplicolor clear... i think i put it on too thick, or perhaps it reacted badly with something in the air, but i've cleared everything since then with Duplicolor clear and it all still looks great

[OSUStallion]

I took mine to a shop $150 i think and it looks soo shiny I almost looks wet. Plus the did some back masking so the bubble part over the speedo is a differnt color than the rest of the dash, the line is perfect.

Its up to you, but if you dont have the time patients dont bother doing it.. it will end up in disaster.

[steps]

I did my own and wasen't very happy with how it turned out so I now in a week am sending it to the body shop and having them redo ALL of it, it comes down to how you prep it and also you will never find a clear coat thats as good as the stuff they use at a body shop.