I\'ve taken my dash out for painting and decided on black. I\'ve experimented on the ash tray and really like the matt black I\'ve got. After I lacquered it though I didn\'t like it. Is there any lacquer I can get so I don\'t lose the matt finish?
Cheers
James
i never bothered laquering mine because i scared of ****ing it all up.As long as you give it enough coats ( i did 8 coats) you will be ok
Looks like you did a good job there.
looks good there robbie, just spurs me on to do mine :D
what kind of paint do you use?
i used halfords acrylic primer and paint but only because they had the colour i wanted. it cost about £30 all together inc sand paper. Some of the fd`s have a rubberised coating on the plastic parts like mine and you need to get all this off before painting. I used rough wet n dry untill the rubber coating was off then sprayed several thin coats of primer whilst sanding with smoother paper in between coats. After it was primered i did the same thing with the paint but used even smoother paper towards the last 3 coats to get a smooth finish. Mine has been painted for about a year and it has standed the heat of the summer no problem.
What about scratches ? Does it scratch easily ?
Gareth
the paint itself is pretty tough with the amount of coats i gave it ,but i try my best not to scratch it. ideally if your worried about scratches, then you would lacquer it, but i didn`t want the shiny effect and i`ve also completley fukd paint jobs up in the past when applying lacquer :Grrr
How easy was it to get off the panels for painting?
It isn\'t that hard to do. I started with the clocks and shroud (careful not to crack the shroud). Then I just pulled the gear stick surround up, then took off the heater control panel. Take the door cards off and dismantle them to get the parts off you want to paint. I\'m sure there is a guide somewhere, sorry I can\'t point you to one though.
The most annoying bit is taking off all the rubberised coating. If I had to do this job again I\'d prep all the stuff and get the spraying done in a body shop. The finish on mine is fine, it just took a bit of practice to get it to a good standard.
Thanks mate, i\'ll give it a go.
Right i have taken the centre console panel off which was easy but the others look a bit more compicated. Can anyone tell me where all the screws and catches are for the heater surround and instrument shroud? I would hate to crack these getting them off. Also do i have to take the instrument clocks out with the shroud or do they stay where they are.
first you need to remove the steering column cowls,then you need to remove the instrument panel (2 screws at the bottom, then gently pull the lot towards you) , unclip all the connectors then you can get to the screws for the heater panel.
Brilliant, thanks.
I\'m sure when I did this last year that there was a \'how to\' link somewhere - I\'ll trawl back, you could try aswell.
John
I remember the hardest screw to find was one holding the passenger armrest in place, it\'s hidden somewhere behind the door lever I think.
John
this may help
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9352&highlight=dash+removal
I think i just found that post :yes
I think i have everything i need i\'d better not bollox it up now. :D
if your spraying the instrument panel, then DON`T be tempted to spray the half moon shaped dome on top of the dash because it will reflect onto the windscreen..BUGGER :2eek
I\'ll second that - just do the first 30mm to the join.
Cheers for the tip :Thumbs-up
Quote from: RobbieRX-7i never bothered laquering mine because i scared of ****ing it all up.As long as you give it enough coats ( i did 8 coats) you will be ok
Robbie, the paint that you used, was it the Halfords acrylic paint which is intended for metalwork? I really like teh finish, and would like to do the same to mine....
Cheers :)
I have got the stage where i am removing the dash part with the dials, i have unsecured this and pulled it towards me but the curved dash cover has come with it. How do you unclip this part from the dash? as i can\'t undo the connectors until this has been removed.
If memory serves Gman you can lower the steering wheel by loosening 2 bolts that hold the steering column in place (don\'t undo completely the wheel will lower as you loosen the 2nd one). Once the wheel has gone down about an inch you can move the dash forward enough to get all the connectors from the dials and lights on the dash off. Then remove the whole dash out including the curved part. I think then the curved section has about 3 or 4 screws holding it in which you can remove before painting.
Hope this helps
Barry
I\'ve removed the steering wheel altogether, do i still have to move the steering column?
I didn\'t have to remove anything else other than the steering wheel.
I\'m trying to understand where you\'re at gman. You should have the instrument cluster with dials and cowl attached. This should all come forward enough for you to undo the 4 screws [from behind] that hold the instruments to the bit you want to paint.
The dash [minus instruments] will all come out as one, its a bit fiddley as i thing the interior mirror gets in the way.
You can then take the curved cowl off.
It\'s over a year since in I did it biut thats how I remember - I think.
John
I\'ll have another go at getting those screws tomorrow, the dash didn\'t seem to come forward enough for me to get my fat hands in.
Mave..i used halfords grey plastic primer and halfords vauxhall steel grey paint. The steel grey paint is just normal spray paint i think. I used about 4/5 tins of primer and 5/6 tins of steel grey,but all that covered the door trims on both doors, the heater vents in the middle of dash, glovebox handle and rear strut brace.
Quote from: RobbieRX-7Mave..i used halfords grey plastic primer and halfords vauxhall steel grey paint. The steel grey paint is just normal spray paint i think. I used about 4/5 tins of primer and 5/6 tins of steel grey,but all that covered the door trims on both doors, the heater vents in the middle of dash, glovebox handle and rear strut brace.
Cool, so this isn\'t a specialist dashboard paint, its a body paint? This gives loads of choice from all teh grey / anthracite colours around :) :)
If you can\'t get in to get the screws off the instruments you can just disconnect them all and take them out too Gman. If you move everything kinda up and towards the back of the car they disconnect quite simply and are easy to reconnect after. From memory there are 2 block connectors at each side and possibly the lighter has its own connection. The instrument panel is then easy to remove for painting.
Wish I\'d taken pictures but there was a guide on iluvmyrx7 and I just assumed it would always be there. Had a look but it seems to have gone.
Barry
The top cowl cover came off along with all the dash instruments, only when the whole lots out can you unscrew the top cowl. I\'ve had the dash out without removing the steering wheel but it was tricky gettung my hands inside to unclip all the connectors as you can\'t see them! Best to find a diagram to work from so you know where the connectors are. Mind you my hands aren\'t as large as your big G!! Maybe get the wife to lend you hers eh!!
Just done it! I uncliped then unscrewed. Worried about scratching it when i put the dash back on.
you should be ok, just make sure u leave the paint/lacquer time to harden.