Well I had to give it a go as the silver OEM is quite a poor finish in the cabin. After much research and some help and guidence off Frayz I went for a rubberised finish from a rattle can of Plastidip. I'm very pleased with the end result I have to say it's a strange material it's spray on rubber ! It was not until I had a look in Glenn's S204 did I realise that his is rubber coated as well and that's OEM.

Here's a quick picture diary of the job where I've come from in the cab and to where I've finished, 100 times better I feel, all phone pics I'll get some good camera shots shortly.

This is the before shot





The first job was to fit a PSI Data monitor along with a new head unit, this offers me hands free on the phone as well which is needed these days.



Mucho better already

Then following on from a discussion in the Interior modification section one of the guys posted a link to an American site which sells decals to go over the controls so I sent away for a set.




Only issue that was raised that was the states use Fahrenheit and the temp decal is in that, I decided to give it a go anyway.

So then the strip down started...





Then I got the wet n dry out to remove all of the silver paint finish.







I also took the option to extent the sockets so I don't have to use the outlet in the console.



Next job was to apply the finish....





Looks crap huh at this point your all probably thinking I've lost the plot even more than normal

 

We will wait for the paint to dry now

Right next step was to apply the decals on the heater controls...

Even though it's a different the temp control decal just about covers it ok.



Then the rest....











I'm very pleased with these they finish the job off well.

Panels are now dry







How's that

 

Looks like a top job, I've just bought an electric spray gun to do the same job on mine. Did you use the primer too or just spray the top coat straight on

 

Time for putting everything back together today....

First was to refit with the red jdm hazard switch.



Then mount the controls back into the panel.



Then into the car...



Sorry bad picture but then re assemble the gear gator and ashtray back in..



And here's the finished product

A reminder of before...



Then after....





Thanks all for the help... I'm very pleased with the end result, strange texture strange material but it seems to work I feel.

Thanks
Simon

 

I used it straight on Jon... I would have preferred to use the primer but it was only available in a paint tin and I had no way of spraying it, I did phone them and talk with them and they do not do a rattle can of primer which is odd.... I could have experimented with a can of primer I have here but I was afraid of a reaction as I'm not sure what this stuff is based on. They did say there was no reason I could not put it straight on as many people do, if you can spray it yourself and don't mind the extra expense it will not hurt to use it. I watched a video of this stuff being painted straight onto a car so I just went for it

 

Tell you what, That looks bloody wicked mate

 

Glad you're happy Si. You've done a good job there mate.
Now they'll all want some

 

How Durable is the finish ?

Reason I ask is the hatch silver crap on mine is starting to wear and I did think after seeing this done whether it would be durable enough to use on the door pulls ?

 

Very much an improvement Si

 

lol looks like we are all at it , there wont be a silver centre console left soon.

looks a great job though.

 

I'd say it's durable enough if you're careful with it. A weekend car would be much more suitable than a daily drive IMO but if you're careful I see no reason why you couldn't use it.
To be honest, how many times do you actually have reason to touch the dash panels?

Door pulls???? :/

 

Everyday car to be honest, The standard silver has lasted 4 years and thats pretty poor to begin with.

Door pulls... the handle you pull the door shut with, There all silver in the hatch and pretty poor at that

 

Try it Rob, nothing to lose

 

Spot on Si

 

i make liquid plastics for either hard plastics (dash, bumpers ect)
or soft plastics (leather)can make any colour you wish.

should use a product called plastic prep or adhesionaid

 

looks very nice m8

i have the s204 full kit on mine from japan and would like my defi pod and pillars doing to match


frayz is this something you could do if so how long would it take?

 

Thanks everyone very pleased with the results here indeed.

Rob for the door pulls I'm not sure how practical this would be, as Frayz said as mine is a weekend car I can be carefull how I treat this a lot more than a daily driver plus the centre is a lot less man handled than a door handle, you could try it spray it straight on without sanding, if it wears peel it off simple as that.

I looked into primer with this and all reports say its not 100% needed but if used will help with adhesion, this was why I used wet and dry first and roughed the surface up to offer grip for the coating, I'm confident all will be well as it is here and it is quite a low impact area for me in reality so I can treat it with care to help look after it in the long term. Worse case scenario it peels I'll pull it all back out and peel it off and start again they over paint cars with this stuff and wheels in the states and when they are ready for a change it peels of like a second skin.

 

Yeah I could do them if you wanted. Couple of days once I receive them.

 

Funny enough Kev called around earlier and said about the pod on mine.... Do they come out from above Frayz or do you have to take the centre out to get to it?

 

What grade wet and dry did you use?

 

I used 1000 and 1500 and it comes off very easy there's not a lot there oem.

 

Nice job there Si well done mate but I have to say the stick on dial bits look sh!te and tacky tbho in the close up picks,I would loose them,after doing that one for Ty it looked very nice with the control dial in silver still!

 

It is the weak bit I agree Ryan, if they don't last or I don't like the way they wear they are easy enough to peel off.... The pictures are close up's but when sat in the car you have got a bit of distance, where the raised bits are on the dials I used a pin to ***** the decal which lets the air out and they finished off sticking on quite well.

 

Agree with a bit of distance it looks a lot better like the fitted pic's,like you say it can be removed at a later date and it will still look nice in silver!
Good job though and after seeing Ty's assembled it is a worthwhile mod to do.

Did you manage to get the heater rings out after or did you think better of it lol?

 

I'm leaving the rings well alone For me that is a recipe for disaster

Defiantly a worthwhile mod, anything is better than that silver for sure.... I've never known a material to mark so easy, you only look at it and it scratches

 

I've just ordered a load of materials

Black plus primer and thinners for the dash, red for some of my chassis bits and also some high gloss finish so I can repaint my splitter - I'm hoping this will be more flexible and kerb friendly than normal cellulose paint

 

Well done looking forward to seeing the results of that

 

looks great , may have a go on my 05 centre console as bored of the carbon wrap ,

was one can enough to do the whole job and how easy is it too apply/spray ?

thanks

 

As long as you're careful and don't force anything, the rings come out quite easily. Sprayed all my Silver interior satin black last summer and had no problems getting them out Si.

 

Not sure if I want to chance it here Phil I may take a fit in my head one day but the last thing I want to do is break anything

Yes I used one can, I sanded all of the paint off everything and wiped the whole thing down with meths to make sure it was clean... I taped up the ashtray rear so I just had access to the face and edges of the lid and then applied 3 light coats with about 20 mins between coats. It goes on odd and looks crap but it comes together when it dries, I left mine 36 hours before fitting it back in and gently does it if you can get someone to help you that would be easier for the refit. I've got a little tiny bit left in the tin which I will keep and apply with a brush if I mark anything over time. Not to difficult in many respects but the devil is in the detail as they always say, worse case senario and you don't like it peel it off and use paint.