Door panels/interior painting

[Flw Sock]

I'm thinking about painting my door panels and other pieces of the interior black. Does anybody have any idea as to what I should use? I don't want it to be sticky, look like crap, or wear off in a month. Let me know, Thanks.

[hotfordcat]

http://semproducts.com/

It's what I have used!!! It works

[DriverOne]

You'll want to use a plastic primer to get the paint you choose to stick to the vinyl. It's best to use a vinyl paint over the top of the primer as well. That being said, it's a good idea to use body filler to fill any gouges in the back plastic and sand it down with a high grit paper. It boils down to patience. Spray light coats several times instead of one solid coat. Door cards are easy to recreate. If you would like that info, PM me.

[WmWatt]

A black interior will be pretty hot, ie untouchable, in the summer sun.

[Prafeston]

I don't even own a Festiva...yet. Maybe never...but I've already thought about redoing the interior. I used to own a Mazda 3 and some of those guys were reupholstering the door panels with fabric. Turned out pretty cool. Was wonder if that could be done to the doors as well. With fabric you have tons of patterns/colors to choose from. The doors and headliner could be done in fabric and other plastic parts painted with the semproducts.

[DriverOne]

That's quite unique. I imagine the Festiva would do alright with that. Probably not THAT fabric, but a bold checkered flag over a brushed aluminum kick panel and some 323 armrests would harken to earlier road car design...

[Flw Sock]

Wow the fabric looks pretty cool. If anything, I would probably get some fabric and just use a staple gun to staple them in. I did that with my ranger's headliner and it ended up looking good.

[Prafeston]

Yeah, staples on the back side and some spray adhesive should do the trick.

[DriverOne]

Yeah, staples on the back side and some spray adhesive should do the trick.

I use fishing line to pull the back together after I spray adhesive on the door card material's face. I then take the whole assembly and lay it face down on an MDF board that has a cheap sheet laid on it to protect the chosen door card covering from damage. A second MDF board gets laid down on top (make sure to drill holes for the clips), and four cinder blocks rest on top of that for pressure. After the glue dries, remove the upper board, loosen the fishing line and spray adhesive under the overlapping material. Tighten up, weigh it down again, let the adhesive fully dry, and then release the line. No staples used.

[fastivaca]

^^^ Could you explain how you use the fishing line?

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[Christ]

Some Festiva door panels already have (sort of) fabric on them. I think GL and LX, maybe?

[Powerstiva]

Yes the GL do, im not sure about the LX but i believe so

[DriverOne]

Could you explain how you use the fishing line?

Sure. You overlap the door card with your proposed material (preferably vinyl) by two inches all the way around the back of the card, trimming corners so as not to overlap again. The fishing line is used as a lacing, going from the overlap at the top of the door to that on the bottom, and so with the sides. You choose where and how many times to pull the material. Corners require a bit more attention. To keep from tearing or pulling the material in a manner other than intended, it may be best to not immediately return to the opposing side with the line, but run to the side an inch and then return.

[DriverOne]

Yes the GL do, I'm not sure about the LX but i believe so

I can vouch for both an '88 LX and a '90 L+.

[Chobobulous]

I have black vinyl door panels I live in a desert, its not too bad