Paint the interior pieces?

[Horus]

Soon I'll be putting some leather Grand Cherokee 5.9 limited seats in my rig. The truck is two tone red and white with the red interior trim. Is it possible to paint items such as the dash and trim panels around the doors and windshield a different color? I'd like to go with a dark grey to match the seats and new carpet.

Assuming I properly prep the pieces to be painted could this be done with good results? Has anyone done it? I'd remove all the trim minus the actual dash to prep and paint. The truck is not relied upon for transportation so I'd have all the time I need to allow the paint to properly cure between coats.

Thanks.

[pulltilbroke]

Yes its possible. On interior plastic trim Use SEM paint made for interior pieces.

[redneckroot]

That is pretty much exactly what my truck is. Except I went black instead of gray. Here are some pictures from when I was building the truck. These are also grand cherokee power leather seats.

[Horus]

Thanks for the responses guys. I've been reading into it and had found the SEM paint you mentioned. There seems to be plenty of people warning against it, particularly Bonds enthusiasts. My theory is that some people try to paint the type of thin foam style dash pad like what comes in a 96-98 Grand Cherokee. The kind that mush when pressed with a finger.

Our dash caps are hard plastic. They should be easy to paint along with the rest of the interior trim. The bummer part of the deal is that I have to remove my dash cap and fix it. It has developed cracks across its width in several areas. I know I could fix them easily with the cap in place but that will not stop future cracking, which will look crappy when they happen and F up the new paint. My plan is to pull the cap and glue a few pieces of something underneath it across its length to make it more rigid. My truck tows up harsh gravel roads almost every weekend.

If I pull the cap I'll likely replace the heater core and freshen up the whole heat/AC unit. This is going to turn into a job.

[ellis93]

You can use the paint with good results if the surfaces are cleaned with alcohol.
If you're gonna repair the cracks with the dash out, how about using a soldering iron and melt the plastic back together and reinforce it with fiberglass resin. I've done it with good results.

[Jeep-hauler]

Mike, with some prep time, the plastic will hold paint just fine. I don't know if you remember my old truck much, but the interior was originally red. I used Sem paint, including their vinyl/plastic prep spray.



I spent a weekend taking everything apart and cleaning it, painting it, and reassembling it all. It was a lot of work, but worth it.

[billy12valve]

I've been wanting to do this to my truck for some time now glad i was looking through here. My one question is did you also paint the armrest with the same product and how well does it hold up? Any cracking or flaking? Mine is also currently a sea of red which i can't stand i am doing bodywork now to paint it silver on bottom up to the bodyline just below the windows and a metallic red like on a can of copenhagen straight on top. The interior color i would like is the grey like in the pictures is there a color code or just one shade? I guess i could just go to there website sorry fo rambling.