I will be changing over one of my Fieros interior to black. I am not a huge fan of painting the interior cause of my fears of maybe smelling like paint, paint flaking off, cheap shine to the paint ETC... I was wondering if anybody has wrapped the interior pieces (Plastic) with leather or vinyl? Is it even possible? I have fallen in love with black carbon fiber vinyl and that is what I want my interior to be. I was going to get a F355 interior from Amida with the carbon fiber vinyl but I had to get an engine swap done instead. Any info?

EDIT: Damn, spelled interior wrong in the title. Oh well.

[This message has been edited by DCRFiero1 (edited 12-01-2008).]

Its not a great idea, its going to be a pain to get around every little fold. I went through the same dilemma as you this summer.

Buy steel wool from the dollar store and "sand" down all the plastic and vinyl pieces to where they don't show any shine and repaint using your choice of color from this website. I did it myself with great results. It doesn't come off if you scratch it with your nail.

Now, you could use the vinyl to redo the headliner, it doesn't look bad IMO.









[Edit: I've wiped everything down since I installed it and it looks much better i.e. cleaner.]

[This message has been edited by HC (edited 12-01-2008).]

I figured it would be a pain to get around very little fold, I would most likely take it to a shop to have it done. I just wasnt sure if it was possible.

All the shops that I have been to around here are not much help in answering my questions. They all look like that wouldnt be very motivated to do any work.

Anybody else with any ideas?

I have done several interiors this way. I have used vinyl with great results. It takes time and alot of will power not to throw the parts across the room. I removed all the interior. cleaned using hot water and dishwashing soap. let dry overnight then roughed up using very corse sand paper. I bought a gallon of interior contact cement and a spraygun. laid out a simple piece first sized up ther material and cut a rough shape with plenty of overlap. sprayed half of the material and half of the piece and gently pressed together. continued with the remaining half. used a heat gun for difficult spots and once the front section was complete trim leaving about an inch and spray the back side and fold over leaving about a .75 inch fold over. trim the rest off.




the blue one is not a fiero but another wrap job I did.

[This message has been edited by myersports (edited 12-02-2008).]

Thanks for the info but your pics are not right...

I highly recommend ‘Krylon Fusion’ spray paint, it grabs on to the plastic great and does not peel or chip. Black is an easy color to find, you can get this paint at Walmart or hardware store. Try the Flat Black, with a bit of Armor-All to add some shine, or the Semi-Gloss, do not use the Gloss.
MrMike
http://www.mrmikes.com/fier...ions.htm#changecolor

yes Mr. Mike is very right i painted the whole inside of mine and works and looks great!!!!


Sorry mr.mike i have not sent you any pics of my car finished!!!!!!

------------------

quote Originally posted by Hardpact: yes Mr. Mike is very right i painted the whole inside of mine and works and looks great!!!! Sorry mr.mike i have not sent you any pics of my car finished!!!!!!

NICE CAR!! Looks like you need some dew wipes!

yes i do but the car is put away for the winter and lookin to do a getrag swap and some lambo doors in the spring thanx for noticeing that!!!!----lol

------------------

quote Originally posted by Hardpact: yes i do but the car is put away for the winter and lookin to do a getrag swap and some lambo doors in the spring thanx for noticeing that!!!!----lol

Ha, thats what we are here for. LoL. But dont feel too bad, mine look just like yours. I have new dew wipes but just not enough time to install them.

DCRFiero1,

I have great luck with SEM products. Go to the address bar and press SEM and you will see. Excellent quality

Cordially,
Kevin

[This message has been edited by kevin (edited 12-01-2008).]

quote Originally posted by kevin: DCRFiero1, I have great luck with SEM products. Go to the address bar and press SEM and you will see. Excellent quality Cordially, Kevin

Thanks, I have heard only good things about there products. I have one question about when you use any paint to change color. Does it smell and feel like you painted it? Or does it just look and feel like it would be stock? Any paint Krylon, SEM ETC...

I have used both SEM and Krylon Fusion. The SEM is the best in my opinion. I had trouble with the Fusion and decided not to use it anymore. No there will not be any smell once cured and you won't know it wasn't that color from the factory using the SEM. I restored the interior in my 80' Trans am with it in a tahoe blue. New plastic dash cover and rear interior plastic all painted with SEM. Looked like new. with no smell or anything.

Vinny

quote Originally posted by vinny: I have used both SEM and Krylon Fusion. The SEM is the best in my opinion. I had trouble with the Fusion and decided not to use it anymore. No there will not be any smell once cured and you won't know it wasn't that color from the factory using the SEM. I restored the interior in my 80' Trans am with it in a tahoe blue. New plastic dash cover and rear interior plastic all painted with SEM. Looked like new. with no smell or anything. Vinny

Thank you very much for that info. If I do decide to go the paint route, it will be the SEM. Like I said before I have heard only good things about that product. People using SEM, is there a primer or something else special to use before I paint?

I have a question to ask on this same topic. If I use a higher grit (like 400+) and sand out the ripples (the fake leather look) in the plastic pieces of my interior, would I need to use a primer or can I simply use the SEM to apply directly without having an adhesion problem?

Thanks in advance!

------------------
Phil
Always trying to create something new!
Philero ~ Phil and his Fiero, melding into one (soon to be my license plate too!)

i do think it will stick with out prime but you might want to use a finer grit sand paper for a better finish

I plan on wetsanding/new coat/ wetsanding rinse and repeat... just like you would do to a rattlecan exterior paint job. I figure it will be worth it when i am done.

Good point though. Thanks

------------------
Phil
Always trying to create something new!
Philero ~ Phil and his Fiero, melding into one (soon to be my license plate too!)

Duplicolor is the cheapest paint on the market...and speaking from experience, will scratch/chip with any touch...so I wouldn't recommend it...

SEM is much better, as is Colorbond.

Another option is that any paint store can mix up a vinyl formula to spray in a prof. spray gun...

I know everyone is recomending paint and it does work well but a good shop can do what you want.
I am doing the same thing with my car once I get to that point. I will be covering everything in black leather. I have done it on other cars I built with great results.
so the main point would be what do you want? anything can be done.
when I get to mine I will post it to help others

quote Originally posted by Philero: I have a question to ask on this same topic. If I use a higher grit (like 400+) and sand out the ripples (the fake leather look) in the plastic pieces of my interior, would I need to use a primer or can I simply use the SEM to apply directly without having an adhesion problem? Thanks in advance!

SEM does offer a primer. I am sure it does offer some advantages. However, when I painted my dash/armrests, etc., there seemed to be little reason to spend the money on the primer. Again, if the part needs painting in a few years, it is far easier to remove the part that has wear and fading and repaint. Just my observations on SEM after 8+ years. My .02 cents...

Cordially,
Kevin

I wouldn't use primer, no need for it. Just use steel wool to sand the parts down. make sure you clean the parts after you use the steel wool, and paint.

quote Originally posted by whodeanie: I know everyone is recomending paint and it does work well but a good shop can do what you want. I am doing the same thing with my car once I get to that point. I will be covering everything in black leather. I have done it on other cars I built with great results. so the main point would be what do you want? anything can be done. when I get to mine I will post it to help others

Please do post how to do this. I would like to see it done and what the end result will be. I really like that carbon fiber vinyl.

That tweed fabric is easy as hell to use, stretches and curves to the hardest forms. I see a LOT of interiors done with it. Leather and vinyl are a lot harder and usually requires at least a bit of sewing and a heat gun. Its easy to do a headliner in leather or vinyl and it looks great. As long as you really CLEAN parts, plastic paints are fine, use a low gloss clear if you dont want it to shine. Ive had cars with gloss interiors and its annoying at the least to drive at nite.

I wouldnt use Armor All to shine up my boat trailer tires. We won a group action lawsuit against the manufacturer in the 80s. They had to pay to have my new Mustang convertible seats, doors, dash and top replaced from using it every week. It all cracked like a broken window.

quote Originally posted by rogergarrison: I wouldnt use Armor All to shine up my boat trailer tires. We won a group action lawsuit against the manufacturer in the 80s. They had to pay to have my new Mustang convertible seats, doors, dash and top replaced from using it every week. It all cracked like a broken window.

Iam not a big fan of Armor All myself. I have seen what kind of damage it can cause in many of my friends cars. Not a pretty site.

For those of you using SEM. What color black are yall using to get a nice non-gloss look?

The can I used is of the Duplicolor brand, the exact color is semi flat black. I tested it on vinyl and could get it to scratch off. you just gotta make sure you are applying it to bare vinyl (or plastic), no armor-all at all.

quote Originally posted by DCRFiero1: For those of you using SEM. What color black are yall using to get a nice non-gloss look?

I use #15243 Satin Black SEM. The best in my opinion

Cordially,
Kevin

3 words why to use leather,


cracked vinyl dashboard.

I found this awhile ago...looks pricey! I have NO personal experience with them...........

www.justdashes.com

quote Originally posted by 30+mpg: 3 words why to use leather, cracked vinyl dashboard.

Naugahyde will easily outlast leather. I did my Ferrari kits seats in it and they looked like new after I drove it 100K. I also had my Mercedes leather replaced with it. It was a convertible too, and put 250K on it....still looking like new.