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The Vibe I got came with pre-scratched inside panels everywhere, so I've been spending some time today fixing them up and wanted to post some pics. I pulled the panels out, sanded them with 320 to remove the scratches, then washed them. I chose Krylon Fusion, one of the 'Hammered Metal' finishes. I used that with great success on the instrument panel of my plane a couple years ago, so here's hoping lightning strikes twice. I don't really have any pre pics, here they are, post paint:I don't know how well the pics show the hammered finish, but I think it looks neat. So far, I've gotten the top-center, the left vent panel with the lighting controls, and the passenger and driver front window/locks panel.

Update, I went nuts and painted the glovebox and the little door by the left knee (driver side) so there's now an intriguing two-tone thing happening. It looks great in the dark, but, uh... I guess that's probably going to be true for anything, right?I'm over on the left coast, I'll post some pics when it gets light.Oh, I also sanded the chrome posts alongside the vent controls and painted them with the same 'hammered metal' finish (to get rid of glare), and I'm happy with how it turned out. ...in the dark.

Show us some pics!

Daylight!Ok, here's the 'After':In this, I've painted the fascia that goes around the radio as well as the 'chrome posts' that are on either side of the vent controls but haven't painted the vent stuff themselves yet:This is the driver side lock/window panel:More details on the process, I wasn't fully satisfied with how the fascia came out and determined that the cold temperature contributed. The plastic was cold as well as the paint, even though I brought it indoors to dry. For the subsequent pieces, I preheated the paint can in hot water for about 5 minutes and brought the plastic to room temperature before painting. I feel it made a big difference in the quality. Hope this helps someone else out there.

Looks good. Real clean, I hate it when peole paint there interior pieces bright colors but yours look pretty classey.

Thanks! Yeah, I wanted to make it 'mine', but I know that sometimes the colorful paintjob of today might not look as good 2 years later because of how fast styles change. Silver seems pretty safe, heh.

I think it looks great! Good job!

Looks really nice!Great job.I like it!

very cool! good work

I like it too - looks nice and smoothly done.

That looks really great!!!How close does the hammered finish match the factory panel? I like the glove box & storage door idea.I have been wanted to do mine as well but havent really found a color that comes close to the factory panel.

It's closer than I thought, actually. I'll try and get a shot with a better camera so it's better, my iPhone does 'OK', but it's falling down on this specific job for some reason, heh.

Right coast here, always in the dark. Looks a lot better than I thought it would. How tough is the Krylon paint? Did you prep the glovebox door? Better pictures will help. I can't really see the hammered effect on my laptop. Looks like a smooth silver finish.

It's their 'Fusion' line, it bonds to plastic. For prep, I scrubbed with soap, rinsed, dried, sanded, then washed again. Warmed it to room temperature, and that was my prep. For the glovebox, I masked the handle, of course.I'll get better pics. Somehow.

Will be waiting for better pictures! You sanded the glove box door?

Just enough to scuff it up for better paint adhesion, not enough to remove the texture.

Quote, originally posted by Thunderscreech »I don't really have any pre pics, here they are, post paint:so did you break off the little L-shaped clips on the back side of the door control panels? I sure did, so did most people on here when they removed them

looks really good by the way. I've had this same thought, nice to know the Krylon fusion works well. Keep us updated into next year and let us know how it holds up

I didn't break the L shaped clips... but someone else broke the driver side one before I got there, heh. I'm not sure if I should fabricate replacement clips or not. And I'll report back on how the paint holds up!

I won't inline these because they're huge:http://hallert.net/images/Dash...1.jpgh ... sh...3.jpg

Thunderscreech, how did you remove the panels?Do they just pull off or do you have to remove the inside door cover?I too have scratched panels and don't look to nice. I would like to remove them as well and paint them.

Ill admit I was scared when you said you painted the glove box and storage door. They turned out great and add a nice touch.Aron

Wow, that looks great, I'm going to have to consider this because mine are all scuffed up from the PO. Not diggin' the glove box or little box on the left side of the steering wheel but to each is one's own

Quote, originally posted by heyoou »Thunderscreech, how did you remove the panels?Do they just pull off or do you have to remove the inside door cover?I too have scratched panels and don't look to nice. I would like to remove them as well and paint them.The panels I pulled off required nothing heroic, I just tugged gently at the seams, sometimes using a screwdriver (careful not to scratch) to carefully pry. Some folks have reported that the tabs on the panels that hold the window buttons can snap,and I saw this, but only on one. I'm not sure what I did differently on the one that busted. The rest came off easy. For the doors, open them all the way and gently pull up, they slide out of their spots like pie. Cake? Easily.

Here's a little DIY I did last year that involved taking apart the driver's side door control panel. It's kind of gross, but you can see the little L-shaped tabs in one of the photos. Good to know where there are before you start yanking this panel out or they most definitely will break. http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=36418