Ok, I have finished painting the center console and re-installed it. Wow, painting this one was a bitch compared to the gauge surround! I had to sand some areas between a few coats to make it really nice (initial adhesion issue caused some fisheyes! )

But, it turned out really nice in the end!



Doh! The date on the camera is a month out...

 

I noticed an interesting side effect of the silver gauge trim last night. The illumination of the needles work in such a way as to let light escape from the end of the needles. This is turn reflects on the silver trim and as the needles move, it's like a small spotlight is tracing the arc of the gauge trim. It's a subtle effect, but quite cool!

If I "blacked out" the needle faces themselves, the result would be a gauge that indicates it's position by a spot on the rim of the gauge! However, a blacked out needle would be somewhat troublesome during the day!

 

HAHA I have the same floormats as you, mine are from an old 1985 626, which is sitting in my garage waiting to get fixed. Its transmission gave out, and it was so funny trying to get it home with that broken transmission. couldn't go over like 10kph.


so for now, instead of gettting the original floormats dirty we put those ones in the protege. look exactly the same, same color and all

 

looks money toru, good job!

 

Toru,

How did you remove the center console trim ring? I've always wanted to paint mine but never took the time to figure out how to remove the trim ring.

 

Check this thread for details of the heater control cables.

Once the cables are unhooked, I pushed the bottom of the vents in and pulled outwards. The trim will just pop off. Pull it out enough to get at the back of the HVAC controls with a stubby screwdriver or remove the controls completely along with the trim (I did not do this because I did not want to rethread the heater cables - I took the four screws out and left the controls in the car).

Once the trim is out, you will probably want to remove the vents (four screws) and the hazard light switch (spring tabs), unless you want them painted too.

If you are going to take a day or so to paint it and want to drive in the meantime, note that the turn signals will NOT work unless the hazard switch is plugged in!

 

I have really wanted to paint the trim, in my yellow P5, but i just got it and am really woried that if i do paint it, it will look ghetto. I have seen some personal paint jobs and you can tell that they are just that. They look like crap. What should I do? AHHH!
________
CHRYSLER-PLYMOUTH HISTORY

 

I know you are all enthralled with my interior painting progess, so here is some more.

Finally got some more of the right paint, so I did the window switch trim on the doors...





The last photo also hints at the fact that I replaced the ugly old rubber floormats with some new black ones.

 

Uh, don't do a crappy job?

If you use good paint, a tough clearcoat, and your technique is based in patience (i.e. multiple light coats instead of blasting the %*(# out of the parts ) then it will look good.

One trick I use is a semi-gloss clearcoat - it is much harder to get a full glossy finish to look perfect. (Plus, since no other interior part is glossy in my sedan, it would look out of place.)

 

i finally had enough time to take everything that was silvery color in my p5 off and take em to my body shop so they can color match it with my exterior...i cant wait to pick it up...i was really considerin doin it myself with spray paint, but instead i decided to get professionally done....

 

good job on the interior...

 

Hey how much did the pro painting cost?
________
Vigor

 

ive seen some pretty nice custom interior paint jobs on some cars, but they also seem, to have a good exterior color to go with it. so im wondering what do i do? i have a 97' protege lx, its like a tan on the outside, and im really bored with the tan interior. if anyone has any color ideas i would appreciate it. thanks

Jordan

 

Hey TORU!! Gotta question...

I have painted guage cluster on my Black Mica P5, the guage speedo, door sills, cup holders, shifter surround, antenna tip, door handles, top shifter ring, e-brake strip, and keyless entry remote ALL SILVER...now how the hell do i remove the center cluster?? I had the same problem as you did, I couldnt take off the HVAC controls. Was it just me or could you not get to the necessary screws?! If you could help me with that, it would be GREAT!

By the way...interior painting is easy as hell...I cant wait to post the pics of my new interior!

ps.- TORU<< Red interior accents look AWESOME! ANy questions on how to remove anything else GIVE ME A HOLLER!

Thanks everyone!! ~Brad~


¤<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>¤
¤¤¤2002 PROTEGÉ 5 Black Mica 5 speed¤¤¤
¤AT Grills Kit (awesome)
¤Nokya HID headlights
¤TenzoR Custom Short Ram Intake
¤PIAA super plasma fog lights
¤PIAA super plasma turn signals (removed)
¤Nokya racing pedals
¤Plasma blue licence plate bulbs and dome light (removed)
¤Blue License Plate covers
¤MP5 Emblems
¤Red 7 LED Gothic Style Scanner
¤Red front turn signals
¤Yellow Wire Covers under the hood (nice touch)
¤Fire engine red painted hood prop stick
¤Silver One6 Motorsports (IL) Decals
¤Custom silver painted interior pieces
¤Silver painted antenna tip
¤RED ZOOM ZOOM Sticker (adds 45 horsepower)

¤¤¤coming soon...
¤MOMO Carbon Fiber/Aluminum Shift ****
¤Eibach Coilovers/ Ground Control kit
¤Racing Beat Exhaust
¤B & M/ Kartboy Short Shifter
¤Red Painted Brake Calipers
¤Audio System Upgrade-- 12" Sub, amp, and headunit with custom
carbon fiber enclosure.
¤15% 7 Window tints

¤¤¤dreaming of...
¤18" Konig Tantrum 6 spoke Rims and
¤Dunlop SP 9000 low pro. high perf. tires

 

If you look back about eight posts (from yours) on this thread I mentioned this thread which describes how to detach the heater cables so you can pull the radio trim out far enough to remove the four screws that hold the HVAC controls to the trim.

Although I think that thread does not mention the THIRD cable, that is behind the glovebox on the far right. This detaches the same way.

Note that I did not pull the cables all the way out, just enough to get a stubby screwdriver in to remove the HVAC control unit screws. I did this so that a) I would not have thread the cables back in and b) so I could still have HVAC controls working while the trim was out for painting.