Interior Removal & Painting Write-Up
January-31st-2005 | 12:34 PM
#1
Thread Starter
The Jamaican Sensation
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 2,662
From: Montgomery, AL
Interior Removal & Painting Write-Up
And here we go!
Tools needed:
1 Phillips head screwdriver
1 Flat head screwdriver
1 Putty knife
1 pair of Needle nose pliers
1 bottle of Rubbing alcohol
1 bottle Goo Gone or equivalent (Citrus stuff)
Masking tape
3 packages of Sand Paper 300/400/1000 grit
1 can Primer
3 cans Paint
2 cans Clear Coat
Patience
Step one:
Removal of door panels
These are held by clips and pop right off.
Use putty knife to pry up the backside first and with a little force, pull up and out.
Repeat for the other door.
Step two:
Removal HVAC cables
BOTH SIDES
Push both seats back as far as possible.
DRIVER SIDE start-Stick your head under the steering wheel and look up and to the right.
You will see a cable wrapped in black coating that runs from the rear of the HVAC controls to a black metal clip then finally to a white plastic nipple.
There is a little piece that needs to be squeezed on the nipple so that the cable loop can be pulled out.
Squeeze with needle nose, pull wire towards you and then remove cable from the black clip-DRIVER SIDE complete.
PASSENGER SIDE start-You will need to remove the glove box.
Open glove box and GENTLY squeeze the sides in, there are 2 rubber pieces holding the glove box up. Once squeezed enough to slip both pieces through, the glove box will hang down. Pull the left side gently towards you and then push the right side to the left and then pull out.
Stick your head down below where the glove box was and look left. You will see the next cable, clip and nipple.
Squeeze nipple with needle nose, pull wire and pop the clip off of the plastic piece-PASSENGER SIDE complete.
Step three:
Removal of center panel (Head unit & HVAC controls)
CENTER REMOVAL start-(P5 stock CD head unit) You will need 2 pairs of radio removal tools, these are available at Autozone/Pep Boys/Audio shop etc. There are 2 plastic trim pieces on the unit. One on the left & one on the right, they just pop off. Insert the removal tools till they latch, spread apart and pull. Unit should pop out.
(P5 after market unit) Most likely you installed a bracket from your local audio shop to fill in the extra din that goes unused (assuming you installed a SINGLE din unit). You will need to remove that and you head unit.
After removing the unit and the bracket, slip the putty knife between the dash and the top portion of the console (where the center vents are) pull towards you until the clips pop out of their holder. Once you can fit a finger or two between them, pull back and be wary, it IS PLASTIC and could possibly break. Disconnect the hazard switch, it’s a quick connect plug.
Work your way down until you can just about pull the entire thing out. There are 2 more quick connect plugs. The wires are short, so it’s a PITA, but not impossible. Once the 2 plugs are disconnected, there is a little tab holding the loom of wires. Flip the unit over and squeeze with Needle nose. After that is removed, you will only have to pull the unit and be sure not to bend the cables-CENTER REMOVAL complete.
Step four:
Removal of lower dash (Cup holder shifter trim)
LOWER DASH start-Grip cup holders, pull back towards rear of car. They should just pop out. Work your way down, the rear will pop out also-LOWER DASH complete.
SHIFTER TRIM start-Remove shifter **** by turning counter clock wise. There are 4 clips holding the shifter trim in place, pop those off and the trim should come right off-SHIFTER TRIM complete.
Step five:
Removal of gauge bezel
GAUGE BEZEL start-Unscrew the 2 Phillips head screws holding the black outer trim in place. Using moderate force, pull from the bottom….while pulling in the up and out direction. The piece should pop right out. Remove the visible screws and the one that is attached at the very top on a silver bracket. Pull out unit and disconnect the set of quick connect plugs on the backside. To remove the clear plastic dust guard, you will need to pop the tabs using the flat head…be patient and take your time, you do not want to break the clear piece-GAUGE BEZEL complete.
Step six:
Removal of Misc. screws, tabs & clips etc.
SELF EXPLANATORY!!!
Step seven:
Paint & prep
PAINT & PREP start-(I decided to keep the CF side panels so I used masking tape to do the border between the sections). Wipe everything down with rubbing alcohol. Allow to air dry. Sand using roughest grit first (300-400-1000). **I noticed that if you sand the stock painted section with 400 grit and then rub down with the Citrus stuff, you will notice that the ENTIRE trim is that fake CF material…very cool if you want to save some dollars on buying a CF trim kit. DRAWBACK…it will take you a long, long time unless you have a power sander, which I didn’t)** After sanding, wipe down with Goo Gone, air dry. Wipe down with rubbing alcohol, air dry.
Painting is ENTIRELY up to you…I wanted to make sure my paint bonded properly, had a nice deep color and great gloss. I believe I used 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of Medium blue pearl and then a ridiculous 4 coats of clear. Unfortunately the batteries in my cam died as I began the painting…so use your imagination. I used my gf’s hair dryer to speed up the drying process…it REALLY helps a lot!!
Step eight:
Reinstallation
REINSTALLATION start-I left the finished parts in a cool, dry place overnight to fully bond and seal. The next day I put all the screw, tabs and clips back and admired my work. I noticed some spots that I didn’t like, but figured I can do that at a later time (I decided to revert the bracket below my radio back to black and will most likely masking tape a section on the center console and paint that black also). Carefully repeat steps 1 through 5 being sure not to scratch your new painted pieces!-REINSTALLATION complete!!!
Step nine:
Show it off.
Step ten:
Thanks to all those who were nice enough to spread the wealth of knowledge!
The Guru's:
Centsless
Roddimus Prime
BLU_MP5
FlyinHawaiian071
Phantom Cruiser
-Phil
Tools needed:
1 Phillips head screwdriver
1 Flat head screwdriver
1 Putty knife
1 pair of Needle nose pliers
1 bottle of Rubbing alcohol
1 bottle Goo Gone or equivalent (Citrus stuff)
Masking tape
3 packages of Sand Paper 300/400/1000 grit
1 can Primer
3 cans Paint
2 cans Clear Coat
Patience
Step one:
Removal of door panels
These are held by clips and pop right off.
Use putty knife to pry up the backside first and with a little force, pull up and out.
Repeat for the other door.
Step two:
Removal HVAC cables
BOTH SIDES
Push both seats back as far as possible.
DRIVER SIDE start-Stick your head under the steering wheel and look up and to the right.
You will see a cable wrapped in black coating that runs from the rear of the HVAC controls to a black metal clip then finally to a white plastic nipple.
There is a little piece that needs to be squeezed on the nipple so that the cable loop can be pulled out.
Squeeze with needle nose, pull wire towards you and then remove cable from the black clip-DRIVER SIDE complete.
PASSENGER SIDE start-You will need to remove the glove box.
Open glove box and GENTLY squeeze the sides in, there are 2 rubber pieces holding the glove box up. Once squeezed enough to slip both pieces through, the glove box will hang down. Pull the left side gently towards you and then push the right side to the left and then pull out.
Stick your head down below where the glove box was and look left. You will see the next cable, clip and nipple.
Squeeze nipple with needle nose, pull wire and pop the clip off of the plastic piece-PASSENGER SIDE complete.
Step three:
Removal of center panel (Head unit & HVAC controls)
CENTER REMOVAL start-(P5 stock CD head unit) You will need 2 pairs of radio removal tools, these are available at Autozone/Pep Boys/Audio shop etc. There are 2 plastic trim pieces on the unit. One on the left & one on the right, they just pop off. Insert the removal tools till they latch, spread apart and pull. Unit should pop out.
(P5 after market unit) Most likely you installed a bracket from your local audio shop to fill in the extra din that goes unused (assuming you installed a SINGLE din unit). You will need to remove that and you head unit.
After removing the unit and the bracket, slip the putty knife between the dash and the top portion of the console (where the center vents are) pull towards you until the clips pop out of their holder. Once you can fit a finger or two between them, pull back and be wary, it IS PLASTIC and could possibly break. Disconnect the hazard switch, it’s a quick connect plug.
Work your way down until you can just about pull the entire thing out. There are 2 more quick connect plugs. The wires are short, so it’s a PITA, but not impossible. Once the 2 plugs are disconnected, there is a little tab holding the loom of wires. Flip the unit over and squeeze with Needle nose. After that is removed, you will only have to pull the unit and be sure not to bend the cables-CENTER REMOVAL complete.
Step four:
Removal of lower dash (Cup holder shifter trim)
LOWER DASH start-Grip cup holders, pull back towards rear of car. They should just pop out. Work your way down, the rear will pop out also-LOWER DASH complete.
SHIFTER TRIM start-Remove shifter **** by turning counter clock wise. There are 4 clips holding the shifter trim in place, pop those off and the trim should come right off-SHIFTER TRIM complete.
Step five:
Removal of gauge bezel
GAUGE BEZEL start-Unscrew the 2 Phillips head screws holding the black outer trim in place. Using moderate force, pull from the bottom….while pulling in the up and out direction. The piece should pop right out. Remove the visible screws and the one that is attached at the very top on a silver bracket. Pull out unit and disconnect the set of quick connect plugs on the backside. To remove the clear plastic dust guard, you will need to pop the tabs using the flat head…be patient and take your time, you do not want to break the clear piece-GAUGE BEZEL complete.
Step six:
Removal of Misc. screws, tabs & clips etc.
SELF EXPLANATORY!!!
Step seven:
Paint & prep
PAINT & PREP start-(I decided to keep the CF side panels so I used masking tape to do the border between the sections). Wipe everything down with rubbing alcohol. Allow to air dry. Sand using roughest grit first (300-400-1000). **I noticed that if you sand the stock painted section with 400 grit and then rub down with the Citrus stuff, you will notice that the ENTIRE trim is that fake CF material…very cool if you want to save some dollars on buying a CF trim kit. DRAWBACK…it will take you a long, long time unless you have a power sander, which I didn’t)** After sanding, wipe down with Goo Gone, air dry. Wipe down with rubbing alcohol, air dry.
Painting is ENTIRELY up to you…I wanted to make sure my paint bonded properly, had a nice deep color and great gloss. I believe I used 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of Medium blue pearl and then a ridiculous 4 coats of clear. Unfortunately the batteries in my cam died as I began the painting…so use your imagination. I used my gf’s hair dryer to speed up the drying process…it REALLY helps a lot!!
Step eight:
Reinstallation
REINSTALLATION start-I left the finished parts in a cool, dry place overnight to fully bond and seal. The next day I put all the screw, tabs and clips back and admired my work. I noticed some spots that I didn’t like, but figured I can do that at a later time (I decided to revert the bracket below my radio back to black and will most likely masking tape a section on the center console and paint that black also). Carefully repeat steps 1 through 5 being sure not to scratch your new painted pieces!-REINSTALLATION complete!!!
Step nine:
Show it off.
Step ten:
Thanks to all those who were nice enough to spread the wealth of knowledge!
The Guru's:
Centsless
Roddimus Prime
BLU_MP5
FlyinHawaiian071
Phantom Cruiser
-Phil
Last edited by JDM-P5; January-31st-2005 at 01:08 PM.
