Need advice, dash lil messed up (pic)

[4runnerfourplay]

Ok so I bought the 4runner a couple weeks ago and one thing wrong with it is the dash paint is peeling under the hazard light button. I looked it up online and the new trim piece is like 400 bucks and havent seen one on ebay yet. I am thinking about taking it apart, sanding it and painting it. What do you guys think? Maybe get some sort of stick on overlay or something.

 

[Rover+Runner]

I recently repainted the center console trim pieces on my sister's Ford Explorer Sport - she had a similar problem and no $ for replacement pieces.

If you go the route of spray painting your existing dash trim my advice is:

1) you HAVE to (can not stress this enough) use spray paint formulated specifically for plastic. I used Krylon Fusion for Plastics (it's available at Walmart)

http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/


2) your color match will not be 100% to the original color but for >$20 including sandpaper it's the cheapest solution. In her truck, I painted all trim pieces regardless if they were in bad shape originally just to keep it looking nice

3) use a lower grit (but not too low) grade of sandpaper for removing the original paint then wash the pieces, let them dry, and re-sand with a fine grit sandpaper to remove any scratches made with the first pass, rinse and let dry again

4) use several thin coats (waiting for it to dry between applications) of spray paint to prevent dripping

5) Replace trim pieces and your good as new

I ended up painting everything twice because I used regular spray paint the first time and ended up having to strip and re-paint everything again because after several months the regular spray paint started to bubble and peel off of the plastic so I did some research and found out that I needed spray paint formulated for plastic.

So far, with the Krylon for plastics, the paint has held perfectly and everyone who gets in her truck is surprised to find out it was repainted. I'll try and take some pics of how it turned out later.

 

[4runnerfourplay]

Thans man thats exactly what I was thinking of doing. Money isnt really a problem but jsut to spend that much on a stupid dash piece is not cool. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

 

[KellyJ]

Thans man thats exactly what I was thinking of doing. Money isnt really a problem but jsut to spend that much on a stupid dash piece is not cool. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

you could also get a dash kit form ebay or something like a woodgrain dash kit that will apply iwth some type of 3M double sided tape to cover all that dash

 

[Rover+Runner]

Thans man thats exactly what I was thinking of doing. Money isnt really a problem but jsut to spend that much on a stupid dash piece is not cool. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

No prob. I took some pics on my crappy camera phone during Superbowl commercial breaks, so you can better judge if it's the right solution for you. It's a metallic paint, and the imperfections seen are sparkles that my camera doesn't have the resolution to clearly show.

2001 Ford Explorer Sport

<a href="http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h266/jzaharis/?action=view&current=console2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h266/jzaharis/console2.jpg" border="0" alt="console2"></a>
<a href="http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h266/jzaharis/?action=view&current=console1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h266/jzaharis/console1.jpg" border="0" alt="console1"></a>
<a href="http://s66.photobucket.com/albums/h266/jzaharis/?action=view&current=console3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h266/jzaharis/console3.jpg" border="0" alt="console3"></a>

 

[CRDT4R]

if you do go with a dash kit, i would go with the carbon fiber or the dark marbley one. Not the wood grain

 

[4runnerfourplay]

if you do go with a dash kit, i would go with the carbon fiber or the dark marbley one. Not the wood grain

Haha yeah I know I really dislike the wood grain kits but hey to each his own. My TL has carbon fiber accents here and there, I think its perfect because its not too much.

THanks for posting the pics roverrunner I am going the painting route....

Now to see where in germany I can get some plastic paint. THey have krylon paint at the PX (post shopping store for military) but I havent seen plastic one, maybe I can find it off post on the economy.