15 replies to this topic

[Juan Pineda]

My donor came black. I'm thinking maybe that's not the optimal interior color because it will get hot in the sun. So I'm wanting to paint it. My question: what is the best paint to use for this purpose? Last time I tried this I used spray Rustoleum. But I found that the paint tended to rub off on my shoes. And I'm thinking it might be better to brush it on to avoid overspray. Is battleship gray the way to go? What is the builder's wisdom on this? Thanks in advance for the help! -Juan

 

[svvs]

I had flat black, but it started to look pretty dusty.

 

I turned around and went with a spray gray.  Holds up real well except for where my feet are.

 

On the whole, I like the gray better than the black.

[NPiekarski]

I have tried white, black, grey...of all the grey was the best. I have also tried brushing, rattle cans, and doing it right with good prep and quality single stage automotive paint. The extra prep seems never ending on the interior but the end result is well worth the extra cost and labor...and not to mention holds up much better.

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[Jamz14]

I like the hello kitty color scheme.

[Johnny D]

No gloss, matte or flat to keep down glare.

I have white,

Heat resistant on/around the tunnel.

Grey sounds like the best of all worlds,

 

A darker Beige to hide the dust ?

J~

[john mueller]

Matte white.  Cage the complementary color to the main exterior color

 

[Todd Tagget]

@John two comments.. a) you've got 666 posts (is this some kind of sign ??)   dude you've been a stay at home dad too long ,, where did you get the complimentary color chart ? the girls in the neighborhood ? you're scaring me buddy!!!

[Duncan]

I like single stage polyurethane paints for interior/engine compartments.  It's tough, looks nice, and is fairly easy to apply.  I do gloss white since it's almost impossible to keep a matte finish looking nice once you start getting dirty hands on it.  I've never had an issue with glare.

I buy my paint from TCP global.   I've been using pure white, which is just a little more muted than a brilliant white.

 

Here's a picture of the color.

 

IMG_5689 by duncanrellis, on Flickr

 

Duncan

[Adax]

Gloss white for me as well. Best to pick a shade that matches Rustoleum Gloss White for touch-ups.

 

http://mazdaracers.c...ack-from-paint/

[Bad Rusty]

I'm not saying "Don't use that color chart" Juan.  However, I think that chart is also how they picked the teletubbies colors...

[davew]

I prefer white or gray over black. I did one in "aluminum" and it came out streaky, not good in my opinion. But the customer loved it.

 

We have also started installing a lot of Kool-Mat floor insulation kits. These are gray and match the rust-o-leum perfectly

 

This procedure is spelled out in my book, but here it is again. Get a quart can of brush on rust-o-leum paint. Get a couple cans of matching Rust-o-leum spray. Be carefull, some cans are slightly different. Clean with laquer thinner and let dry. Starting in the center of the car (and working out) paint with the brush on first. Doing small areas at a time. While the brush paint is still tacky, put a coat of spray over the brushed area. Try to pay attention to shadow areas and the underside of the cage. I like to paint inside, then roll the car outside for a natural baked on finish.

 

The tacky brush paint keeps the over-spray to a minimum, while leaving a very smooth finish. Total cost about $20 for brush paint, 2 cans of spray, roll of masking tape, a couple disposable brushes and last weeks newspaper. Figure 6 hours start to finish.

 

Easy to clean and touch-up. Durable yet cheap.

 

Dave

[Alberto]

The floors will always get beat up from our feet rubbing the paint off.  Don't think there is anyway of overcoming that 'feature'.  Normal wear and tear.  Same w/ the top door bar on the driver side getting beat up from ingress/egress.

 

I repainted the pax foot well w/ brush on Rustoleum white after hitting it with a wire wheel.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Going to do the driver side one of these off-seasons in the same way.  I may add either some diamond plate under the pedals as a heel pad or just do the grip tape over most of the driver floor.

 

 

I have a white car.  I painted the parcel tray flat black.  Made a huge difference in rear visibility.

 

 

For heat control, I used DEI Race Car Floor and Tunnel Shield.

http://www.hrpworld....&action=product

 

I added it to the underside of the trans tunnel and to the fire wall where your feet are.  Also used this on my turbo rotary track car.  Makes a huge difference.  My interior sheet metal is cool to the touch.  I prefer to deal with the heat problem before it absorbs into the tub's sheet metal hence why I added it to the underside of the car rather than the interior.  Years ago, I had added similar stuff to the interior in the RX7 since it was easier to install that way.  I found it worked better when placed on the exterior.

[AW33COM]

Another option is to wet blast the car and powder coat (gloss white) the entire chassis minus the outside panels.  This option may be too expensive for a Miata, but it is the one option that requires very little prep work on your part, and the final product is the best in terms of durability and restoration. 

 

In terms of paint, gloss white, or gloss red on top of black leather do look nice.  Look up Danny's build.  It is art. 

[SaulSpeedwell]

I had black and white interiors both, and damned if I could tell any meaningful difference in comfort.   If it was a hot day, I was hot.  Vents and exhaust (damn value pipe) and firewall sealing and 20 other things mattered much more than interior color.

 

Having said that - I hated the white - bright, glare, got dirty, a bitch to touch up.  I like black, because when you freshen up the interior you don't get the obvious signs of overspray on wiring harnesses, black plastic bits, etc.  You can get black in every finish and gloss imagineable.

 

Parting thought:  Which color does the lap timer like?  Money and time spent on cosmetics is money and time not spent on speed or reliability. 

[Bench Racer]

Shucks, I thought Coello was trending with his last car, un-painted roll cage. Or maybe it was a  my ride deal. 

[Ken Nesbit]

On my open FP car I used the silver Dupli-Color Wheel Paint with a clear coat (same wheel paint), doesn't get too hot, doesn't show the dirt like white does and it's a good durable paint.