Duplicolor Durability

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Bloke

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Somewhere in the center console thread are pictures of my interior with Duplicolor med gray used in the interior. Cleaned and degreased the parts out of the vehicle including the dash, used adhesion promoter and 2 coats of color on the parts. Used about 10 rattle cans and about 4 cans of adhesion promoter for the interior.

Sure i wanted some professional paint but i was pressed for time. I was replacing the evap core and heater core on my truck and it turns out the dash was cracked badddd. I found a replacement and used the duplicolor. I hate matching paint so i decided to finish up the rest of the interior parts in the same color. Not taking that dash out again to repaint in a different shade. just ran with it and it came out pretty good imo.

Duplicolor is readily available at Autozone which is about 4 blocks away. not sure where i can find that SEM product here where i live.
 
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I have used SEM paint before, and didnt like. That being said, anything in a spray can is DIY. No real pro uses a spray can. They have spray guns and the tools needed to make the job more efficetent and cost effective. As mentioned, prep is everything. The painting is the final step. Its all about the prep work. When I got the beige center console out of the 2004 Tahoe, to put into my 97 gray interior Silverado, I first used SEM. It sucked. I spent several hours doing the prep work. The SEM didnt match the interior color, and didnt take to the plastic very well at all. So I went back with duplicolor. I had to strip off the SEM paint with acetone. After enough time for the acetone to dry well, i repainted with duplicolor. Its been good ever since.
Im trying to repaint my interior on my 96 silverado because it has a lot of scuffs and sun spots, I Just dont know where to start. The interior is light gray I saw from the rpo that it is listed as smoke grey. If anything it looks a lot like your interior. My only problem is where to get the paint. I landed between SEM and duplicolor but dont know what to get at all. Do you know what you used to get yours done. Thanks in advance
 

Scooterwrench

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I have been using the duplicolor for some time. Ive been happy with the results. I did my dash, console that I took out of a 2004 Tahoe, and front section that I built. All matches. The Tahoe console was beige. Its now gray. Oh, and yes, thats a Chevelle-Camaro shifter in my 97 Silverado. I custom built it all except for the handle itself.
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That's pretty slick. The bowtie lights are a nice touch. Did you make the lenses?
 

kennythewelder

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Im trying to repaint my interior on my 96 silverado because it has a lot of scuffs and sun spots, I Just dont know where to start. The interior is light gray I saw from the rpo that it is listed as smoke grey. If anything it looks a lot like your interior. My only problem is where to get the paint. I landed between SEM and duplicolor but dont know what to get at all. Do you know what you used to get yours done. Thanks in advance
I used Duplicator, vinal fabric paint. It is a perfect match on my 97. I tried some SEM, and had issues with it. Walmart was selling it several years ago. Your local auto parts store, should carry it, but worse case, you can order it.
 

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kennythewelder

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That's pretty slick. The bowtie lights are a nice touch. Did you make the lenses?
A coworker, makes some signs with plexiglass. He did them for me. I blasted them, in the beed blaster, and put LEDs behind them. Then I wired them in to the courtesy lights, so they come on, when you open the door, with the doom light, and go off with it.
 
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Scooterwrench

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This is the new LMC Dash I put in Smoky that I painted with Duplicolor dark red. These come in one color,conduit gray. It has been on there for almost a year now and looks as good as it does here. The problem areas are the pieces that have vinyl on them and were armor-alled. I had to scrub the hell out of those pieces with soap and water then scrub them with a carb cleaner soaked rag until I almost rubbed the texture off. The paint adhered to those vinyl parts but I can scrape it off with a fingernail. I figure they'll eventually need a touch up.
Painting interiors is no different then painting anything else,it's all about the prep. Even if a part is new like my dash was wipe it down with solvent and keep your hands off until the paint has cured.
 

someotherguy

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This is the new LMC Dash I put in Smoky that I painted with Duplicolor dark red. These come in one color,conduit gray. It has been on there for almost a year now and looks as good as it does here. The problem areas are the pieces that have vinyl on them and were armor-alled. I had to scrub the hell out of those pieces with soap and water then scrub them with a carb cleaner soaked rag until I almost rubbed the texture off. The paint adhered to those vinyl parts but I can scrape it off with a fingernail. I figure they'll eventually need a touch up.
Painting interiors is no different then painting anything else,it's all about the prep. Even if a part is new like my dash was wipe it down with solvent and keep your hands off until the paint has cured.
The "soft" parts are always the problem.

When I was prepping parts for spraying with SEM, their instructions recommended using TSP - trisodium phosphate. It's used for cleaning prior to home/commercial painting scenarios and probably some other things, too. I had a tough time finding it, but Ace hardware had "TSP substitute" and that worked pretty well for me. It did a great job of getting all the oils and residues off the plastics - I had no fisheyes or adhesion problems at all. I scrubbed them with a gray (fine) Scothbrite pad and the TSP sub. Rinsed thoroughly. It left everything with a very dry, chalky appearance like it had sat outside in the sun for years.

The one catch is, I didn't have to do any soft parts. This was on a 1996 dash so no soft surround on the bezel area like a 1988-1994 dash, and the armrest pads I had were already the correct color so I didn't touch them.

Richard
 
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