Interior almost finished

[F350camper]

Interior almost finished (on edit, phase 1 complete)

Well, I almost have my interior finished. Over the past year or so, I've been working on changing it out from red to gray. I have three pieces left to vinyl spray and it'll be done. Our weather is sposed to be warming up this week so I’m hoping to finish up. I'll snap some pictures when I do.

I still have the red seatbelts though. I may have those for a while, been having a really hard time finding gray ones at the junk yard.

 

[Mikes91]

Have you been repainting your existing interior or finding junked trucks with the gray interior you want?

If repainting, what is your repaint technique? I've never been impressed with interior paints I've seen... they scratch when touched by anything at all.

 

[argve]

Back when I was doing audio really heavy and was into the look fo the system we would have painted all kinds of stuff, we found what makes the scratching problem easier to deal with was to get it sealed with a clear coat. I never did the actual painting I always had it done because I'm not that good at painting and this was for show so flaws were not acceptable so I stuck to other things...

 

[93turbo_animal]

Mike I repainted some speaker grilles for my mustang and I just used spray cans of laquer paint I have plenty of scuffs from my feet but I haven't noticed any scratches or old color showing up

 

[Russ]

Rob what style of seats did the blizzard have? Did you get new seats? I need a drivers side bucket seat or even the 40/20/40 front seat in red. Gruss

 

[F350camper]

Originally posted by Mikes91
Have you been repainting your existing interior or finding junked trucks with the gray interior you want?

If repainting, what is your repaint technique? I've never been impressed with interior paints I've seen... they scratch when touched by anything at all.

Both. I agree with you that the spray on stuff doesn’t hold up as well as factory. So what I've been doing is getting junk yard parts for the pieces that your feet scuff all the time, and the door panels.

Then I've been spraying everything else, and it seems to hold up pretty well. I've found the best method to be:

1. Remove the part from the truck (essential)

2. Wipe the surface to be painted down with a rag soaked in the wife’s nail polish remover (this stuff is a nice mild paint thinner. It cleans off the 22 - 11 years of armor all buildup)
Complete this step 3 times, and it will give you a good tacky paint-able surface.

3. Apply 3 to 4 very thin coats.

4. Allow to dry in 40° - 50° garage. (the manufacture recommends warmer than this, but I’ve found if its colder, it takes longer to dry and seems to bond to the plastic better)

 

[F350camper]

Originally posted by GRuss
Rob what style of seats did the blizzard have? Did you get new seats? I need a drivers side bucket seat or even the 40/20/40 front seat in red. Gruss

Russ, I’m no help in that area. I recovered the original seats.

 

[Russ]

OK, thanks anyhow. the 40/20/40 seats are hard to find in this area in red. I've found a few grey sets, but no red.

 

[troutwest66]

I found a good set of grey 40/20/40 seats at the wrecking yard and they still wanted $300. I can't afford that right now. My seats are the split back bench. I should find a truck with a blown motor and rough body and strip the interior.

 

[F350camper]

Finally got her done.

Wow those seatbelts really stand out now. It’s like I have high performance aftermarket racing seat belts.


I had no idea that the cup holder was blue until I snapped these pictures, normally it blends right in with the rest of the interior, but the bright flash reveals all. Oh well, that’s an easy fix.

Here are a couple of pics:

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

You must be registered for see images

 

[Russ]

Wow that really looks good. High performance seat belts, I like that.

 

[troutwest66]

Rob,

What about the dash? Did you replace that or paint it? I assume you took it out to paint it if that's what you did. I ask because I need to replace the dash in my truck and I was wondering, when I can afford a replacement, what is involved in taking one out. I'm concerned with getting everything loose, can the steering column be left alone(I'd take the wheel off), what about the vacuum lines for the heater and wiring connectors? Does the plenum for the heat and the ducts stay with the firewall or come out with the dash? Just like to know what I'm getting into before I embark down that road. I've had the instrument cluster out so that's easy.

 

[F350camper]

Ya, I took the dash out and painted it. The wheel and steering column stayed in tact, if I remember correctly. But it prolly would have been easier to pull the wheel. Good idea. I just had to take out the inst cluster, glove box, radio, ash tray, several "false panels" and about 8,473,201 screws nuts and bolts holding the whole thing in. The Plenum/heater core and blower and such stays with the firewall.

It’s a job to be sure, but not insurmountable. I'd plan on pulling it Saturday, and installing the new one Sunday.

 

[troutwest66]

No problem with the vacuum lines, then? I would do this in the summer when I don't have to work and we're between camping trips.

 

[F350camper]

Nope, no trouble with the vacuum lines. They all run to the 3 dial HVAC control panel. On the back of the vent selector dial is a modular plug which contains all the vacuum connections, this is easily disconnected. The fan speed dial is just an electrical connector, and the temp selector is a cable that’s pretty easy to undo also. Other than disconnecting these things I don’t remember needing to mess with the HVAC controls.