Color and type of paint for interior?

#1

Newb in early stages of build up.

So what color and what type of paint should I use on the interior metal after striping.

I stripped the trunk tar and want to clean it up and paint it with right stuff the first time before I move into the cab work etc.

I was thinking just light gray rustoloem?
As mentioned in other “cage painting” thread its easilly available and you can get spray or can in same color for touch ups etc. plus its cheap. Is plain old dupli color OK too?
POR 15 looks nice but $$$
But I see alot of people using black? Is this for lighting effect clean up or personal preference?
I wanted to use light gray to keep things bright cool and visible inside but does it effect glare inside and the viewing out the windows also?

Seems like a simple question but…

What do you guys do?

#2

Mind if I call you “Del”? :laugh:

I had my car painted inside and out at the same time, so I went with Mercedes Benz #744 “Brilliant Silver Metallic”. It has the distinct advantage of being the same color as silver Scotchcal vinyl. Hides dirt a little better than white, but I like the interior to be bright.

My trunk is painted black, but I should have picked a color closer to Georgia red clay. Or Savannah sand. Or Barber turf.

The only place I have noticed glare is on the rear window. I reinstalled the black rear package shelf to avoid that problem.

I’ve seen some guys paint the rollcage a real eye-catching color. Seems like that might be distracting. Maybe just to me. Maybe that’s why they do it.

Steve D.

#3

Go to you local auto/body paint store and get them to make up a rattle-can of delphin grey to match the BMW paint. Cost about $15 per can, but you will not have to paint the entire inside, only those touch-up spots.

Paint the cage with Rustoleum satin black with small rollers and detail brushes.

RP

#4

I Herculined the floor of my car, looks cool and will help me get to weight. Silly 2750 lbs…

#5

You won’t be disappointed with POR-15. It also goes a long way. I painted an entire 14 ft trailer, full floor, with one quart. It is also extremely durable.
Ed

#6

From what I’ve read, POR15 is the way to go. When the day comes to redo mine, I’ll do POR15 in light grey.

You may have cause later to regret removing the soundproofing in the trunk so early in the build. It will make it harder to make weight.

#7

Thanks guys, great feedback, makes sense.
So far I like the light gray POR15 ($45 a quart?) for floor pan etc with satin black roll cage idea.
Of course the OEM Delphin Metallic ideas clean too with cardinal red cage.
ah so many choices.

,Richard F.

#8

I like the floor board covered Herculiner also. However, I rode in Rob Keehner’s 318 once and my tennis shoes were melting and sticking to the floor. B)

I inquired with Herculiner about temperature stability. Following is their reply.

“Thanks for your e-mail. The Herculiner is heat resistant up to 254 F.”

Now I don’t know what temperature tennis shoes start melting at. I also don’t know how hot my floor boards will be. But I think I’m going to pass on the Herculiner application just to avoid something going wrong.

Observations on paint textures and colors:

Flat and crinkle paints suck when it’s time to clean them. The finishes are rough and dirt/dust gets retained in the surface irregularities.

Darker colors attract heat and light. They gotta make for a hotter cock pit, if only in the pits or sitting on grid.

Lighter colors reflect light well, so if you need to work in the car in dim light it will be easier to see. They’ll be a little cooler too. I was in the process of making my car white in the cockpit. I rolled it out of the garage this weekend to yank the motor/drive train and Yowzaw! I was instantly snowblinded. I mean it made my eyes hurt. I think I’m going to switch up to a light grey cockpit and make the cage semi-gloss black. The black semi-gloss should do well to hide scratches & greasy paw prints.

I’ve been advised to pay special attention to two items in painting. The rear package shelf and the cage. I painted the rear package shelf flat black to avoid glare. I was told to put as much paint on the cage as you can on it to avoid a re-do later on. I’ll be putting at least 2 coats of paint on the cage.

#9

We went with Rustoleum rattle cans in gloss white FTW. In the driveway in front of the house - just mask it well :slight_smile:
Made sense with our white car. Stays cooler in Florida, reflects light well for working in dim areas and makes it easy to find that tiny little screw you’ll end up dropping beneath the driver’s seat during reassembly.

Easy to get more for touch ups - I actually picked up small can and use a brush instead of the spray can to avoid overspray when I do touch ups.

Use aluminum foil to mask off any wiring in the car - it works great :slight_smile:

#10

My car’s white and that’s exactly the direction I was going in until the snow blinding thing. How’s the white holding up? Does it need much maintenance?

#11

I think your initial plan was the best. Probably because that’s what I did. :lol:

Rustoleum gray, far cheaper than POR-15 which IMO isn’t necessary. The gray helps hide the dirt without being so dark it makes the car a dungeon. I used a little foam roller to apply it to the floorpans, roof, and as much of the cage as possible. Followed up with brush and spray can where I couldn’t reach. It’s held up well over the last two years. My only failure has been on the cage which chips too easily but I blame that on my complete lack of prep…should have shot some primer on the tubes first, or maybe just cleaned them better. You’ll have to go over the cage at least 3 time until you get all the spots you missed.

#12

I was told to use a lighter color for the cage so that it could be easily inspected for cracks. Darker colors tend to hide cracks that would develop over time.

#13

ddavidv wrote:

I don’t think there’s any substitute for vinyl on the top nascar bar. Seems to hold up to abuse reasonably well and is easy to replace when it looks junky (no offense, Chi).

Steve D.

#14

Steve D wrote:

[quote]ddavidv wrote:

I don’t think there’s any substitute for vinyl on the top nascar bar. Seems to hold up to abuse reasonably well and is easy to replace when it looks junky (no offense, Chi).

Steve D.[/quote]

doubt it’s a real issue :huh: but any concerns about how the vinyl would react to fire?

After seeing how quickly that e30 at LeMons went up… I’m a bit more aware of what flammable items are in the car with me.

Just a thought

#15

I used Krylon “pewter” out of a spray can for the entire interior including the cage. It’s relatively cheap, very easy to find, and has been holding up great. It’s essentially the same light gray color that the NASCAR boys use inside their cars. I’ve seen a lot of other pro sportscars that use it as well.

You can buy it by the case online which makes it very economical.

#16

In my opinion a medium to dark gray is a better choice than a lighter color. And best to use flat black on the area where the rear parcel shelf used to be to avoid reflections on the rear window.

Spraying the interior requires a lot of work to mask off where you don’t want paint. A brush coat using a slow drying, self leveling, paint (Rustoleum comes readily to mind) yields results almost as good and is a lot less work.

I used a mixture of equal parts of Rustoleum gloss Gray and Black after trying Rustoleum Gray. I’m a lot happier with the darker gray.

#17

rrroadster wrote:

Pretty well, actually. I grab the shop vac once in a while and wipe it down when it gets too dirty. (I’m anal…) the only spot that really takes much abuse is the driver side floor pan (& passenger side when I take the occasional student for a ride). The last time I hit it with any paint was when we took it up to BMW CCA Oktoberfest and entered it into the race car class in the concours. It was easier to just paint the floors than try to clean them :slight_smile:
I’ve been happy with it and haven’t really noticed and glare or reflection on the rear window…

#18

I painted the interior of my car this weekend using Rustoleum “Smoke Gray.” I was able to get everything using a small brush for the tight spots and a 2 inch foam roller for everywhere else. Didn’t need the spray can I bought.

A quart at $8 did the entire floor, rear seat, roof, and parcel shelf (which will likely get flat black later depending on glare). I’ll probably do the rollbar in black.

It is a glossy finish and looks pretty good, although I’m not sure it was worth the effort. Contorting in the back seat used to be a lot more fun. :woohoo: