HOW-TO: Paint Radio Bezel - SRT Forums

whites97 · 07-01-2006, 04:21 PM

Supplies needed:
320 grit sand paper
Colormatched (or whatever color you want) body paint from Mopar
Primer
Clear Coat
Scapel Blade (or for you cheap-o's, a standard razor blade)
Painter's tape (I like the blue stuff)
Your nail

First off... remove the bezel (obviously)

Tape off the areas you don't want to paint and then using your nail, press the tape down around the corners making everything as precise as possible.

Take your razor and cut out the areas that are covered and need to be painted

and then sand it with 320 grit to remove the clear coat. After you've sanded it, take some cleaner (whatever you want really), and remove the loose grit on the bezel. From here, take out your primer, and prime it.

I'm anal retentive and sanded it after I primed it to remove any small bumps. If you're not as crazy as I am... then don't worry about it. You should be fine without sanding again (up to you really). After that's said and done, take out your body paint and give it a few coats.

Once again, I sanded this a little to remove any excessive marks between coats. Not completely necessary. After you get your last coat of paint on, time to whip out the clear coat and add a few layers. The more coats, the shinnier it gets. I added 3... because, well... I wanted to. To remove the tape, DO NOT just yank it off, as you'll peel off some of your freshly laid paint as well. I'd recommend taking your scapel blade and tracing it around the outline of the laid tape and then SLOWLY removing the tape. It should come up nicely.

EDIT:
From here, I decided to take some Zaino Z-5 (Z-2 would've been too shiny in my opinion) and waxed it with two applications, applying Z-6 after each coat. This made the final product even smoother, shinier and slippery!!!

And just for fun... here's a picture of it installed. Enjoy!

I hope this helped,
Dave

SRT-T3ddy · 07-01-2006, 04:31 PM

good write up, looks badass

Miguel_in_Denver · 07-01-2006, 04:33 PM

Looks good man. Hey I wanted to ask you what headunit is that?

Thanks,
Miguel

whites97 · 07-01-2006, 04:34 PM

The RB1 navigation unit. I LOVE IT!!! Especially since I have it hooked up to the iPod control module as well!

Annihilator · 07-01-2006, 08:45 PM

GREAT job! You have had some practice with painting I assume, that came out looking great, surely too good for it being your first time. Again, nice job man, I may very well use this writeup when I get my e-blue, it makes the interior look SO much better!

off topic, but how much did that head unit cost you, and was it extremely hard to install?

AZSRT$$ · 07-01-2006, 08:59 PM

Turned out really good.

I'll have to mark that up as a future project.

jstnelson2006 · 07-01-2006, 09:28 PM

How much did the RB1 Navi run you from the dealer?

whites97 · 07-02-2006, 01:17 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Annihilator

GREAT job! You have had some practice with painting I assume, that came out looking great, surely too good for it being your first time. Again, nice job man, I may very well use this writeup when I get my e-blue, it makes the interior look SO much better!

off topic, but how much did that head unit cost you, and was it extremely hard to install?

In fact, it is my first interior paint job. My first true paint job was my Redline Elite Quicklift kit for my hood... but that doesn't count in my opinion. I'm just picky... and really take pride in all the work that I do. Patience is a virtue I was never dealt, but perfectionism is one I live by.

As for the headunit... $~800 and the install was a fricken' snap! A one-armed retarded mongoose could do it. Well, maybe not that simple, but rather straight foward none-the-less.

Quote: Originally Posted by jstnelson2006

How much did the RB1 Navi run you from the dealer?

Dealer = Stealer (and mind you, I always get the employee discount too)
Check e-bay... and be certain to look for the "AD" disc, as it is the latest to be released with all location and firmware upgrades.

Dave

Forced · 07-03-2006, 12:04 AM

It looks real nice I've been wanting to paint a few things in my car but have wondered how durable it is.

Ricekiller · 07-03-2006, 12:06 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by whites97

Quote: Originally Posted by Annihilator

GREAT job! You have had some practice with painting I assume, that came out looking great, surely too good for it being your first time. Again, nice job man, I may very well use this writeup when I get my e-blue, it makes the interior look SO much better!

off topic, but how much did that head unit cost you, and was it extremely hard to install?

In fact, it is my first interior paint job. My first true paint job was my Redline Elite Quicklift kit for my hood... but that doesn't count in my opinion. I'm just picky... and really take pride in all the work that I do. Patience is a virtue I was never dealt, but perfectionism is one I live by.

As for the headunit... $~800 and the install was a fricken' snap! A one-armed retarded mongoose could do it. Well, maybe not that simple, but rather straight foward none-the-less.

Quote: Originally Posted by jstnelson2006

How much did the RB1 Navi run you from the dealer?

Dealer = Stealer (and mind you, I always get the employee discount too)
Check e-bay... and be certain to look for the "AD" disc, as it is the latest to be released with all location and firmware upgrades.

Dave

does it play dvd's??
does the nav talk to you??

Vapochill · 07-03-2006, 12:54 AM

hey man nice write up, i also painted my bezel and would like to add a tip for the folks that wanted to put in the effort. i also tried the taping of the A/C controls, but i wasn't as clean around the edges. tried some paint thinner, and it just ate through the plastic sticker, thankfully i bought an extra bezel for this project.

My tip is this, pick up a jar of rubber cement, and skip using the tape with Scapel Blade. warm up the bezel with a hair dryer and it should peel right off. the sticker is somewhat durable. Then paint as messy as you would like. then glue it back with the rubber cement when your done.

on second thought after typing this, it might be a good idea to tape some of the "sticker bezel" area off, so the rubber cement sticks to plastic instead clearcoat paint. but it's just a thought.

whites97 · 07-03-2006, 08:44 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Ricekiller

does it play dvd's?? does the nav talk to you??

It does not play DVDs. It does however talk to you... and the level in which it talks to you can be changed. It can mention EVERY SINGLE DAMN TURN, or it can make a chime so you know to look at the navigation... or you can make it do nothing (like I have it set)... and then there's the manual method, where you click on the voice command and it'll tell you what your next turn is and how far away it is.

EssArTee-4 · 07-03-2006, 04:17 PM

Good write up man, exactly how I did my awhile back

endlessheart666 · 07-04-2006, 06:04 PM

Damn that looks good, once I get some spare cash I'ma do this. How much is dodge asking for that color match paint nowadays?

whites97 · 07-04-2006, 10:05 PM

$9.40