sanding my dash down

[jthorn75]

went to a paint shop and talked about gettin my dash painted with a lil something extra:smokin: but the guy told me not to sand anything that he should do it because when it gets hot its gonna warp if everything isnt done perfectly...i do believe prep is everything but is this guy right...also if anyone has go this done what do u think a fair price for sanding and painting it would be?

[hca]

I can understand what he means but I dont think you will get anything that hot. What do you plan on sanding it with? I had a quote once at 700 to do everything in my reg cab, but i made friends with a few guys at a local shop and did it with their help in the booth for clear. Honestly, i would do it myself.

[jthorn75]

well im gettin some green ghost flames put on the dash to do down into the console and everything so i do want it done right...i went with 80 grit then smoothed with with those foam pad ones with sad paper with i think 100 and it made it smooth then i put some primer on then wet sanded it...now its gettin a 10 inch monitor in it...maybe i should sand down 1 piece myself and take it in to see what it would look like done and if it looks like ass ill get it done professionally? what do u guys think?

[FordeatinZ71]

just make it a small piece so if you DO screw it up and have to replace it it won't be that expensive...:wink:

Josh

[drpdndshvd]

I really dont think you can screw up lol, theres many members one here including myself that has sanded the dash down, only thing i got from my guys was, to do the bulk sanding and they would finish it off and use a filler primer, I really dont think you can go wrong with sanding, I understand the heat issue, but when i did mine there was no way to get it that hot (did it outside on a cool day) but still the piece is big enough that if you kept the sander moving youd be fine. JMO tho also the plastic is a bit thick to warp that easily, unless you were using a floor sander or belt sander LOL.

[jthorn75]

well the guy was sayin u cant use any of the cheap stuff on it...that u have to use all the good primers...whatever that means

[Loki]

he's more than likely just trying to get money out of you. any good filler primer will be sufficient. and i don't know what he's talking about when he says warping the plastic. as long as you make nice even passes and don't sit on one area with the sander too long, you won't warp anything. i've done my dash and friends dashes before with no problems. if you do hapen to gouge the dash, just use some filler, block sand it, and then primer over. then color sand and you're ready for paint. good luck. just try a small piece like above stated. if you take it to a shop and they won't paint it because you already prepped it, that's bull****. they're just wanting more money.

[jthorn75]

so what do u think would be a good process...sand then filler primer then sand again then auto primer then paint?

[Loki]

so what do u think would be a good process...sand then filler primer then sand again then auto primer then paint?
you don't need any more primer over the filler primer. this is what i would do.

1st - Clean the area really well then start your sanding. Using a standard method of sanding (more course paper first then clean and fine sand paper to finish.)...sand until you have a smooth paintable surface. spray with a filler primer 1 or 2 coats maybe more depending on how much is necessary. then color sand the primer after it dries with a really fine wet sand grade paper. clean again and wipe with cheese clothe to remove all impurities before laying down your base coat. and let fully dry. lay your base coat down and then this little explanation becomes a paint lesson...sanding is pretty rudementory. you don't need to add any other type of primer over the filler primer.

[jthorn75]

what is color sanding?

[Loki]

it's the process of using water and a fine sandpaper to smooth the paint/primer after the paint dries.

[drpdndshvd]

I reccomend doing what I did

Sand down the dash to the best of your ability then take it in to a shop, tell them to use a filler primer then baseclear or whatever you want, If they think that the filler primer will take out anything youve missed they will spray it, if they dont they will finish the prep work, ie sanding if neccessary, I know they sanded mine a bit more before the filler primered it, But if you primer it, they arent going to stand behind the warranty, they will say poor prep thats why our paint didnt stick or whatever, Just let them deal with it

JMO

[jthorn75]

well this guy wants to do the sanding, painting with the flames for 600 bucks?

[drpdndshvd]

I guess thats No too bad, for my OBS I removed and sanded the pieces down and it costed me 250.00 for final prep, prime and base cleared, the main dash, cup holder, lower dash and glovebox

no flames tho, that would add i would say 50-100 depending on what you wanted, but i duno. 600 seems high, unless hes removing the dash for you and reinstalling