Interior Painting 1965 Roadster

[George C.]

Can anyone tell me the right way to prepare the car for new carpets? Should I paint all surfaces inside the car first, it currently appears to only have overspray from the body painting process. The storage compartment area is painted black, but is pretty shabby looking. Should this be done in gloss or semi flat. I have re-done the glove box, and center section of the dash with Krylon semi-flat as suggested in an earlier thread, I am real happy with the outcome, it looks great.

Thank you in advance,

George

[Robert C.]

Re: Interior Painting 1965 Roadster

Flat paint in storage area coordinated to match carpet color.The other stuff you've done sounds good.

[Joe C.]

"LOW GLOSS" = Flat, or Semi Gloss

Bob:

The TIM&JG for 1965 states, on page 39 that the compartments get painted "low gloss". Are you sure this doesn't mean semigloss or semiflat. I am thinking that if they meant "flat"(no gloss), they would have said "flat". I realize that there is sometimes a fine line between different gloss levels. I have seen a couple references to "semiflat', but I don't believe I have ever seen a can of paint labeled "semiflat". You can get the same effect with semigloss by applying a less wet final coat to knock down the sheen.

For what it's worth, I painted the compartments on my '65 roadster with the same paint I used for the blackout process : Eastwood's "Underhood Black", which is low gloss (semigloss).

How do you read this. It seems to me that the compartments would get blacked out along with the rest of the car, using the same paint. Am I wrong?

Joe

[Gene M.]

Re: stowage well color

The stowage well is painted interior color. If you have black carpet then the wells were black. If blue carpet........wells should be blue.

[Ray C.]

Re: stowage well color

Was the interior paint and process the same as the exterior lacquer. My understanding was that the finial process for the exterior paint was curing with heat under 250 degrees (fiberglass) and lots of rubbing. This process increased the sheen of the paint and the lack of this process in certain areas causes the paint to have a lower sheen.
Ray

[Joe C.]

Not Thinking

Gene:

I don't know what I was thinking. My interior just happens to be black, and thus the tie in to the blackout. After your wake up call, I see that the wells were painted at a time other than blackout time. The "good book" says they get painted low gloss "color". Does this mean flat, or semigloss.

Joe

[Gene M.]

Re: interior paint details

Joe,
Look closely at the painted trim in the interior. The dash fiberglass and the sheet metal trim at the center windshield base are a flat color. This is as opposed to the finish with a sheen like the painted face at the top of the inside door frame. Also in a coupe other than the dash and the center lower winshield trim the paint has some sheen to it. The side and top windshield trim on a coupe (drop tops are polished stainless) does not match the duller center lower trim. The stowage area should have the same sheen as the rest of the interior. The dash and lower center trim were dull in finish to eliminate glare to driver. Many restorations miss this detail. If you shoot the stowage in a "dry spray" it will dull down the finish some what to appear as original (slight sheen).

[George C.]

Re: interior paint details

To all,

Thank you very much for the input. It seems like I'll be using the Krylon semi-flat on the stowage compartments as well. This paint was discussed in several earlier threads about interior finishes and the results I am getting with it are great. Great tip also about a wet final coat providing a little higher gloss.

Thanks again,

George

[Joe C.]

Re: interior paint details

Gene:

Thank you for the valuable info on interior finishes. I am not yet ready to paint these parts, but will store that info for later. While we are on the subject, I have a '65 ragtop with black interior. Am I correct in saying that the radio side panels and the rear edges of the door frame (the part of the hinge pillar that is inside the car) also get SEMIFLAT black along with the center windshield lower trim, the dash fiberglass, and the storage wells. What about the glove box door, cluster housing, console, and steering column. I think these have a higher gloss and should be painted SEMIGLOSS black. Right??

If this is true, does Krylon make a semiflat black in addition to semigloss? I have never seen it.Thanks again.

Joe

[John H.]

Re: interior paint details

Joe -

Krylon semi-flat is their #1613 - have used it for years - most chain hardware stores (True Value, etc.) and places like Lowe's and Home Depot carry it.

[Gene M.]

Re: interior paint details

Joe.
The black on the gage cluster, glove box door, & center console are a semi gloss. Almost any brand spray can is ok that fits the bill. But I use a satin and buff it a little to get a semi gloss low luster sheen. The only pieces that are painted flat interior color are the dash, speaker bezel and the lower center windshield trim. The rest is a satin to semi gloss finish.