I drove 10 hours yesterday to get some half doors, here’s why...

Vtx531 said:

... The exterior color can be changed “easily” but interior not so much.

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I find the opposite to be true.

Chris said:

It seems like people have been able to very easily change the interior color with paint. I’ve seen some of this done on the forum and it came out looking better than new.

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I think @AndyG Just did this on his new to him half doors.

CodaMan said:

I find the opposite to be true.

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Does anyone know where those threads and posts are on changing interior color that will pass the thumbnail test?

@Hog sent me a video he found a guy doing it.

I can't make any claims but I'll tell you my process.

First realize that anything has been probably armored alled along the way

Wash the part with hot water and Dawn dishwashing detergent a couple of times and then hit it with a brush and baking soda. That scours the surface.

If it has any kind of Sheen hit it with 320 grit paper and remember that paper is going to load up really quick with plastic.

Then tack ragged and hit it with adhesion promoter... And you got to be attentive to the time windows for adhesion promoter to work

At this point you've done everything you need to do for successful adhesion but this doesn't necessarily play into hardness.

Remember these paints dry from the bottom up... So thin coats and maximizing the recoat time is a good strategy.

As far as can spray paint quality for me... I have never seen anything come close to sem...I used it on my bumper that I modified and I'm absolutely amazed at how good it looks and how tough it is. Never had a problem with it and it lays down beautifully and doesn't tend to show lap marks and inconsistent texture.

I had a repair the other day that I had to do on something and I fogged it with a charcoal gray then I fogged it with the sem ... This gave it the dark slate look the console had that I was working on. this worked for a plastic plug but you would have to be pretty careful doing an entire piece to get it consistent.

Also using some scrap cardboard or something to get the feel of a product spray pattern is never a bad idea. And remember that's going to change as the can loses propellant.

All that being said I would still choose the right color panels given the choice.

I did some interior panels and console on my 94 Blazer , I think the product is called LVP, its a spray on dye I think. Its been 2 yrs and is holding up great . the console takes a lot of abuse from my dog standing on and back and forth from front seat to rear. Its

Painting plastic is common now ...my remodel company has to do it constantly..trim , columns. It's like everything else..prep is key.

The material and know how is available, but if you go cheap and skip steps, it won't last...like all paint.

At the same time,I want the correct color if possible ...just getting tough to be picky these days.

$300 is a good deal with no door panels actually.

SEM is also a good product. I remember in the 70's a product called Marhyde?, IIRC, it would peel like a sunburn.

My interior is black, the doors I found have a grey interior. No WAY I would try to paint them to match.
We painted a plastic chair with Krylon Fusion and it was trash within a week.

I would have done the same thing for the same reason! In fact, I paid too much for a pair of PERFECT half doors up in L.A. (only a 3 hour round trip drive for me) to have matching interior panels; in fact, I was so picky that I bought the exact same year. The color is "molded in" on these door panels; as such, ANY color change WILL look like AZZ sooner or later. I completely took EVERY part off of my doors and had them scuffed and painted black, reinstalled the door panels, got the lock cylinders keyed alike (even that I will NEVER lock the doors on my soft top only TJ), and installed a second set of factory OEM mirrors on them - takes me ~20 minutes to change out from my full doors to my half doors...

I do think I'll pick up the second set of mirrors for the Half Doors.
It took me about 10 minutes to get the full door off the first time. It was probably never removed before. WD40 and tap tap, wiggle wiggle. I'm a little pissed that I scuffed the paint on the lock nut, I couldn't find the correct size wrench, so I used an adjustable one.

I am also waiting for the OCR wall hangers to get back in stock. After about an hour of research, these seem like a good option. I was looking at some of the home-built solutions and just mounting door hinges on 2x4s. But for about the same cost I like this:
https://offroadconceptsfl.com/products/o-r-c-door-hanger-for-76-06-jeep-wrangler

The nut is a 13 mm but the heavy coat of paint makes it a tight fit. I found the Husky brand I picked up from HD to be a little bigger than my others and it works fine. I highly recommend additional mirrors. I got a Mopar set off of Ebay for less than $140. Actually I got TWO extra sets so I have a set for my Ditech mirror brackets for doors off.

I'd love to find color correct door panels like that. I spray the light gray ones with agate from SEM and they are not holding up well.

Local guy that parts out TJs said he can easily get $5-600 for just those door panels. After that I didn't really inquire about rust free doors. I paid $200 for ones with minor rust and cleaned them up.