Best way to mask interior for dash paint?

[pcarlson]

Hi guys,

I successfully painted my interior rear quarters, glove box, and some of my dash trim. I used the "Easy-off" method, and it worked great! Thanks to the poster who tried it and suggested it. Now... I figure that I have to re-paint the actual dash itself. No reason to have everything else look good and the dash look like crap. So, what is the best way to mask everything that I'll need to?

I already have the dash pad off. I will be taking the instrument cluster off, as well as all of the dash trim. My main concern is overspray and the fact that the paint will just stay inside the interior of the coupe.

I have roll of newsprint and some blue painter's masking tape to do the job... that's all I need, right?

What would my best method of masking be? I plan on taping the newsprint to where the dash pad would be for the lower point and up on the headliner for the upper.

Do I need to mask off the headliner too? What about other things? I'm not sure if the overspray will carry the paint where I don't want it.

Lastly... should I have a fan running inside the cab? That way it would get most of the overspray out of the car rather than letting it settle there.

 

[Dothang67]

When I painted the dash in my car I had all the interior (i.e seats, carpet, door panels, trim, etc) out; so I only masked the windshield, and the doors. I dont know how convenient would it be to have a fan in there, it could help to have the air in the inside cleaner but that paint could end in the outer paint of your car.

I would recommend take all the interior out and paint the dash with the doors closed and using a mask, then let it sit over night.

 

[66 Restomod]

photo

Here's a photo of mine in progress a few months ago. I paid $1 for a big 12 foot plastic tarp and taped it from under the dash, along the floor front to back, then up to the headliner and back to the top of the dash, covering the windshield. I used the blue tape and wrapping paper (my NPD parts arrived in this) to get the edges and areas that would get more overspray. No fan is needed. But another tarp covering the exterior of the car and open doors is a good idea. But the overspray dust wipes off easily anyway. Make sure you use some thinner or alcohol to wipe the grease and grime from the nooks and crannies before painting. HTH

 

[chromedog]

if you plan on using interior paint, because it is lacquer, it pretty much dries before the overspray has a chance to stick.but... to be on the safe side, get yourself a cheap plastic drop cloth. they usually come in a 9' x 12' sheet. unfold it, and feed it through the cab longways. bring the ends together on the roof of the car, and tape them together. poke a couple holes in the plastic where it is sagging the most, and tape it to the headliner using 2" masking tape, just cover the holes you made with a piece of tape. use another drop cloth to cover the carpet, using 2" tape again, backtape the lower edge of the dash.(stick the tape to the backside of the dash leaving about half of it showing.) mask off the door jambs, and windshield, and you are set. BTW, get yourself a droplight, as the interior will get pretty dark once you mask off the windshield!

 

[68converted]

That photo looks just like mine when I did it. my "ex" wife was very unhappy that I used her "good" wrapping paper. May I suggest a really good mask? I mean really good! It will get very thick with vapor in there...