Team-BHP - Dashboard Painting Job in Indigo

Hi All,

Its been long time that i did something DIY job on my car..

I had painted the odo cover to silver, but when driven in day light, it was too bright for the eyes and very much disturbing.

So finally decided to paint the remaining interior to biege color similar to what the new Indica/go interiors are.

In the meanwhile while i got the paint cans ordered from a paint shop, since they did not store the biege color as it was slow running item in the shop, I decided to paint the wheel covers to silver, using the same can which I had earlier got to paint the dasboard. All 4 wheel covers were somewhat dirty and dull with scratch marks all over and the color being dull.

Finally sat down one saturday and using a polish paper got the dirt and the top color completely removed. Since this job was done quite some months later, i felt the same pain in my fingers after a good polish job. :)

Unfortunately, i am not having the pics of the wheel caps in any stage, i'll try to post a pic of the already completed paint job on the caps very soon.

Next thing would be to do the door trims. The pain here is the cloth trim that is present on the door pads. I think i'll have to comlptely strip them off and then put a new cloth or foam later pads over it since the existing cloth has already started wearing from the sides and started threading.

Will keep uploading pics of whatever paint jobs i undertake henceforth..I am even thinking of opening a small garage for such paint jobs in these resession days.. lol: would be a a good source of income...

Meanwhile, after taking some inspiration from our fellow TBHPians, i have started the modifications for the cabin lamps to turn into led setup emitting white light.

Will also post the pics in a relevant thread under.
Till then..cya..!!

Regards,

Rahul Korde.

Hi Guys,

Back after quite sometime. More on the painting job of the interior parts, which were easily detachable. The images below show are of the:
1. Center console before painting.
2. Center console after painting.
3. The A, B & C pillar trims.

I'll doing the door trims now and would take up the dashboard at the last moment.

Pls. post your comments or suggestions..

Regards,

Rahul

Great job Rahul. I haven't seen an Indigo from inside so wanted to ask how did you manage to get that carbon fiber look on the top part of the center console or did it come like that. Please help. I have a friend who has an ikon and it has very boring and dull interiors and would like to do the same thing on that car.

Apart from this all I wanna say is excellent job buddy and that too for negligible money. Thanks to cheap plastics that come in TATA cars you can think of starting up your own business dedicated to indica or indigo customers and i'm sure they'll be happy to pay you good money :)

Thanks Somu2009 and tanwaramit.

The black carbon fibre look comes or u can say used to come with top end models of indigo - the diesel (LX) and petrol (GLX). Mine is a GLX and hence the OEM carbon fibre finish. While painting , i just had to mask it with abro tape (commonly known as paper tape) and news paper to avoid color being sprayed on the top part.

Till now, I have spent close to Rs. 1500/- to 1800/- and almost done up half the fiblre parts painted in beige and black. (for black - refer pics on previous page). What remains now are the inner door panels and the huge dashboard. Even if I consider the same amount being spent on these things, its still going to be within Rs.5K. I was quoted around 20K upwards for the same thing outside and then again you won't the finish or the durability of the paint outside, since most painters may not use the primer base, whihc leads to chipping of color after some duration.

Even for ikon, u should be able to get the fibre parts removed one by one and then paint them with proper primer and desired paint color. You can have any color on your interior as per your choice as the Bosny and Sefco color sprays are available in wide color range. May be u can use some color matching your car color or in contrast.

I have not seriously decided, but can think of opening a garage specialising in Indica and Indigo's. Probably I might have many T-permit vehicles coming down since these tend to get dirty too early.
After all, you got to provision something for your life after retirement or may be after a few years down the line, when you get bored of your daily job.

Regards,

Rahul Korde.

Hey Rahul Buddy, Thats really great job done. Awesome!!!
I have a Logan and the entire interior setup is beige, And i hate it. I am inspired now to Paint the dashboard black. Got a few queries here:

1. How is the paint coming along? Any chip or crack?
2. How about odour? Does it have any foul smell due to the new paint?
3. Did you manage to take the entire dashboard out and painted it?

We at Teambhp are more than eager to see the final outcome. So please post the pics soon.

N

Hi,

Its strange that you don't like the biege interior, where as I am converting my dashboard and overall interior to biege, sicne I am bored of the dull grey interior. Anyways, that's a personal choice..

About the painting,
1. The color will only chip if you do not prime the surface. Paints do not stick to the base surface for too long and hence a primer is required to hold the paint. Well primed surfaces will not chip at least for years to come, provided you do not misbehave with the surface with sharp objects.
2. Color as such does not have any odour, it is only during the application of the paint that you'll have the paint smell, but not after drying since the solvent dries off on air. The paint I have used are dry-to-air paints, which do not require a oven or 'bhatti' to dry the color. Spray the paint and keep the object on open air or under the fan to dry ensuring you do not have dust particles in the air which will harm the surface.
3. Although I have not yet opened the dashboard for complete painting since getting the dashboard out and doing the cleaning, priming, drying, painting and then again drying is not a small time job. I have a mechanic who'll help me get the dashboard opened completely, so I have no issues till that step. Once it is opened, the job needs to be finished in ample time.

I would suggest you do not paint the dashboard black in you Logan. offcourse just a suggetion..

I am starting with the door trims probably this weekend. I want to complete the painting since its been long time I had started it, but could not complete it due to time restrictions due to work and family responsibilities..Once done, I'll post the pics immediately and even for any intermediate steps.

Regards,

Rahul K