Nissan Spec-V: Part 7: Painting the Interior
9/1/2006
After constructing the cage and welding the interior, we proceeded to finish the interior with some paint. Painting the interior is dirty, smelly and tedious work, but it is an important step that must be done. The paint serves several functions. First, it gives the interior a more professional appearance. Second, it prevents corrosion on the raw welds and tubes of the roll cage. Third, it helps reduce reflections and glare that could reduce the driver’s vision. Finally, it makes it easier to spot fluid leaks and to clean them up once they occur.
We used off-the-shelf aerosol paint because the interior tends to get scratched and banged up, and it is much easier to grab a can of spray paint for touch ups rather than mixing automotive refinish paint and dirtying up a spray gun. I prefer Rust-Oleum industrial enamel because it is nearly as durable as automotive refinish paint. We choose a dark, industrial gray color as it is neutral and non-reflective.
Proper surface preparation is important for a long-lasting paint job. First, we must degrease the interior. We used MEK and rags saturated in denatured alcohol. Be sure to wear a respirator and chemical-resistant gloves. These chemical are also highly flammable, so do this in a well-ventilated area and of course don’t smoke or be near any source of flame or ignition. After degreasing we sanded the cage and the entire interior with a combination of Scotch-Brite red pads and 220-grit sandpaper. The surface doesn’t have to be perfect, just clean, free of rust and welding scale with some roughness for paint adhesion. When sanding be sure to wear a particle mask so you don’t inhale the sanding dust.
After sanding, mask off the outside of the car. We used 3M blue painters tape, because it peels off cleanly, and real masking paper, because it is dust-free and handy. Newspaper will also work. After masking you are ready to paint. Let me stress that you must use a fume-and-vapor-type respirator when doing this or you will get very sick. Particle masks won’t cut it. The inside of the car holds in the fumes and vapors, and paint fumes are something you don’t want to huff.
I first sprayed on a thin layer of aircraft self-etching zinc chromate primer. Although it’s toxic, nothing sticks to bare metal and resists corrosion better. This primer is the weird green stuff you might see inside panels of a plane or inside JDM racecars. Because of its toxicity, you’ll have to buy it at professional aircraft supply stores. I went to Aircraft Spruce. I usually spray the zinc chromate primer on areas of bare metal, like the rollcage tubes and the floor where the cage is welded.
After the primer dried, which took a few hours, I scuffed up the primed surface with a Scotch-Brite pad and applied the paint, starting at the roof and working down. I was careful to make sure all surfaces were painted. I waited an hour before removing the masking paper and tape. After a couple of days the paint was cured enough to work on without damage.
Rust-Oleum paint and zinc chromate primer are very durable and make it easy to maintain the interior.
After the interior is cleaned and sanded, the exterior must be masked off. The green on the cage tubes is the zinc chromate primer.
The neutral gray color reduces glare around the windshield, helping to improve the driver’s vision.
The interior receives a coat of paint.
The trunk gets a coat of paint as well.
The engine compartment is painted the same color as the interior. The gray color makes it easy to spot leaks.