Thread: How-To: Recessed Screen and DVD Drive

No the optical drive is on USB.

Originally Posted by Altimat

I have a compressor and complete set of body shop tools in the garage but I still use spray cans for the little stuff.

PlastiKote Trim Black and PlastiKote Sandable Primer in black are my favorites. They smell especially bad though.

After I get coverage a spray light mist coats to get the fine texture. Hides fingerprints and smudges better then too.

Do you do anything to the paint afterwards like use any polishing compounds or anything. Can you tell me how you did you coats (i.e. 1 layer of primer and then 3 layers of black waiting 30 minutes between)

I really think you did a great job especially with the paint. You can do some killer fabrication work and ruin it with a crappy tacky paint job.

Update: The edges between the plywood and the plastic became barely visible as a thin recessed line after a few weeks time and I had to redo it. You can see the area where the filler is thin in the second-to-last pic on either side of the DVD slot. All I did to repair it was to grind the material down about 1/8" and refill over it. So be sure all of your seams are buried with at least an 1/8" of filler in the flat areas to prevent this from happening.

I also switched to using epoxy exclusively for filling also - not just gluing. Its a little more work to sand even with microballoons added, but the result is a much harder and more stable end product.

I switched to all SEM finishing products. They make a nice flexible primer surfacer, texture spray, and trim black. These all work very well. The primer sands easily (but its white), and the end result with the trim black over the texture is very close to an OEM textured plastic. The only drawback is that they stink pretty bad. Use good ventilation and a mask.

Originally Posted by minghi

hi altimat

we would all like to know how to change the leather on the seats. can you post some information online/

thanks
minghi

Here's a link to the original write-up. It will give you an idea of what needs to be done, and its not technically difficult - just laborious and time-consuming.

http://www.nissanclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65946

Originally Posted by antimatter

Do you do anything to the paint afterwards like use any polishing compounds or anything. Can you tell me how you did you coats (i.e. 1 layer of primer and then 3 layers of black waiting 30 minutes between)

I really think you did a great job especially with the paint. You can do some killer fabrication work and ruin it with a crappy tacky paint job.

Noooo no no no. Think of primer as a last coat of filler only its sprayed on. I usually spray one light coat, then three wet coats allowing a good 20-30 minutes between coats. Let this primer application dry overnight.

Then fill any remaining visible pinholes with a razor blade and spot putty. Apply a very list mist "guide coat" of a contrasting color primer. Let that dry a few hours.

Now begin your sanding with 400 taking care not to sand through on edges etc. Sand until the guide coat is almost gone and no surface imperfections remain. Finish with a light sanding with 500-600 totally removing the last remaining traces of guide coat. Now you have a flawless finish ready for paint.

As with the primer, the first coat of paint is always a light one. If you are using SEM spray texture, spray that on light and even exactly as if it was a guide coat, but you can consider it your first coat of paint. Again, I wait a good 15-20 minutes between coats this time of year. Now I'll spray the next 2-3 fairly wet to get good coverage without runs. Again make sure to allow plenty of time between coats. If you are not using a texture spray underneath, your last few coats will be mist coats sprayed from a distance. Continue until you achieve the desired effect, and make sure you initiate the spray off the part because the can will discharge a few big blobs at first and these will mess with your mist-textured effect.

Thats it its done. Don't ever polish it, wax it, or Armorall it. Just clean it with a damp soapy rag once in a while.

nice job, very clean looking work. I'm going to do something very similar in my A4. I just have to remember where I left my power tools....