I am thinking about painting my door switch bezels to match the satin aluminum interior trim. Can anyone recommend the exact color and what brand of paint to use to get the right color match?

 

I asked this same exact question several months ago on another forum. It was suggested to use: Duplicolor Import Car Paint silver #8801530 which is available at most auto parts stores. Though I have still not gotten around to doing it myself, here is a link to the post I'm talking aboutl
http://www.badmustangsclub.com/forum...8&page=1&pp=20
Hope this helps.

 

+1 that's what I used. Take a looke through my album to see pics of the finished product.

 

Its a real easy thing to do. I painted several friend's switch plates, and they all came out great. I didn't sand the plates before I started, as I wanted the grain pattern to remain. And I gave them 5-8 real light coats, and let them dry for about 20 minutes each. One thing I don't recommend you do, and that is clearcoat them. Reason being, if you do chip the paint, you don't have to sand the clear off, but just add another coat of Import Silver to cover up the flaw. Check out the picture below. Only pic I have on the computer at work, but it gives you an idea how they look inside my car. Its a fun mod to do. Good luck.

 

that looks great! I gotta do this b4 the Fabulous Fords show next month!

 

Everyone that has had this mod for awhile are they holding up to daily driving.

 

I painted mine using Argent Wheel Paint .... I also masked and painted the center console trim ....

 

Thanks for the response fellas! I was also thinking about doing the speaker rinds too and after seeing it from the Bad Mustangs link, I now have to do it.

Painting the trim silver will make the door panels look finished like the rest of the dash and console with IUP trim.

I like the idea of masking and painting the trim plates on each side of the centerstack too. It gives it a nice continuity with the trim accross the dash.

I have found that Ford really came up short trimming and styling the console area and door panels, instead making it look like black featureless rubbermaid. It seems many of us have done a lot of work to dress these areas up to create visual interest and to keep it from looking like a vast expanse of boring nothing. Ford is likely going to address some trim issues on the 2010 model to make it look more upscale and finished. It will be interesting to see if any pieces will retrofit or not.

 

It's a done deal.. I painted both the switch bezels and the speaker surround trim. I used Duplicolor Silver Metallic DSFM226 which is in fact a duplicate Ford paint color. It more closely matches the satin silver interior trim. I took one of my satin silver door lock ***** into the auto parts store with me and I matched it closer to the Silver Metallic than the Imported Car Silver suggested here earlier. I compared it to the Imported Car Silver and the Silver Metallic was much brighter.

I'll take pictures tomorrow...

 

I've had mine for a year and some change and they still look great.

 

I'm looking forward to the pictures, how much did the paint cost you? How long did it take to paint?

 

The paint was $4 a can. It took two cans to have enough plus I bought a large can of adhesion promoter. It took about 30 minutes to paint and a couple of hours of drying time.

 

Did you buy the paint at AAP (your workplace)? Did you end up using the adhesion promoter first?

 

I've had mine painted for over a year with no chips, scratches, or wear marks. The paint is very durable. Plus, its not a spot (other than the switch itself) where you would touch with your hands all the time.

 

What kind of adhesion promoter? You apply it before painting?

 

The adhesion promoter is sprayed on plastic surfaces to help paint stick to them to prevent cracking, chipping and peeling-off.

 

Did you remove plates from the car to paint them ? Do they just snap in and out of place ?

 

I removed them to paint them. They easily snap out of place. The speaker rings just pull right off. On the door switch bezels, first pull outward the entire housing that the top plate sits on. You can do this by snapping the top plate loose first then pulling the lower part away from the door panel. It makes removal and reassembly of the top plate easier. When reassembling, resintall the switches into the top plate first, snap the top plate back onto the lower housing then snap the entire unit back in as one piece. This eliminates binding while just trying remove and reintall the top plate alone.

One thing about the paint I discovered is that all the popular Duplicolor silvers do not seem to quite match, having a darker cast than the factory satin aluminum surfaces. I did notice later that silver aluminum wheel paint is a more pure silver like the IUP dash trim. I may go back and repaint later.

 

Thanks for the response. Painting them will soon be on my to do list !

 

karrnut,

If you want to see some finished ones, come take a look at mine. I painted the door switch bezel, and the speaker surround, and it came out good.

Sean