How to Paint a Dashboard in a Classic Chevy Blazer

 

GM Square Body trucks are in demand and perhaps the Square Body Chevy Blazer is the Holy Grail. As these trucks approach a half-century old, restorations are often necessary. Bodies can get dented and rust, and interiors can fade away into old age. Our customer, Louie Atienza, found his ’74 Blazer interior needed some love. Most of the interior plastics of his Square Body Blazer needed refinishing, which he did using ColorBond LVP Refinisher. You may be in the same position as Louie and are wondering how to paint a dashboard, console, door panels as well as the other plastic and vinyl interior components in a classic Chevy Blazer. If so, read on.  

Louie’s Dream Blazer

Louie Atienza recently purchased his dream Blazer, a 1974 Chevy Blazer in Cheyenne trim. The low mileage truck is in great condition for its age, but there were a couple of things Louie wanted to fix up inside. Those being the cracked dashboard and console that had darkened after its life in the hot desert southwest climate. Louie says he didn’t want to do a concours restoration as the Blazer is his daily driver. He just wanted to make it look better.

The Best Dashboard Paint

While looking for ways to restore his dashboard on a Chevy Blazer online forum, Louie found a thread describing the use of dashboard paint to refinish the dash as well as other interior trim. That started his search for the best dashboard paint, and during which he came across a video showing the use of LVP Refinisher. Louie decided it was what he needed; LVP Refinisher is easy to apply, and bonds at the molecular level so it won’t crack, flake or peel. Plus, the paint’s thin film thickness allows surface textures, like plastic “leather graining” to show through. ColorBond LVP is available in 205 colors, with the majority being OEM correct hues.

Dashboard before

How to Paint a Dashboard

As Louie’s dashboard had cracked, he decided to install an aftermarket dash pad overlay to provide a new surface to work with. As all the plastic and vinyl interior components were to be color matched, he sprayed the overlay with LVP Refinisher. Here’s how he did it.

• To paint a dashboard properly, dirt, oils, mold release agents and other contaminants need to be eliminated as they can interfere with paint adhesion. So, Louie removed the contaminants by scrubbing the dash overlay down with soapy water and a brush.
• ColorBond Prep Cleaner was then used to be sure of a completely clean surface and to be sure no soap residue remained.
• Louie then applied a light mist coat of LVP refinisher coat 12″ from the surface, and followed up with two more light coats, allowing two minutes dry time between each.
• Louie kept in mind that the best results can be achieved by applying multiple light coats, rather than in heavy coats. This allows the paint to cure properly, and to not be applied too thick.
• As a final coat Louie applied ColorBond Dash Clear UV Protectant, which he distributed evenly with a soft rag, and then wiped off the excess coating.

Dashboard after

Painting a Square Body Chevy Blazer Console

Louie moved on to paint the console. He used the same steps as painting a dashboard, but since it was hard plastic, he used ColorBond Adhesion Promoter before applying the LVP Refinisher to ensure best paint adhesion.

A Job Well Done

Louie says he is thrilled with the results he achieved, and so are we! Overall, Louie spent $90, while replacing these parts would have cost hundreds of dollars. Congratulations to Louie on obtaining his dream truck, and to an interior freshening job well done.

For more information on how to paint a dashboard, or other interior components with LVP Refinisher, please let us know. We can be reached at info@colorbondpaint.com or (877) 882-6567.

Check out this example of using LVP Refinisher to restore a GM Square Body truck!