Using Cadillac Interior Trim Paint to Restore a Chevy Suburban
Posted on May 28 2020

Chris Contino has spent the last two years restoring a 2003 Chevy Suburban he purchased as a wreck. The front end was smashed in and the interior was a mess, but it ran well. He thought it was a great candidate for bringing back to life. He was right. Chris repaired the damaged sections of the front end and collected the interior parts he needed. However, life got in the way and he put the interior restoration project on hold. Recently, being stuck at home due to stay at home orders resulting from the Coronavirus, Chris decided to begin the interior restoration using ColorBond Cadillac interior trim paint.
Cadillac Interior Trim Restoration
Original dashboard looking worse for wear
GM had applied a textured coating to the dashboard of the Suburban which was peeling and looked terrible. Chris decided he wanted to replace the dashboard with a more upscale unit from a 2004 Cadillac Escalade, which swapped right in. The problem was that dash was peeling too. Starting the interior project involved using a heat gun and scraper to remove the peeling rubber-like coating from the dash.
Cadillac Escalade Dashboard
Cadillac dashboard with textured coating removal in progress
Some of the trim pieces before refinishing
Chris had previous professional experience using ColorBond LVP Refinisher and knew of the excellent results that lasted for many years. So, using the ColorBond’s Cadillac interior trim paint to restyle his interior was a natural decision. After removing the coating from the dash, the surface was lightly scuffed using 3M Suff It Paint Prep Gel and a 3M Scotch-Brite hand pad. He then cleaned it with ColorBond Prep Cleaner and applied ColorBond Adhesion Promoter.
Chris said the material underlying the textured coating was difficult to get the LVP Refinisher to adhere to, so he applied ColorBond Adhesion Promoter, which solved the problem. Chris also refinished the other interior trim pieces including the console and a retrofitted Cadillac steering wheel with LVP Refinisher, using a few different ColorBond Cadillac OEM colors to achieve the original Cadillac Escalade color scheme.
After
After
LVP Refinisher looks factory original and retains texture detail
“The ColorBond levelled out really smooth” Says Chris. “It dried really fast and after there was a light fine residue that I simply wiped off with a cloth and the surface looked like glass. Overall, I used a total of 4 cans of LVP Refinisher at a cost of $66.00” Concludes Chris.
Now that Chris has finished the interior the Suburban is at the body shop getting painted to match the interior.
Congratulations to Chris on a great job!
For more information on ColorBond LVP Refinisher click here
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