KenRudd

I also tried this with wrinkled tin foil.

In this case, I let the SEM 39853 texture paint coat set up, and then used a hot iron to transfer the tin foil wrinkle pattern into the surface. Again, using my wife's very best iron..

It gives a slightly different texture than the wax paper. Try both and see which you like. Even if you don't have a test pod, the Dupont texture paint sands off easily so you can try again. Do a small area at a time.

KenRudd

So, I'm satisfied with the testing on getting the texture I want. Time to start with the "production" pod. First I mask to protect areas that don't need Bondo.

Then I clean and sand. I cleaned thoroughly with denatured alcohol, then sanded with 400 grit, and cleaned again.

KenRudd

After the prep, it was Bondo angel hair time. If you have never worked with the angel hair Bondo, you are in for a real treat. The consistency and texture is like cleaning a hairball out of a drain.

As usual, wear gloves and have great ventilation. Also, don't go too heavy or the hardener, you will need time to spread it out. You can spread it fairly thick.

This was the part that worried me most, especially on the practice pod, but it was no big deal. The Bondo is easy to work with, even for somebody with no experience, like me. I suggest you get the three pack of Bondo spreading knives. They work well.

KenRudd

Now its time to sand again.

For this step I used 60 and 100 grit paper on a Makita palm sander. You don't need to get it butter smooth, you just need to knock the tops off all the bumps so you don't have to fill much. The Makita and 60 grit/100 grit paper makes quick work of it.

You are going to kick up a lot of nasty dust. Wear breathing and eye protection.

KenRudd

Time for regular Bondo filler. No secrets here, mix up a batch and use your putty knives to spread it nice and even.

KenRudd

Time to sand. Again.

I started again with 100 on the Makita palm sander.

I also found I had to do several iterations of fill, sand, fill, sand...I suspect somebody who was good with Bondo could do it in one or two iterations, but it took me a few batches of Bondo to get it where I was happy.

I finished up with 400 paper. I found that the texture paint was not as forgiving as I thought it would be and showed defects, so although it does not have to be perfect, it has to be pretty good.

KenRudd

Now its time for the SEM 39853 texture paint. What I did was spray it on fairly thickly, then wait a minute or two before pressing in the wrinkled wax paper, wait another few minutes and pull it off like a Band-aid from a scab.

What they say about the SEM stuff is true. Its very thick, and you should clean the nozzle by spraying upside down after each use. But, doing that, I never had a problem with clogging.

Here are shots with it raw, and then after hitting it with 400 grit. Its fairly soft. Don't use the Makita here. I wrapped the 400 around the firm foam sanding blocks I use for other things and hand sanded it.

KenRudd

Curious how it looks? Here is how it looked after a couple coats of dark gray primer.

I knocked some very small roughness off with some 1500 paper between coats.

You would not mistake it for the factory vinyl grain in a side by side comparison, but it looks pretty good IMHO.

KenRudd

For the final color coat, I took a color sample from my car to my local auto-paint supply house ( Finish Masters here in Durham). I used a door panel for the color match, but you could just as easily use your old pod.

They scanned the color in from my door panel and mixed me up a quart of Dupont Vinyl Color. I went with a medium gloss. Pick your gloss level to match your existing interior. It was about $35 for the quart, but it is specifically designed for painting automotive vinyl and matches my existing interior perfectly, so well worth it, and you get enough for at least two pods.

I sprayed using a regular touch up gun, nothing special. Its a one part paint, so no mixing, etc.

With all the testing and trial and error, it took several weekends of sporadic work. However, now that I have all the materials and a plan, I think I could easily knock one out in a short weekend.

velocipus

do you mean "owoW" ?

lrpman

Late to the thread but this gives me an idea of how to test our dyes on this type of surface. Like the texture idea.

Dean_Fuller

Ken,
Was wondering how the pod is holding up after a year? Anything to report???

KenRudd

Dean-
After a year, still looks good. Two minor chips in the paint down near where the keys and key chain tend to hit which show the black vinyl underneath, but the top look as good as the day I did it.

I am working on a second pod ( actually my original pod). I will do that one similarly, except, to create the texture after the SEM spray, I am going to try ironing in the grain using "graining paper" as available here for example:
http://www.vinylpro.com/page/1405339
http://www.vinylproleather.com/page/1268595

This pod has a base color that is correct for my car, so chips will be less of a problem. This pod has been stuck waiting to be sanded after being filled with Bondo for several months now. Other projects and low motivation have kept it on a back burner.

Jsulli

What timing! I sprayed the SEM texture coat over the weekend and was not happy with finer texture. I called vinylpro today and ordered more tex coat and some graining pads. My hopes are up after reading your post.

Preston2207

Old thread but... Any idea how these turned out?