September 1998 - interior project page 01/02

I didn't like my tan XLT interior so I decided to change it. This turned out to be a bigger project than originally expected, as there were many little things I had overlooked (visors, seat belts, headliner, carpet on door panels, etc.).

I used a Charcoal interior dye spray paint made by VHT, and have so far used 14 cans to finish everything but the driver and passenger side door panels. I found that the panels would require at least 2 layers of paint, in some cases 3. Some of the panels held paint better than others. All of the trim pieces that cover the bolts on the topper hold paint the best, because once it had dried, it was very hard to scrape off. This was not the case with other panels, namely the kick panels and a-pillar panels. These are easy to scratch the paint off, but with a little care, you can avoid scuffs and scratches.

Completed so far: 4 cans of noise reduction material was laid in the bed and rear side panels, dynomat was laid down on the bed, rear side panels, door panels, roof, and cab floor--topper and tailgate are still left (I used premium dynomat on everything except the floors), all panels except the driver and passenger door panels are complete with 2 coats of paint, I also put down some insulation in the bed, rear side panels, and cab floor.