Suggestions on painting an interior tub?

[foxbat426]

I'm building a 69 GTO. It is setup a bit different from the two other models i've built. This one has a "tub" and the interior gets painted one color and the outside of the tub gets painted Flat black according to the instructions.

At first I sprayed the outside the flat black and then I handbrushed the interior Gloss white, as that was the color I thought I wanted for the interior.

I've come to realize that i have to air brush it as it got way too messy painting it with a brush. I just stripped the whole tub and am ready to paint again.

So my question is how would you handle painting this? I know it might sound like a dumb question, but i'm guessing I mask the interior side as best i can, spray the exterior with the flat black, then visa versa with the interior color I choose.

[91blaze]

It might be easier to paint the whole thing flat black then mask off the outside and paint the inside. If your coats are thin enough,you shouldn't lose any detail. That's how I would do it, but there may be other ways.

[Scuderia]

It might be easier to paint the whole thing flat black then mask off the outside and paint the inside. If your coats are thin enough,you shouldn't lose any detail. That's how I would do it, but there may be other ways.

Depending on what's visible on the outside of said tub i'd do it that way too, yeah.

[foxbat426]

Thx Blaze - i'm just getting painting a shell down, now I want to play around more with interiors. Instead of spraying the whole thing on the inside one interior color, what if I want the console one color, the florr another and the back seats, which are connected to the tub another color. Then i have to use the brush right??

[Ryan S.]

Something I've thought about doing in the past, but haven't actually tried yet would be to carefully cut the sides of the tub off so that you can paint everything easier, just like parts come in a lot of kits these days. You'd have to be very careful and do a lot of test fitting and perhaps even add a little plastic back before gluing it back together in order to have it fit properly in the body but might be worthwhile to preserve the detailing and get better coverage.

[91blaze]

Thx Blaze - i'm just getting painting a shell down, now I want to play around more with interiors. Instead of spraying the whole thing on the inside one interior color, what if I want the console one color, the florr another and the back seats, which are connected to the tub another color. Then i have to use the brush right??

It depends how good you are at masking I guess. I do mostly brush painting on my interiors because it gives a little texture and is much easier. Especially since I use rattle cans and don't have an airbrush.

[southpier]

general rule of thumb is to paint lighter colors first

[foxbat426]

I think I'm over analyzing this one blaze - i might just spray the interior iwhite and be done with - tubs don't give much room for detailing it seems. by the way, what type of paint do you usually paint the interiors with - i find enamels get gloppy with a brush, of course you can thin them. THX

Edited July 5, 2012 by foxbat426

[foxbat426]

Great tip Joe! Thx - i'll remember that one

[Guest]

I never paint the outside of the tub except for the very top portion of it. If you want the outside painted flat black,spray your white on the interior and brush on the flat black on the outside. The inside of the interior is more important than the outside,so it won't matter if there are brush marks in the flat black.

[foxbat426]

your're right plow - also flat doesn't seem to hold brush marks - its pretty forgiving

[Mike Kucaba]

It's not that hard to separate the tub sides by scribing with the back of a #11 blade. It is tedious though.

[Jantrix]

Most of the time only the very bottom of a interior tub is visible through the chassis and maybe part of the firewall. So I would paint the interior as you need it and then when its all done, mask off and spray the bottom to match the chassis.

[MDSKELL]

How can u 2 tone an interior using printed out decals what company makes decals to make 2 tone colored seats? I have seen some people do that.

How can u 2 tone an interior using printed out decals what company makes decals to make 2 tone colored seats? I have seen some people do that.

[Captain Obvious]

I just spray the inside of the tub my chosen main color (usually a flat lacquer), brush paint secondary colors, then just brush paint the portion of the tub that will be visible underneath with flat black, usually the driveshaft tunnel and the area around the firewall.