Procedures For Painting Interior Plastics

PROCEDURES FOR PAINTING INTERIOR PLASTICS

Saturn utilizes three types of plastics throughout the interior of the car. Hard or rigid materials are either polycarbonate (PC) or acrylonitrite/butadine/styrene (ABS). Soft covers use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) over foam or (TPO) thermoplastic olefin. Following are examples of interior components and materials.

PC
- Glove box door
- Gage bezel assembly

ABS
- Lower instrument panel trim extension (right, left, and center)
- Upper instrument panel accessory trim panel
- Console

PVC
For the purposes of finishing, PC and ABS can be treated the same. Saturn does not recommend painting soft PVC however, as solvents will distort the foam used as padding beneath the vinyl covering.

Rigid or hard ABS and PC plastics require no primer. Conventional interior acrylic lacquers adhere satisfactorily to ABS and PC plastics.

1. Wash part with mild soap and warm solution to remove any waterborne contaminants.
2. Rinse the part thoroughly with clean fresh warm water and dry off.
3. Wash entire panel with PPG D846 Multi-Prep cleaner or equivalent to remove any surface contaminants.
4. Thoroughly dry the panel before the multi-prep cleaner evaporates.
5. Select the interior color from the appropriate formulas and make a sample spray out to confirm that color and gloss levels match that of surrounding interior parts while the adhesion promotor is drying. This is an important step as interior colors often vary as the result of substrate texture and configurations.
6. Apply one or two medium wet coats of color over the entire part ensuring that full hiding has been achieved and the surface is uniformly wet. Follow label directions for proper mix and drying recommendations based on the reducer used and spray conditions when the material is to be applied.
7. After allowing the panel to fully dry the part may be installed according to the service manual instructions.