The power of pewter?

Topic: The power of pewter? (Read 2982 times) previous topic - next topic

The power of pewter?

March 31, 2005, 06:30:03 PM

Didn't feel like hijacking someone else's thread with any more pictures, so here I am. Maybe this might give someone an idea or two in the future.. maybe as an alternative to some of the colors being used now. (white, silver, aluminum, etc.)

Been experimenting with DupliColor truck and SUV paint in Pewter.. first I did my power door lock trim panels in it: (BTW, these pics show it being a little more yellowish than it actually is)

Then today I decided I would try the trim panel around the radio:

(first shown next to the trim in the light blue car)

(next installed in the still-torn-up interior of the dark blue car)

It's a pretty rough job of things.. but that's fine with me. Left many of the scratches in from when I roughed it up with 60-grit. (knocked them down a little with 400 after I primered it twice, just to clean 'em up a little) With the pewter on there, (and two clearcoats) I tend to think it looks like it was always that color and just got roughed up over the years.

Anyway, I had intended to cover over the spots that used to be woodgrain and shoot the outside edge with gloss black before I clearcoated it, but I felt it looked good enough as you see it.

Once I get over this little illness that popped up about midnight last night, I'll probably see about painting the main trim panel similarly.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #1 – March 31, 2005, 11:15:32 PM

OK, possible change of plans.

I'm thinking that I might do the upper trim in a darker color, like the gunmetal that's on the bottom of my other Bird. The dash is two-tone, and the part shown there seems to match the lighter color well. I think the gunmetal matches the upper color well, too. I'll find out tomorrow, or in a few days if this cold gets any worse.

This is what I get for being pissed off for the better part of a week and a half.. being sick, I mean. Ugh.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #2 – March 31, 2005, 11:51:26 PM

dude, that looks pretty good. not a big fan of painting the interior but i like it

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #3 – April 01, 2005, 12:04:50 AM

Wow makes it look up to date with today's luxury cars.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #4 – April 01, 2005, 12:09:33 PM

Looks good, man. I did the same in a two tone, candy apple red and charcoal metallic to match the hood scoops. You can do all the pieces around the steering wheel as well, to bring it all together. Do you have a console? (by the looks of the carpet in front of the centre stack, I'm guessing not)

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #5 – April 01, 2005, 12:21:37 PM

No console on either Bird. Believe it or not, I actually prefer it the way it is. Just about every car I've had since the late 80s has been floor shift w/ some kind of console.

I might have to run out and buy another can of gunmetal.. used up most of my stock of it painting the bottom of the light blue Bird.

I think gunmetal is very close in color to what the original black trim fades to.

EDIT: I just did a crude test-spray on the main instrument trim panel with some of the leftover gunmetal, and it's only a couple shades lighter than the faded black parts of the trim. I'd say it's somewhere in between that faded black and the color of the fake brushed aluminum on the trim of the light blue Bird.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #6 – April 01, 2005, 05:57:15 PM

Pics of the gunmetal on the upper trim panel coming within an hour or so.. and it looks good so far.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #7 – April 01, 2005, 08:15:59 PM

OK, horrible pic.. but that's all I could get after dark.

Rushed on the clearcoat to try to get it done before I ran out of daylight.. screwed it up twice.

I'll try to get a better picture during the day tomorrow.

EDIT: Putting the vents back in (they're still stock color) shows off the lighter color the trim is now.. but I just can't get a better picture with them in vs. the pic below.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #8 – April 01, 2005, 11:15:52 PM

I just did mine right before the sun went down.

Painted the top woodgrain to gunmetal. Looks good so far.

Got 2 coats of primer
3 coats of color
tomorrow I'll finish up with the clear. So far everything is smooth and even.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #9 – April 01, 2005, 11:22:42 PM

Here's how I painted mine, the dash is black on the top and grey along the bottom. :D I used the XR7 panels that are the simulated carbon fiber.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #10 – April 02, 2005, 03:36:29 PM

Better pics, but still not all that great:

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #11 – April 20, 2005, 12:32:08 PM

I told you about the dash mods I did last summer, but never had any pics until now. (at least, not that I can remember)

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #12 – April 20, 2005, 01:50:12 PM

oldraven...only thing im not a fan of is the embelums

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #13 – April 20, 2005, 01:54:22 PM

Yeah, I also thought the emblems were a bit much.. but the paint looks good. You even did what I was originally thinking about, taping off the borders and what not. I just painted over everything.

Re: The power of pewter?

Reply #14 – April 20, 2005, 02:24:02 PM

This is unrelated to the '88, but I couldn't resist posting this pic.

I had painted the headlight surrounds on the '86 in cheap Wal-Mart flat black last summer, along with the bumper strip. Well, it all started fading rather quickly. So this time I used up the last of the Dupli-Color gunmetal I had bought to finish painting the interior trim on the '88, and painted the insides of these surrounds with gunmetal and then the 500 degree clearcoat I'm rather fond of using. Here's how it looks: (it also matches the gunmetal I put on the bottom part of the same car)