[isaac_in_tx]

ok so the armrest int he middle of the driver and passenger seats is made of some type of soft plastic, and i painted it silver with some spray paint, and now the paint is coming off, it looks very bad, and i have o idea why paint wont stick on it well, its the second time i paint it now ,anyone know what type of paint i should use on it.

 

[homeboyjames]

did you sand this down with about 600-800 grit sandpaper before doing this and clean it well with alcohol? also you should have put about 4 coats or more of light paint on there and than clear it about 3 times anyways thats what I have done and everyone says it will hold up.

 

[elliottcarlose]

I thought to paint flexable parts like that you needed a special paint that was like a die I don't see regular paint holding up as it dries hard and will crack when bent mabye I am wrong though

 

[T-V]

Are you talking about the actual arm rest, or the support column that holds it in place? In my Focus, the center arm rest is made of some kind of rubber that is like a cushion. If you straight-up painted it silver, it would instantly crack when you use it, causing it to crack and flake.

If you are talking about the part below the arm rest, the plastic that holds it in place, did you prep the surface before painting? You should always sand it down beforehand to get the surface smooth, then clean it thoroughly with alcohol. After it's clean, spray a coat or two of primer on the surface, followed by a few light coats of paint and several coats of clearcoat. Just using spraypaint will not be sufficient in most cases.