I've never liked the silver like a lot of people it seems and want to put just a flat black on my waterfall. That part should be easy enough. Painting isn't hard and there are plenty of guides on here.

My issue is the HVAC. With the rest of the waterfall being flat black, the buttons will stand out way to much for my tastes. I have been searching for days and have seen how a couple people handle this by not painting around the buttons but it's just not quite what I'm looking for... Has anyone ever painted the HVAC buttons and been able to keep the lighting that is on them? Would sanding the buttons result in them being the same black plastic as the rest of the waterfall and I could maybe just sand with a fine grit to not ruin where the light passes through and then clear coat? I wouldn't mind them being slightly off from the rest of the waterfall but the silver buttons on black background is to much contrast for my taste...

 

Sounds like a hard project. I would think that you would have to completely sand down the buttons and use stencils for the lettering. But I am not a painter

 

hmmmm.,....im not sure about that either....sounds tough....

 

hrm. I might have to see if I can pick one up somewhere for testing. Was hoping not to have to do that but sounds like best option.

Actually, my waterfall is about to be replaced and possibly hvac - my car was broken into and cd-player stolen, they broke the waterfall in the process. I'll see if I can keep the broken bits for testing.

 

I would try and use blue painters tap and an exact o knife to cut out space for the light. Sounds time consuming and hard tho.

 

This is why painting the middle of the HVAC looks terrible.

The easiest way to paint the buttons, would be to print out a sticker the exact size and shape of the lettering on the buttons, paint over it, and remove the stickers. And that is damn near impossible to do.

 

it can be done. but if it's not perfect, it will look like crap. i myself wouldn't have the discipline or patience to do every letter....

 

good luck man, and please keep us posting if you start your project

 

thanks. I'm sure I'll need it on this... I've got several ideas running around about how to do it. most seem bad. I'm really hoping I can keep the broken bits when I take my car in for the waterfall/hvac to be replaced tomorrow..

1st idea: sand off the coloring and hope that it goes to black like the rest of the console does and doesn't screw up the bit where the light comes through.

2nd idea: goes off of the first, if it does screw up the lighting part, try buffing the paint off with dremel and buffing disk.

3rd idea: the obvious, exacto knife and masking tape. this would be tedious as hell and really not feasible looking at how thin the majority of the lines on the lettering are.

4th idea: dumb idea but possible - like I said, I don't mind if they're totally black, I just don't want bright silver against black so I thought of shading them in with a pencil and clear coat over it so it doesn't come off. This I'm thinking is least likely because it will definitely come out fugly if the clear causes the penciling to run or the shading is uneven or plenty other possibilities that can make it go horribly wrong...

soo... all that said, I'm still trying to decide if it's worth it. it will be difficult but it will be one of those rare mods that will make my car stand out... I just don't know.

 

Sharpie...

 

you can never go wrong with a sharpie.....

 

true dat!! they even come in many different colors haha

this sounds tough man. i painted my entire waterfall black and just left all the hvac buttons silver. it really doesnt look bad

 

what i did was paint the sides the same color as my car and threw on carbon fiber overlays on the middle part of the waterfall..i never painted the buttons..that would just be too crappy

 

what i did was paint the sides the same color as my car and threw on carbon fiber overlays on the middle part of the waterfall..i never painted the buttons..that would just be too crappy

 

^^^^ pics??ive tossed up that idea myself

 

ever thought of using VHT?

 

sharpie - cut out stickers, great ideals guys...... who'd a thunk. (oh an uh pics yet?)

 

fyi I have an all matte black water fall and I like the contracst of the buttons on the HVAC but thats just me.


2 ideas

1. remove the buttons and paint them fully. If you are unsure of how steady your hand is you can take your buttons into a jewler/ingraver and have them re-cut so long as you have something for the jewler to go off of.

2. Much like above. prior to painting use a fine tip rotory drill for a dremel, cut thru the words/pictures to create a straight thru effect. Paint, then after it has dried go into/onto the rear of the buttons with a clear film. 3M or something of the like and seal it from the back, then you can also change out your LEDs in the process...



just a thought.



just so you all know..... I am expecting a nobel peace prize for this answer....

 

i dont know about any prizes but its def an idea ......

 

I have a spare HVAC, if I can find my hazard button I'll try something out.