How To Paint Trim Pieces

[Forum Bot]

In the EX and LX, there are parts of the trim pieces painted silver. You can buy the silver center piece from Honda for about $98 (update: you can't buy silver, only gold like the sedan), or you can paint it yourself. Remove the center piece by first removing the heating and cooling knobs (just grab and pull), and remove the accessory plug trim piece (looks like a cigarette lighter plug). You will need to put a thin rag on a flat tip screw driver to get that trim piece off. Unplug the plug. Now, if you look up in there, you will see two 8 mm bolts(silver), remove these, then push the bracket up until the center piece pops out. You will have to push hard, but it will push out, the radio and everything is connected to it.( do not attempt to pry this piece out with the rag and screw driver, it will warp the plastic and will not have a good fit when replaced! Trust me ...I know Remove all the plugs(don't worry about labeling, each plug is different), the vents, the radio, and the pocket (if equipped), and remove the rings that go around the heating and cooling knobs. You should now have just the plain trim piece. The next step requires 2 things, any automotive WHITE primer, and a can of PLASTI-KOTE import color, Honda silver, part # 5304 (got mine at PEP-BOYS, they sell a whole slew of PLASTI-KOTE paint colors. This is a perfect match to the existing trim pieces being because it is Honda Silver. Spray two light coats of the white with five minutes between each coat, and be careful of runs. Then spray three coats of the silver after 15 minutes of the last coat of primer, also with five minutes in between coats. Try to get good coverage with the three coats without runs, because after that, you start to loose the texture of the plastic. Let it dry for an hour. Put it all back together. You just saved @ $93 Here are the results on the center trim piece, pretty nice. Thanks to 01CIVICEX for this DIY.

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