FREE REPAIR MANUALS & LABOR GUIDES 1982-2013 Vehicles
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Procedures For Painting Interior Plastics

PROCEDURES FOR PAINTING INTERIOR PLASTICS

Saturn utilizes three types of plastics throughout the interior of the vehicle. Hard or rigid materials are either polycarbonate (PC) or acrylonitrite/butadine/styrene (ABS). Soft covers use polyvinyl chloride (PVC) over foam. 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.