A CAR dealer has revealed how you can transform your car’s interior “for peanuts” using a £4 Sainsbury’s spray.
James, from Chops Garage, revealed how he saved £2,000 by refurbishing and recolouring a 1977 Pontiac Firebird himself.
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The Formula 400 edition came with a massive 6.6litre, V8 engine and a bright red, herring bone interior.
But he didn’t like the colour, so decided to change it.
He said that while he could just buy the seats from the US, they would cost about £1,000 and take a long time to arrive.
But by doing it himself he said he would spend around “a tenner” in paint.
First off though, he set about fixing the front door as it was difficult to open and things were rattling about.
He soon fixed these problems with a new clip and some grease as well as new rubber seals around the window.
Next he fixed a hole in a door column where some foam had come out.
He used repair compound, spare black vinyl and “packing stuff” to fill the hole.
He said: “I want it black all the way through, I’m going to get all the interior sorted out and then get started on the body work.
“We’re going to get as much of the Interior done as possible.
“I want to get the centre trim out, get that all black, I want to get these side trims here out and black and I need to do something about the gear selector surround as well.
He started off with the interior cleaning a seat up and then testing a spray out to make sure everything was okay.
Firstly he sprayed a de-greasing spray over the sides of the seats and used a scuff pad to both clean and key it at the same time.
After giving it a good scrub he wiped it down and let it completely dry out before having a go with the paint.
A Method spray can be bought from Sainsbury’s for £4 for a 828ml bottle while all purpose automotive spray paint can be got from Amazon for £4.95.
The Method bottle though has been reused using a mixture of dye and water.
The expert said: “It’s a nice cost effective way to get what I’m looking for.”
He used “direct to vinyl” black paint but before painting it he added some “adhesion promoter” as well.
He gave the seat a light dusting for its first coat and let that dry before doing another and then a third.
Next to set to work on fixing a hole in a door column where some foam had come out and used some repair compound, some spare black vinyl and some “packing stuff” to fill the hole.
Then for parts of the trim inside he used Protex texture coating paint.
He started off with a dust coat and then went in heavy on the second layer.
Similarly with the interior door panels he started off with a dust coat before adding another coat.
Examining his handiwork he said: “It’s got the right level of sort of vinyl shine to it without being really garish in your face.”
After that it was just a question of doing pretty much the same process with the other bit of the inside.
Fans were suitably impressed.
One said: “Looks loads better. Well done Mr Chops.”
Another wrote: “Dedication and down-to-earth approach make you a favourite. Congrats!”
While a third added: “Great job, looks super cool!”
Elsewhere, a man says he was able to transform his bland motor with three mods… eBay buy took seconds to add on & made it look £1,000s more expensive.
Last year, a list from financebuzz.com highlighted a few simple hacks that can improve your driving experience and needlessly avoid chucking money away.
And, posting on TikTok, this car expert has revealed the three hacks that all drivers need to know to make their lives easier.
Finally, expert and CEO of BigWantsYourCar.com, Peter Waddell, shared their 30p hack that leaves your car feeling fresh every day and works in seconds.
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