[tadaska]

I've spray painted my silver dash trim (E90) at home in the hallway on a curtain covering the floor and it looks okay but I can see some dust got onto it. It's matt paint so no polishing. I will do another coat but how can I keep the dust away?

Let me know how you do it.

Cheerio

[DailySleeper]

For small pieces in the past I've cobbled together a mini-paint booth from PVC pipe/fittings covered in plastic painter's sheeting.

[arom]

I use one of those bigger box fans on high. Open a window and have it blow the air out the window. that usually keeps dust from settling while the paint is drying. This also helps out with the fumes.

[BEM-S4]

Hallway maybe not best if it's a high traffic area.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by tadaska

I've spray painted my silver dash trim (E90) at home in the hallway on a curtain covering the floor and it looks okay but I can see some dust got onto it. It's matt paint so no polishing. I will do another coat but how can I keep the dust away?

Let me know how you do it.

Cheerio

After you build it up with a few coats. (Sand between coats)
Give it a final light wet sand with a very fine grit sandpaper.

It will give you a nice smooth finish & still be matt.

[Red Bread]

Yeah, just look at almost any ten year old car. Anything can be matte.

[JerryW235]

Originally Posted by DailySleeper

For small pieces in the past I've cobbled together a mini-paint booth from PVC pipe/fittings covered in plastic painter's sheeting.

I'm thinking of doing something similar. Borrowed a friends 10 x 10 pop up canopy, plan to cover the top and sides with sheet plastic, put some down on the garage floor as well, and ventilate it with an old box fan.

[inTgr8r]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

After you build it up with a few coats. (Sand between coats)
Give it a final light wet sand with a very fine grit sandpaper.

It will give you a nice smooth finish & still be matt.

Here's an example of what i mentioned.
This is my Z4MC, when I painted the console gloss and the gauge trims matt.
It's the same paint, but the gauge pods are wet sanded matt.

the pic isn't the greatest quality (phone ) but you get the idea.

[Never_Enough]

Start with do not paint in your hallway...

[GuidoK]

Paint in the lowest dust area in your house.

[tadaska]

My hallway is the only place with no furniture so no risk of painting something I don't want painted. And I live alone so traffic is not an issue. But I had windows closed to eliminate draft blowing dust which was a mistake - I had a massive headache after. All other coats I will do outside. But it might be a while before we have a nice day. I live on the coast and it's always windy.

I used 1200 grit sandpaper and it looks good but I notice if I go over it with a fingernail it leaves a permanent mark. It will be okay for the dash as it's not often I have people in my car so should stay unmarked for a while at least. But not sure about the centre console. Is matte a bad idea for the centre console? Or maybe there are tougher paints? Or should I do it with clear coat for the centre console? What do you guys think?

[The HACK]

Don't rattle can indoors.

Find a cardboard box big enough to fit the trim piece in, with about 20-30% more surface area surrounding the trim piece so you have some room to spray around. Keep a can of compressed air handy. Blast the cardboard box with compressed air before you start painting, and have a few tack-cloths handy.

Prep the surface, tack the trim before you start spraying. Spray a nice, thin coat with at least 80% coverage, then immediately close up the cardboard box, close it with painter's tape or put something heavy on top so the box doesn't open up. Wait for the first coat to flash as instructed per rattle can manufacturer, usually between 15 minutes to 1/2 hour.

After the paint has flashed and is ready for 2nd coat, use the compressed air to blow any and all contaminant out of the box and tack the trim lightly to remove any and all overspray and dust that settled, but didn't dry into the paint. At this stage, the paint is semi-pliable and any dust that settled on the surface should be picked up by the tack. If you wait too long (like 24 hours) for your 2nd coat, you will have to lightly sand it to remove the dust/overspray that settled on the surface.

Spray the 2nd coat, make sure it's a nice, even, 100% coverage immediately after you tack the surface. As soon as you're done spraying, close up the box and seal it with tape or something heavy on top. Again, wait for flash/drying process as suggested by manufacturer. If it's too cold and damp, and it doesn't dry to touch within the period suggested, you can run a hair-dryer approximately 12-18" away from the surface to speed up the drying process. Depending on if you plan on hitting it for a 3rd coat or if you're clear coating it, tack it with the tack-cloth once it has dried to touch and prep surface accordingly for next step (clear coat or whatever it is your plan).

The trick is the tack-cloths, and not to let the dust "cure" into the paint. When you tack the surface do not rub or scrub, just run the wadded up tack-cloth lightly across the surface multiple times, until the cloth glides across with little resistance. Kinda like when you clay paint, but without lubricant.

[Never_Enough]

Originally Posted by tadaska

My hallway is the only place with no furniture so no risk of painting something I don't want painted. And I live alone so traffic is not an issue. But I had windows closed to eliminate draft blowing dust which was a mistake - I had a massive headache after. All other coats I will do outside. But it might be a while before we have a nice day. I live on the coast and it's always windy.

I used 1200 grit sandpaper and it looks good but I notice if I go over it with a fingernail it leaves a permanent mark. It will be okay for the dash as it's not often I have people in my car so should stay unmarked for a while at least. But not sure about the centre console. Is matte a bad idea for the centre console? Or maybe there are tougher paints? Or should I do it with clear coat for the centre console? What do you guys think?

Blah. I have rattle canned a shit ton of stuff in my house. I've used my kitchen (covered the door way & all counters etc with drop cloths) and have used my pool table in my basement a lot to paint things. I cover everything I don't want paint on. Really easy & always come out great. No one would know if I didn't tell them.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by tadaska

My hallway is the only place with no furniture so no risk of painting something I don't want painted. And I live alone so traffic is not an issue. But I had windows closed to eliminate draft blowing dust which was a mistake - I had a massive headache after. All other coats I will do outside. But it might be a while before we have a nice day. I live on the coast and it's always windy.

Usually the bathroom is the lowest dust area in a house.
ITs frequently wet, has no/ample carpet, good ventilation etc.
But rattle can painting shouldnt be done inside due to the hydrocarbons, unless you have the right kind of respitory mask for that type of hydrocarbons and take the service lifespan into account.
That headache is a tell tale sign (been there done that....)

[Bt12]

I do it in the garage doors closed

[tadaska]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Usually the bathroom is the lowest dust area in a house.
ITs frequently wet, has no/ample carpet, good ventilation etc.
But rattle can painting shouldnt be done inside due to the hydrocarbons, unless you have the right kind of respitory mask for that type of hydrocarbons and take the service lifespan into account.
That headache is a tell tale sign (been there done that....)

I've been thinking of doing in the bathtub. Clear out and clean the bathroom, spray water in the air to remove dust, cover the bath and walls with plastic sheets and then spray it. But I will only do it for the final coat so I don't need to sand it as this paint gives a very nice, even and smooth, matte finish. And since they aren't big pieces I can be done before I breathed in too much. And just keep it closed with the window open.