O/H Console fitted and working on permantely attatching
 

i think i have my overhead console fitted pretty good on cabin top, but it's time to make things look nice and neat. what is the best way to prime the console for paint? i see a lot of people's build site and looking for help on prepping the interior cabin top for paint. i see primer being used and maybe a little thicker product being used to really work on a nice finish. any help would be much appreciated.

kenny

Just like you would prime any other fiberglass piece. Just make sure you used soap and/or solvent to clean the overhead to ensure that there isn't any mold release or other contaminants still present.

The good news is that carbon fiber (at least the stuff from Geoff) tends to have significantly less pin holes than the pink fiberglass from Van's. But there is still a chance that you may find one or two. I used Loehle Wonderfill to fill pin holes. It doesn't take much. You could also use a sanding primer.

I used Rustoleum rattle cans. It's been over three years and it's still holding up quite well. I would also advise painting it upside down on a bench before you mount the cabin cover.

Kenny
The best way to prep the carbon overhead console is first clean with a little soaping water as Bob stated then use some good wax and grease remover or prep sol. Do not sand the overhead until you do this. After that I recommend
Priming with a good 2 part urethane primer. PPG K36 will work good. You can also start with an epoxy primer but some of them are not designed to be a filler
Just a primer/adhesion promoter. Then prime with urethane after epoxy and paint to your desired color if not keeping the carbon look.

Geoff

My lovely assistant Brandi had good results with cleaning, wet sand, clear coat, wet sand, clear coat. Love that sexy carbon fiber look :cool:

And with an assistant such as you have, the AC parts even were able to come in the living areas by the looks of it. I can see the up side to the arrangement.

I used fuel tank sealant and a few strategic pulled rivets to mount mine (Aerosport) with no issues, primarily because I had a tube about to expire. I also wanted a bit of flex because I'd be running cold a/c air through hot passages and was worried about cracking and/or separation. I used 1/4 inch closed cell foam to level the flange to the surface and underlay my headliner and then covered the flange with a sewn edge of my headliner material. Looks seamless and everything has survived 5 Arizona Summer's so far. I used industrial rubber cement spray for most of the field area for the foam and fabric and 3M "gorilla snot" for the key seams and edges.

Myron,

What type of AC unit is that? I don't recognize it.