After trying 2 different paints to try to match our interiors and getting what I consider to be less than acceptable results, I decided it was about time somebody did a comparison between the most recommended paints for our interior.
First Let me say this didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. First I find it terribly difficult to get the camera to reflect the exact colors that the eyes see. That coupled with the fact, at least in my car, no two pieces seem to match. I am comparing the right colors when I say that. I realize that the shifter bezel for instance is two-toned. The color in the center should match the radio bezel and the outer color should match the console. Turns out, after getting it in the right light, my original radio bezel and the inner part of the shifter bezel don't match. Who'd of thunk it. The instrument cluster bezel seems to be different than both of those. Now they're all very close to each other, but vary slightly in shade. separately, it's hard to tell the difference, but if you look at them side by side, you notice slight differences.
Again I can only say I've seen this for sure on my car, but I doubt I'm alone in this. I suspect that's why there seems to be a wide variety of recommendations for interior paint. People going by a different parts that vary slightly in their shade. That coupled with differing opinions of what matches and what doesn't causes alot of confusion. While I'd like this to be the end all on the matter, that simply is not the case. I can only offer you pictures for your interpretation as well as my first hand thoughts and opinions.
Here are the paints being compared:
M4JZ-19M547-4245H Medium Graphite
M4JZ-19M547-4149H Charcoal Black
M4JZ-19M547-1074H Midnight Black
50Resto 01-04 Dark Charcoal
Duplicolor Dark Charcoal Bumper Paint
The colors were sprayed on sheet of plexi in strips approx. 8.5" tall by 3.5" wide. They were not sprayed on an actual interior piece and mounted. I do have pictures of the 50resto on the radio bezel and mounted however, but for the test, I only did the strips due to paint quantity limitations with the ford paint. The ford paint came in 6oz cans and I wanted to have enough of whatever color appeared the best to me to paint some interior pieces.
Thoughts going in:
Having used the 50resto before I did this, I knew it wasn't even close and there had to be something better. Having also used the Duplicolor, while it was better than the 50resto, it only seemed slightly better. I draw those conclusions on having sprayed my radio bezel with each on previous occasions. I knew going in that M4JZ-19M547-4245H Medium Graphite wasn't even a contender, but threw it in because I seen it mentioned on at least 2 occasions, most likely by someone who assumed an older car was under discussion. I assumed the best candidate was between M4JZ-19M547-4149H and M4JZ-19M547-1074H.
Without further delay, here are the pics:
Here is a shot of the 50Resto paint on my radio bezel mounted in the car:
Conclusions:
In my eyes, none of these seem to be a very good match for our interiors. That said, having tried 2 of the colors already, the only other color I'm interested in trying on my bezel is the M4JZ-19M547-1074H Midnight Black. For the radio bezel, inner shifter bezel, etc., I think this is the best of the 5. However my opinion may change when I paint the radio bezel and mount it. One thing I discovered painted the radio bezel in the past, it always looks like it will match better when it's out of the car. Somehow it always looks different mounted. When I finish repairing my customized radio bezel, I'll paint it with the midnight black and add pictures to this thread. I might even spray it the duplicolor so you can see what that looks like mounted. I had hoped to prove that one of these colors was better suited to the console, dash, etc., but that doesn't seem to be the case either. For instance, if someone asked which color to use for a pillar pod, I'd have no idea what to tell them. Maybe after some further experimentation, an option will present itself. IMPO, any of these colors will stand out amongst the rest of the interior. It's just a matter of how much.
Notes:
The M4JZ-19M547-4149H seems way too dark to be a good match for anything in my opinion. Though I would like to explore this color with a larger interior piece to further reinforce this.
The Duplicolor is a close runner along with the M4JZ-19M547-1074H, however it seems to have almost a blueish tint to it when compared to the other colors. The hue of the duplicolor just seems to be wrong, though it is close in shade.
The M4JZ-19M547-1074H is going to be what I spray my bezel with next, I have hopes that it will be the best of what was compared, but it still won't be a close enough match for my tastes. It also appears to have a slightly different hue than the factory color however.
The 50Resto paint IMPO wasn't even close when I used it. I would not recommend it to anyone.
The M4JZ-19M547-4245H was exactly what I expected, a lighter grey most likely used on earlier models.
Any thoughts, comments, suggestions are appreciated. Any additional paints I try will be added to this post, though at this time I have no other paints I'm looking to try. However when I repaint my bezel and get it mounted, I'll post pics and my impressions.
-Kevin
First Let me say this didn't turn out as well as I had hoped. First I find it terribly difficult to get the camera to reflect the exact colors that the eyes see. That coupled with the fact, at least in my car, no two pieces seem to match. I am comparing the right colors when I say that. I realize that the shifter bezel for instance is two-toned. The color in the center should match the radio bezel and the outer color should match the console. Turns out, after getting it in the right light, my original radio bezel and the inner part of the shifter bezel don't match. Who'd of thunk it. The instrument cluster bezel seems to be different than both of those. Now they're all very close to each other, but vary slightly in shade. separately, it's hard to tell the difference, but if you look at them side by side, you notice slight differences.
Again I can only say I've seen this for sure on my car, but I doubt I'm alone in this. I suspect that's why there seems to be a wide variety of recommendations for interior paint. People going by a different parts that vary slightly in their shade. That coupled with differing opinions of what matches and what doesn't causes alot of confusion. While I'd like this to be the end all on the matter, that simply is not the case. I can only offer you pictures for your interpretation as well as my first hand thoughts and opinions.
Here are the paints being compared:
M4JZ-19M547-4245H Medium Graphite
M4JZ-19M547-4149H Charcoal Black
M4JZ-19M547-1074H Midnight Black
50Resto 01-04 Dark Charcoal
Duplicolor Dark Charcoal Bumper Paint
The colors were sprayed on sheet of plexi in strips approx. 8.5" tall by 3.5" wide. They were not sprayed on an actual interior piece and mounted. I do have pictures of the 50resto on the radio bezel and mounted however, but for the test, I only did the strips due to paint quantity limitations with the ford paint. The ford paint came in 6oz cans and I wanted to have enough of whatever color appeared the best to me to paint some interior pieces.
Thoughts going in:
Having used the 50resto before I did this, I knew it wasn't even close and there had to be something better. Having also used the Duplicolor, while it was better than the 50resto, it only seemed slightly better. I draw those conclusions on having sprayed my radio bezel with each on previous occasions. I knew going in that M4JZ-19M547-4245H Medium Graphite wasn't even a contender, but threw it in because I seen it mentioned on at least 2 occasions, most likely by someone who assumed an older car was under discussion. I assumed the best candidate was between M4JZ-19M547-4149H and M4JZ-19M547-1074H.
Without further delay, here are the pics:
Here is a shot of the 50Resto paint on my radio bezel mounted in the car:
Conclusions:
In my eyes, none of these seem to be a very good match for our interiors. That said, having tried 2 of the colors already, the only other color I'm interested in trying on my bezel is the M4JZ-19M547-1074H Midnight Black. For the radio bezel, inner shifter bezel, etc., I think this is the best of the 5. However my opinion may change when I paint the radio bezel and mount it. One thing I discovered painted the radio bezel in the past, it always looks like it will match better when it's out of the car. Somehow it always looks different mounted. When I finish repairing my customized radio bezel, I'll paint it with the midnight black and add pictures to this thread. I might even spray it the duplicolor so you can see what that looks like mounted. I had hoped to prove that one of these colors was better suited to the console, dash, etc., but that doesn't seem to be the case either. For instance, if someone asked which color to use for a pillar pod, I'd have no idea what to tell them. Maybe after some further experimentation, an option will present itself. IMPO, any of these colors will stand out amongst the rest of the interior. It's just a matter of how much.
Notes:
The M4JZ-19M547-4149H seems way too dark to be a good match for anything in my opinion. Though I would like to explore this color with a larger interior piece to further reinforce this.
The Duplicolor is a close runner along with the M4JZ-19M547-1074H, however it seems to have almost a blueish tint to it when compared to the other colors. The hue of the duplicolor just seems to be wrong, though it is close in shade.
The M4JZ-19M547-1074H is going to be what I spray my bezel with next, I have hopes that it will be the best of what was compared, but it still won't be a close enough match for my tastes. It also appears to have a slightly different hue than the factory color however.
The 50Resto paint IMPO wasn't even close when I used it. I would not recommend it to anyone.
The M4JZ-19M547-4245H was exactly what I expected, a lighter grey most likely used on earlier models.
Any thoughts, comments, suggestions are appreciated. Any additional paints I try will be added to this post, though at this time I have no other paints I'm looking to try. However when I repaint my bezel and get it mounted, I'll post pics and my impressions.
-Kevin
