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A lot of people have been asking about what kinds of paint can be used to paint the interior trim pieces of your Alero. I'll post what I know, and feel free to add to the list.
I used Testor Plastic spray paint in Burgandy Metallic. They have a TON of different colors, in metallics, pearls, pretty much anything you could want. You can buy this paint at nearly any hobby store.
A lot of people have also used Krylon Fusion paint. Supposedly, you don't need to clearcoat it to protect it because it has that built in. Color choices are more limited though. Pretty much any spray paint will be ok, as long as you lay down some primer that is meant to stick to plastic.
Here is the proceedure for painting your interior. Keep in mind that you don't have to do it exactly like this, but the less steps you cut out, the higher the probability of a good paint job. Keep in mind that this is a full day process at least, so allow time.
Supplies you will need: Plastic-friendly primer, Enough spray paint, enough clear coat, razor blade (exacto knifes are easier), masking tape, sockets, fine grain sand paper, dry ventelated workspace
1. Remove all the parts you want to paint. Trust me, it is much easier to just remove them all before you start painting. You don't want to be running in and out of your car removing parts the whole day.
2 Start by sanding down and cleaning the parts you want to paint. You just want to use a very fine grain paper, otherwise you'll make grooves in the very soft plastic. You just want to scuff the surfaces you are painting and remove any armor-all or other greasy products that you might have cleaned your interior with.
3. Mask off any parts you do not want covered with paint. Most people do not paing the area that the HVAC knobs are on, because it will cover the lights there. Just apply masking tape, and use a razor blade or exacto knife to cut off the excess tape, and to press the tape down into any grooves there might be in your part.
4. Lay down a thin coat of primer. Use smooth motion and paint in THIN layers. If you paint too thick of layers, you will end up with runs in your paint. Primer all the parts you want to paint. Let it dry completely... really let it dry completely. If you don't, it will take longer to dry later. If any parts have any black showing fromt he plastic still, apply another coat after it dries, and let it dry again.
5. Now, get your primary color. Again, apply thin layers of paint. The more thin coats, the better. Allow the parts to dry in between each coat. Continue till none of the white primer is showing. If you get any runs, you can use some of the fine grain sandpaper to sand off the run, and repaint another coat.
6. After the paint has dried completely, you can start applying clearcoat. Here, it is definately true that the more coats you put on, the better for the longivity of the paint job. Use thin coats again, because even though it is clear, it can still run and cause streaks in the final product. I suggest at least 3 or 4 coats of clearcoat. You might want to put even more layers on the center console pieces, since they tend to get rubbed and abused.
7. Allow everything to dry. Preferably, over a whole day or at least overnight.
8. Reinstall the parts, being careful not to chip or marr the paint.
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