Hey guys I'm painting my interior dash trim pieces but unfortunately the two pieces of trim on the steering wheel are the same color aka need to be painted. I know the airbag is in there and id hate to mess anything up can those two trim pieces be taken out without removing the airbag assembly or am I better off puttin up some plastic and painting it in the car (ew).. Last resort, of course. Thanks

 

i just did this a couple weaks ago and from searching the only way i could find was to take the air bag off

 

iv seen it takin out before .... heres a link http://www.g5club.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4596

 

you have to take the airbag out. There is a screw holding each piece on behind the airbag that needs to be taken out.

 

Air bag must be removed, but it's not a big deal. Disconnect the battery and wait 10-15 minutes for the power to drain from the air bag system. look on the side of the bag for a small hole on each side, you need to stick something in there to release the clips holding the bag on, then it'll just come right off. You can access the screws for the trim pieces without having to fully unplug the bag.

 

^this...

its too easy man. Also, the screws holding those pieces on are Torx bits...they ain't regular flat tip or cross tip screws. You'll need a thin flat head screw driver to stick in the hole on each side of the steering column cover. Make the blade parallel with the ground and push it in about an inch or so. You'll feel it hit something. You have to push it then you'll see one side of the air bag pop off. Do the same to the other side. Let the air bag hang down a little. Use your torx bits to get the plastic pieces off and thats it. Its actually harder getting the switches outa those things than it is getting the air bag off

 

pretty much says it here

 

those ^^^^^ they beat me to it

 

Pics dont work or it may just be me on the work computer

 

I see no pics either and I'm not on a work computer

 

Yeah sorry guys that's weird they were posted yesterday and this morning it isn't showing em.. I'm about to go do the steering wheel now, ill take more pics of everything and have em posted in a couple hours

Alright guys here we are thanks again for everyone helping out with the steering wheel.
Here's the finished product..

All the trim stripped out.. Minus the steering wheel haha


Stock door panel.. Ew.


Airbag DISMANTLED after all the help


Everything primed and sanded


Everything re-assembled


Aaaand passenger's side


Driver door panel


Passenger door panel


And that's all I've done so far! A bunch more to come and since this isss an appearance thread here's just some random exterior custom work I took photos of today.. Feedback is welcome!

Front end.. Painted bowtie and front bumper.. HALO headlights, HID foglights, mesh and lower repair work is next on the list.. I know the black looks like crap but the bedliner is chipping it needs to be redone. It will be painted matte black to match the grille mesh.


The rear.. Highrise spoiler, tinted tail lights, painted bowtie and rear bumper.


And THIS is just making the best of a bad situation Did a little custom work on the hubcaps haha just until I can afford some 18" wheels with tires. Looks 100x better than stock!


That's it folks. Once again, thanks for the help and more pics will be posted as more work is done!

 

what did you do your door panel in vinyl ... im talking about the red?

 

Autozone trim & fabric paint
.. JUST until I can afford to have some red leather inserts put in. Then I'll do the seats too.. Eventually haha. I've got to say though, I was very pleased with the the paint. Worked very well, dried quick and still feels like the original material.
I just gotta get a new air freshener
I've been airing it out quite a bit the smell's almost gone. Almost.

 

How did you get the silver plastics on the doors off? I am having trouble with that

 

There's a plastic cover that you can compress and lift up. There's a screw underneath it.
Look inside the cubby hole thing.

 

I'm curious as to if anyone else has used this vinyl paint on the door inserts. I used to have an 04 cavalier and I used the duplicolor fabric and vinyl paint on the dashtop and it made it all soft and gummy. I wound up taking it out and spraying a clear coat on it to seal it.