make your plastics look like as smooth as your fenders you have to go this route:
Things you'll need if your plastics have a mild or severe grain pattern on the plastics:

*80 grit sandpaper
*180 grit
*320 grit
*400 grit
*1000
*1500 grit
*2000 grit
* you'll gonna need a gallon of a product callled "slick sand" gonna cost you around $65..this product will need to be sprayed through a spray gun
* your also gonna need a wax and grease remover (dont use Laquar thinner it leaves a oily residue)

so lets get started..!!!!
Lets start with your A pillar plastic, get your 80 grit and sand the hell out of it, the more you sand the grain the better the end result. After you have it sanded with 80 grit apply the slick sand to the plastic allow to dry
(make sure its dry)......next sand the pillar with 180 grit until it feels smooth to the touch, apply a second coat of Slick Sand....allow to dry....your plastic should be pretty smooth at this point, so sand with 320 until it feels like a babies ass........Now get out bucket of water and use your 400 grit sand paper, sand with wet 400 until it feels ultra smooth......

Its time for the easy part paint:
Since we have been using slick sand there is no need to use any primer there will not be any issue with adhesion at this point.....
So wipe your plastic piece with the wax and grease remover to get all the fingerprints and oils off.....
Next lay down your base color allow to dry
Next take out you 1000 grit sand paper and sand the base to remove any any inperfections that may be there....BE VERY CAREFUL....not to sand the edges or burn through the base color.....it will have to be repainted if you sand through the base color........!!!!
Next break your wax and grease remover back out and wipe it again......
Now its time for the clear coat, apply the clear so it looks wet....... ALLOW TO DRY...!!!!! at this point you should have some great looking plastics.....
Finally break out your 1500 grit sand paper and remove all dirt that may have wondered into your paint. Then sand with 2000 Grit to remove for the ultimate slick finish be very careful when sanding not to "burn" through......now machine buff for a show stopping interior for your monte or other car .... your parts will look like they are made of fiberglass .The technique I'm talking about will make your plastics look like the exterior, Painted base coat clear coat....if you follow my steps, you will not have any problems with adhestion. Your plastics can really take a beating probably more that you'd think. It will not crack or peel and it will look great for years....Most new cars have painted bumpers and plastics so its not a stretch to do it yourself....it is VERY time comsuming work....but its worth it in the end....although there is a alternatve to sanding its a product from SEM its called Sand Free 38363

and no you dont need a gun to shoot dye

Do you have any pictures of what the end product looks like installed?

Also you can buy single stage paints, acrylic enamel or urethane and only paint it once. The color and clear are together.

I would higly recomend the base/clear system if you go with pearl or metallic paint though.

Nice write up BTW.

That last pic looks excellent

I like that black/white interior shot.

Looks pretty nice for a custom ride. I kinda prefer the texture. Can you actually put that texture back in? That is if you sand it down like you've described

no your taking it out by sanding it

Only way to get texture back would be with textured paint.

Dumb question though..

if you sand it down why would you want texture back in it??? LOL.

If you are sanding just to put automotive paint on, don't.

Automotive paint will stick to it, just needs degreased with wax and grease remover, then some adhesive promoter to be sure. It'll stick and be very shiney.

Yeah you know I was thinking about that. That was a dumb question. What I was mixing up two write ups and got them cornfused. I was checking out the dash repair and then this one. After the dash repair there is a certain amount of sanding to smooth out the repair. That's where the question about texture came in.
Just felt the need to explain that uh dumb question..lol

Hey, can we get this as a sticky, or a regular write-up? I'm not planning on doing this any time soon, but people do ask this question from time to time, it'd be nice to know.

One other question tony, does this make things your painting a lot heavier? I was just wondering because I was goign to buy a second monte and make it a "show car", but if its not too heavy I'll do it in my other one as well

not much heavier its not like your laying fiberglass over the part its just primer and paint

i like that idea alot... my dash is cracked and I was thinking about going to grey anyway... but this way I could actually tape off some accents and make them a darker charcoal...

HMMMM...

You really gotta quit putting these ideas in my head tony...

Where do you get "slick sand" and can you just spray it through a gravity feed HVLP gun? I just got a sick a$$ compressor and accessories and its about 99% set up...

you buy it at a body supply store and yes you can spray it through that gun. with a craked dash you are going to use a filler in the cracks

if you have a problem spraying Most often the fluid tip on the gun isn’t big enough. Slick Sand is very thick and requires a 2.0 or 2.2 fluid tip for best application performance.
high-solids, extra high-build polyester based primer surfacer that offers excellent adhesion to metal, galvanized metal, aluminum, wood, fiberglass, SMC, and body filler. Ideally suited for large uneven surfaces. MEKP activator needed

Cool, there is a Matos right around here and I get a company discount through my work, so I might grab some when it starts getting warmer. Thanks for the write-up Tony!

do it on old parts 1st since you never did this before

here is a pic of a fibeglass dash my friend just e maild me on a 50`s chevy truck

You can also use a high build primer after sanding. That will take out any imperfections left from the sanding and will give you a smoother finish.

If you still want the texture skip the sanding and just prep and paint.

or you could use dolphin glaze after all sanding the prime and paint

can u tell me how to repair 4 little pin holes in my padded dash there in a circle about the size of a dime. i'm then going to dye it gray. thanks for your help.