[Hammertime]

I purchased OER kick panels for my 73 TA. The grain is not even close to the original ones and the panels look like they are sun faded. Is this typical? I have a restored dash from Al Knock and the black color looks new. Are you supposed to paint the plastic parts?

[OG68]

The grain on the repro plastic I had bought was flat (Ames seat back panels, OPG for kick panels and armrests) and the color doesn't come close to matching so I decided to refurbish the originals. I bought SEM interior plastic paint from NPD. The color (Medium Red in my case) was a shade darker than the plastic behind the kick panels and armrests but acceptable.

Buy the SEM plastic prep and give a good cleaning before painting
I realize this isn't always an option, but if you can, refurbish the originals.

Original armrests and pads shown in photos

[Hammertime]

That looks great. My kick panels are ripped in the area where it starts to narrow and I wasn’t sure if it could be fixed and how well the repair would hold up. I was thinking about buying used but that’s usually a crap shoot as well. The OER new stuff is dull and the wrong pattern in texture.