Altima Coupe Remove and Paint your AC vents

First off, materials you will need:

Spray can of the paint you will use
Grey Primer Filler
100 grit sandpaper
Masking tape
Flathead screwdriver (stubby)
Phillips head screwdriver
Cardboard

First off is the defog vent.

Use a stubby screwdriver, it will come in very handy for removing these vents.

You stick the Flathead screwdriver in between the dash and the vent at the part closest to the windshield.You want to bend the screwdriver towards the windshield so you can make a gap to fit your fingers into.I actually went all around the vent trying to loosen up the whole thing and finally was able to get my fingers in.As you’re holding it from the part closest to the windshield… pull it up and towards you. The vent has a clip that holds it to the dash.

So that’s why you need to pull it towards you.At this point you just need pure strength.You might think you’re going to break it… but just as you think that it slides out nicely.Now this is what you should have.

Repeat same procedure for the other defog vent.

Now for the ac vents:

This gap is where you want to stick your Flathead screwdriver into.If you start at the top of the vent and go all the way around loosening it like the defog vent when you get to the side that touches the door, you might just pop off half of the trim.What you need to do is stick the screwdriver in the gap at the top of the vent and make enough room for your fingers to get in.Once you have a hold of it, grab it from the top and the side and pull.

The whole vent slides out:

There are two clips on each side of the vent and also a screw.

Remove the screw and unclip it at the clips and you have what you were after.

Repeat same procedure to get to the other side.

Now, let’s paint these bad boys… but don’t forget to primer!

Take your 100 grit sandpaper and give every area of the trim pieces a good rub down.

You can pretty much give the ac trim pieces a good sanding and the primer filler will fix any imperfections.

However, I got too rough with the defog vents and let’s just say a new pair is in the mail.3.00 mistake that you can avoid if you either A. Don’t prime (not recommended) or B. Sand very lightly.

Once you’re done sanding you’ll want to rinse off all the residue and dry them thoroughly.Once they are dry, mask off the inner part of the defog vents, because it is very hard to sand the inside them.

Prime and paint these in very light coats.I tried to rush this and had to re sand and primer my left ac vent twice.Slow down, very light coats gets the job done. I waited around 15 minutes between coats.If you have more time to wait, DO it.A minimum of 15 minutes is what I recommend.

After you have them primer coated, use the same very light and thin coats to paint them. Once everything is dry, reassemble in reverse order. You will end up with something like this.

Article by: BlackNWhite