Ok I gave it a shot, I painted my dash (most of it) and it looks really good I think, now there are things that I have not done with it yet like wet sand and recoat with another layer of clear. That would smooth it out and give it a nice shine but I don't know if I want it that smooth or shiny atleast for now. It isn't as much of an eye sore as the fake wood was to me.
Also the lettering which has been an issue with the painting of dash panels is a little bit of a pain but I found something that works pretty good.
Here is the very basics of what I did:
Step 1: remove all dash panels (instructions can be found in the forums so I won't repeat them, I did all but the cigarette lighter piece which I still have to pull out.
Step 2: Use dish soap and water to clean the wax's and oils from the panels.
Step 3: I wet sanded with 600 grit sand paper to rough up the surface for better adhesion of the paint.
Step 4: wipe down with rubbing alcohol and then paint (make sure panel is completely dry) I used a duplicolor wheel paint, I feel the paint I selected is resistant to chemicals and can harden nicely but you paint choice is up to you. Follow the instructions on the can when painting i.e. temperature and time between coats should be followed.
Step 4 (a): with the climate control unit I did a thin layer of paint, the lettering is slightly counter sunk so you can still see the letters even if covered. After the paint tacked up some I was able to hold the climate panel from the bottom and used a bamboo skewer (yeh like ones for making kabobs on the grill) any sharpened piece of wood can work though. Use the wood to push and rub where the lettering is it will remove the paint from the white lettering. Don't worry if the paint looks like it is pushed up at the edges of the markings, Do this after each coat approximately 3 coats is what I did. Each time paint is applied it will soften the edges of where you pushed the paint and will make your lettering area slightly deeper.
Step 5: I used duplicolor clear coat, follow instructions on the can, I did 2 light coats and one medium thick coat. When clear is used it will smooth out the final edges on the climate panel. The clear coat and paint should be allowed to dry a minimum of 24 hours before attempting to wet sand and buff or adding another layer of clear.
Here are some poor cell phone pictures as examples, it snowed here so I am not looking forward to sitting in the freezing car to reinstall, cold panels can break easier.
Pictures are really poor quality with sunlight and junk all over but trust me they look alot better in person. Almost a perfect match to the interior panels in my 2000 Legacy L as well.
It isn't done because I am waiting on stereo install. Cigarette lighter is gonna be a pain The rest will be easy to pull.
