I bought an older pick up and want to paint the dash, is there anything special I should do to prep the surface. or special paint I should use?

I would say wipe it down with some alcohol to get rid of any oils in the dash. Then it would be as any. There is some paint at the shop for vinyl. Just find th paint for the surface you are painting. make sure the surface is prepped well by removing any oils in the surface. If metal, make sure you lightly scuff it with the high number sand paper and then re-clean.

if you are wanting to smooth out the dash you will need to sand sand sand to get texture out.. then primer then sand primer then sand till completly gone. then paint.. if your wanting to just paint with texture... take red scotchbrite scuff it up and wipe it clean with a prepping agent.. pretty much like wax/grease remover. then wipe dry. tack it and paint it... hope this helps.. need any help email me
baggedn20schevy@aol.com

Thanks for the info.

oh yea and dont forget to add a adhesion promotor right after you clean it and before you put the primer on it.. or the primer might flake.. just some extra insurance

All I did was wipe down with damp wash cloth and then used dupli-color paint. It stuck just fine and I dont mind the textured look. It only cost me $5 for the can of spray paint and about and hr of my time.

Like otheres have said. Clean, clean and then clean some more before painting or even sanding for that matter. Years of Armor All and who know what else are all stored in the dash pores. If you sand before removing the oils etc. then you run the risk of sanding it deeper into the surface.
I know this from experience.

Take your time, and when you paint be ready to do it all over again. Sometimes those "fisheyes" are hard to get rid off.

Good luck.

All I did was wipe down with damp wash cloth and then used dupli-color paint. It stuck just fine and I dont mind the textured look. It only cost me $5 for the can of spray paint and about and hr of my time.

Have you got any pics of the dash? I've got an old plow truck that needs it, would like to see what it turned out like. Thanks!! Tom.