I’ve thought about different finishes for the panel. A couple of builders have gone with a carbon fiber finish. This looks nice but there are a couple of potential issues:  1) Getting the fabric to lay perfectly straight can be a challenge. 2) The finish would be glossy. I suppose that I could find a satin finish epoxy. 3) There is no chance for repair or modification. If a hole needs filled, it’s going to stick out like a sore thumb. With paint, you can either touch up or repaint the panel.

So then the question is, what color? On older aircraft, flat black was common. Newer panels when with gray in either flat or satin finish. I looked around and found a metallic dark iron gray.

Here’s the result (with the lower switch panels installed.