Interior painting?

Hey everyone. hows it going? Has anyone ever taken any of there dash, or anything plastic in your interior and painted it to another color that looks better? I have seen this done many times, and would like to do it to mine. Just wondering if you have done it what is the way I need to go about it. Do you sand it?, special paint, and how many coats of clear. Plus if anyone has owned or currently own a Ford Ranger, how hard is it to get the front lip of the dash off the main part? thanks everyone.