Vinyl dye?

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KramerSwinger70

KramerSwinger70

70 Dart Swinger360
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its prolly been asked but i just want to know and cudnt find anything. a buddy of mine will hopefully goin to look at (and i pray purchase) a 73 duster. if he does, this means one more young gun member here, by the way.

Anyway, its a light blue duter with the dark blue vinyl interior. he doesnt care for the blue, and i dont blame him. i told him there is vinyl dye so he can make it black, and that got him encouraged. This guy is like my bro, so its would be aweosme to make him a real mopar guy, and what better start than a good ol' duster?

my question is, has anyone used vinyl interior dye on thier cars? where do you suggest he buy the dye? how much does he need? whats the best brand with the best price? any websites?

also, could someone give me a start-to-finish run down of how to get the dye job done? how long would it take to do front and rear bench seats, dash, door panels, ect? couple days? hours?

Thanks in advance, FABO!
 
I dyed the interior of my 68 Barracuda from blue to black, everything but the carpet and headliner which I replaced with new blocak ones. I even picked up a front seat that was white and dyed it black. 10 years and 63,000 miles later those dyed door panels, visors, kick panels dash pad are showing no signs of the blue showing through. The seats did start spliting so the covers were replaced with new stuff from Legendary.

I used SEM vinyl dye that I got at the local auto body supply house (you can order it on line at Eastwoods too). I also used the SEM vinyl prep on the viynl parts and plastic prep on the plastic parts.

I did try Duplicolor dye in black but it is too glossy and didn't look as natural as the SEM Landau Black.

The key is to clean, clean, clean, clean, clean and when you think you have clean enough clean some more (i used a soft bristle scrub brush). Per the instructions I used a household cleaner with ammonia (409 in my case). Once you have cleaned with the household cleaner clean it with the SEM prep for the material and rinse off with clean water (probally not a bad idea to use distilled water if your water supply has a bunch minerals in it).

Only spray light coats, it may take 4 or 5 to completely cover. If you see any signs of fish eyeing (areas where the dye recedes leaving thin spots of the vinyl showing) then there are still oils or remains of vinyl protectants line Armoral on the surface. Stop let what is on the surface dry and scrub it some more with the cleaner.

The only area that ever wore was the piping sewn into the seams on the edge of the seat. It would wear off from sliding in an out of the car. These areas I would have to touch up once or twice a year.
 
Thanks for info was glad to get info from someone who had used a particular product with success.
 
Dying door panels, dash cap, etc.. is simple enough and common practice. Dying headlinners, carpet, seats, steering wheel, is not practicle. You'll wear the dye off the seat skins and steering wheel.
A part like a package shelf board will soak up as much dye as you can put on it.
A complete interior color change is doable, been there, done that. Cost was about a thousand and that doesn't include labor.
I would live with the blue until I was ready to change it and do it right. If you keep shopping for a car that has black or white interior you'll most likely find it needs some seat repairs anyway being 40 + years old.
 
The color combo sounds awesome. Blue with dark blue interior. I would love that. My first few Dusters were Autumn Bronze Poly with off white interior, and deep forest Green with mint **** green.
 
wow thanks for all your info dgc333! and the blue isnt the worst look in the world but he and i agree black interior would be better.
 
I've dyed a crap load of steering wheels with the SEM, mostly GM type like GN and monte carlos, never had it wear off.. I'd trust SEM on vinyl seats...
 
RedFish said:
Dying door panels, dash cap, etc.. is simple enough and common practice. Dying headlinners, carpet, seats, steering wheel, is not practicle. You'll wear the dye off the seat skins and steering wheel.
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As I mentioned above I dyed a white bench seat black for my Barracuda. That seat was in the car for three years and close to 20,000 miles. The only place the dye rubbed off was on the piping on the drivers side where I slide my fat butt in an out. And as I mentioned it is an easy and simple job to touch up. It would still be in the car but it started to tear along the stiching so I got a new cover.

I didn't try my headliner because it was all torn when I got the car but it you can clean it it would be a good candidate for dying. I wouldn't try a carpet because you would spend close to what a carpet costs on dye. However, a steering wheel would work, people paint them all the time. A buddy of mine painted the steering wheel in his street rod with the same paint he painted the car and it has held up fine for years (orange over black). He used the same paint to paint the center inserts in the seats, it hasn't worn off but has cracked due to the flexing so I would say stay with the materials designed for dying.
 
I changed the entire interior of a duster from tan to white, and I mean everything...headliner, plastic trim, kick panels, seats...you get the picture. I used a product called MarHyde (I think that's how it's spelled). Got it from my local auto body supply house. it worked good, covered well, and other than regretting having all that white to keep clean, it held up OK.
 
VHT also has a vinyl dye. Bought a can but never used it. Buddy of mine did use it on his coronet and said it worked good.
 
Cooter said:
VHT also has a vinyl dye. Bought a can but never used it. Buddy of mine did use it on his coronet and said it worked good.
Click to expand...

I used VHT dye on my seats and i have no complaints either. It has only been about 2 months sense i dyed them, but I usually have a booster seat in the back for my little boy and it hasen't even scuffed the seat.
 
The guy that sells Mopaints is a great source of Mopar knowledge and interior dying and painting. He worked on the original interior trim colors back when these cars were new. His knowledge is very extensive about interior trim colors, dying fabrics and vinyls, and of course sells just about every color imaginable for interior dying and refinishing. I remember one thing he told me... "If your interior trim items have EVER been treated with anything like Armor All or any other conditioning product, no dye will adhere to your fabric or vinyl without COMPLETELY removing all traces of the conditioner. Or if you have any newer pieces like a repopped headliner you want to change the color on, no interior dye will adhere to the newer fabrics and vinyls, they now have a silicone base to keep them soft and the dye will not penetrate the silicone". If you are changing the color of older vinyl interior trim items, a thorough cleaning with laquer thinner will remove most all traces of prior conditioning treatments, but make sure you do a completely thorough job, or risk it being splotchy. I have used his products on many items and have always been satisfied with his service, knowledge and products. Not sayin' that other products aren't just as good, but I like the fact that he knew these cars and products when they were new, and he is very helpful. I haven't seen him in a couple years, but Mopaints can be googled!!! Just my input, Geof
 
Great write up guys! was wondering what has been used myself! Thanks
 
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