Vinyl Dying

[barno68]

How difficult is it to dye vinyl a lighter shade? What is the best production to use? I would like to take my black pieces and dye them a camal or tan color. Thanks.

Brent

[HzEmall]

www.semproducts.com

Awesome products !

[NOT A TA]

I've used the SEM products with good success. For flexible materials like seat covers I have the dye mixed at my local paint shop and use a regular sprayer for big pieces and a jamb gun for smaller ones. Are you trying to change flexible material or hard parts?

[jims68ragtop]

It is very easy to dye vinyl with the correct product. Some dyes are merely thinned down paint. Preparation is the most important aspect. Parasol Inc. dyes are great, and there are various products for various surfaces.

[jaybee]

I've had good luck with dying vinyl as well. Can't remember the product I used, it scuffed easily for at first but once thoroughly dry held up well.

[ProdigyCustoms]

If you need any technical information, I have the national tech guy for SEM available. you can e mail me for back door contact information.

[email protected]

[barno68]

Thanks for the advise everyone. I would like to switch over to a tan upolstry when putting the car back together and would like to dye the hard plastic interior pieces a similar color, so this should help. I plan to leave the dash and console black to break it up a bit, but really want the sail panels and such to match.

Brent

[NOT A TA]

I've had better success painting rather than dying the hard plastic. I've also painted exterior plastic grills etc with very good long term durability even on daily driver outdoor only vehicles. Here's the steps I use.
1. wash pieces with soap & water
2. clean W/wax and grease remover
3. depending on condition and previous attempts to dye or paint I LIGHTLY media blast to rough the surface just enough to give the paint something to adhere to. Old paint/dye can also be removed from pebble grain by CAREFULLY blasting.
4. another quick wipe W/ wax and grease remover
5. just before painting wipe the parts over quickly with laquer thinner then paint as soon as the thinner evaporates. This leaves the surface of the plastic just a little softer and the paint seems to adhere better for long term use.
6. Use quality lacquer based paint in spray cans or with a regular spray gun. use thin coats on pebble grain parts so the paint doesn't flow into the grain filling it up. Don't wait long between coats, as soon as it flashes apply the next coat. Final coat should go on a bit thicker to give you the amount of gloss you're after (experiment on a test part)
7. don't rush to reinstall parts, give the paint longer to dry than you would metal parts. I usually just leave them alone a couple days. The plastic seems to need some time to allow the lacquer to fully evaporate from the surface adhesion layer of the piece and create a good bond.

[barno68]

I've had better success painting rather than dying the hard plastic. I've also painted exterior plastic grills etc with very good long term durability even on daily driver outdoor only vehicles. Here's the steps I use.
1. wash pieces with soap & water
2. clean W/wax and grease remover
3. depending on condition and previous attempts to dye or paint I LIGHTLY media blast to rough the surface just enough to give the paint something to adhere to. Old paint/dye can also be removed from pebble grain by CAREFULLY blasting.
4. another quick wipe W/ wax and grease remover
5. just before painting wipe the parts over quickly with laquer thinner then paint as soon as the thinner evaporates. This leaves the surface of the plastic just a little softer and the paint seems to adhere better for long term use.
6. Use quality lacquer based paint in spray cans or with a regular spray gun. use thin coats on pebble grain parts so the paint doesn't flow into the grain filling it up. Don't wait long between coats, as soon as it flashes apply the next coat. Final coat should go on a bit thicker to give you the amount of gloss you're after (experiment on a test part)
7. don't rush to reinstall parts, give the paint longer to dry than you would metal parts. I usually just leave them alone a couple days. The plastic seems to need some time to allow the lacquer to fully evaporate from the surface adhesion layer of the piece and create a good bond.

John- Do you use the dye in spray form are are you talking about using a different type of paint for hard plastic?

Brent

[barno68]

Somewhat along the same lines as the vinyl dying:
My wife's car is a Jetta and it is extremely uncomfortable for me to drive, mostly due to the seats. We had thought about trading it, but it is almost paid off and seems silly to get rid of the car when I could just replace the seats.

I have found some nice complete leather seat sets with lumbar adjust, but they are all in black. I know I could paint them a lighter color, but am leary because, well... afterall it is paint... Can a darker leather be dyed lighter? How well do the paint products wear? Thanks.

Brent

[NOT A TA]

BARNO68 I normally use vinyl dye on flexible materials like vinyl seat covers, dash pads, and door panels, pretty much anything "padded". I use regular laquer spray paint for hard plastic. PPG if its going to be applied with a sprayer and Krylon if I'm using spray cans. Krylon for a lot of interior pieces because most of my cars have black interiors and the Krylon holds up well. It comes in all different levels of gloss so I can get just the right "sheen" for the part. ultra flat,flat,semi flat,semi gloss,gloss etc. Semi flat, semi gloss and gloss seem to match the appearance of the factory plastics.

I only posted the steps I use to Paint hard plastic because you said you were getting new upholstery and wanted to have the hard plastic pieces match. IMO the paint holds up better against scuffs and scratches. I recommend you test all your options(on spare parts).I would also try puting a thin coat of white on half the part and then painting the whole part with your new interior color since you're going from darker to lighter. See how much different the white makes in the look of the part as it will reflect more light back through the paint you're applying to match the new upholstery. I would also test vinyl dye on a spare piece to see if that gives you the look you want. Many people use the dye on hard plastics because paint isn't available in their color. The key is to test options on spare parts before you jump in and do all the pieces you need for your interior.


I use the laquer based PPG products to do exterior pieces such as grills because it holds up better for exterior applications. The sheen is a bit trickier to control but with advice from your local paint supplier and practice on spare parts you can achieve the gloss or lack of that you'd like.

[barno68]

Thanks for the detailed reply TA, I think this will be a bit of trial and error in getting the end product. Should be fun though.