Interior Dye or NOT ?????

[bladesC4]

Does anyone have any experience with interior dye and does it work well on carpet and plastics such as doors as it is touted ? Would anyone redye their leather seats ? It seems as possible cost saver if it really works and quality is good.

 

[paintdaddy]

Ive had quite a bit of experience whith dye.The dye that you see in the catalogs and parts stores is basically an elastomeric paint.Its good on leather,vinyl,and plastic as long as its clean before you apply it.The carpet is a different story.It will leave it feeling like a brillo pad.Its kinda like using hair spray,it looks good but will leave it stiff.Of course the dye works better when spraying over the same color or a lighter color.
Grocery stores and home supply places and fabric stores carry a real dye that will work better for carpet.Its waterbased and doesnt leave it stiff.

 

[bladesC4]

thanks for the tip. any idea on the name of the dyes found in these stores? also is it permenent ? I would think the leather dye would work well on seats but here too wouldn't a real leather dye work better. I simply want to black out my interior. My seats are in great shape so paying 500 to 800 for new covers does not interest me.

 

[WhalePirot]

I sprayed my floor mats with RIT dark red dye. They are slightly darker than stock, but practice would have helped.

I touch up the black seats in the Bimmers from time to time, with a black dye. I would expect a rather large project, but friends have cleaned and color dyed their leather interiors with good result.

I'd check the web for thorough information. Can you swap your seats for some nice ones from a Vette boneyard?

 

[bladesC4]

I thought about that too and I am going to try to find one to do that. I hope to find nice ones then but you never know. I am very reluctant to just go ahead and dye the interior and then have it not work:eek Can't bear to think about it. I will let you know what happens this winter.

 

[paintdaddy]

any idea on the name of the dyes found in these stores?

Im not sure but they come in very small bottles and need to be mixed with water before using.

 

[WhalePirot]

leather dye

I am using Fiebing black leather dye, which I bought at a local leather craft store. It is quite permanent and is used full strength. Again, I am only doing touch-ups to scratches and wrinkles in already black seats. The bottle shows the company in Milwaukee, WI. Their people may be invaluable for advice for your project.

http://www.fiebing.com/product.asp?typeID=6

From another Google search result: "... four ounce bottle of the famous Fiebing's Leather Dye. This product is considered by many to be the best on the market for both leather dying......

I'd talk to a good shoe shop, experienced in shoe dyes about painting leather. my wife just did a pair of shoes, with good result, but there is no 'age' to them yet. Leathers differ and shoes may not translate to car seats.

mike

 

[bladesC4]

Thanks for the link. My wife works with leather in horse tack but she is not sure about going beyond the scratch touch up. Thanks for all the suggestions. I will pass on the feedback from Fiebing for anyone else interested