Interior dying advice

JHS · #1 08-12-2008, 04:55 PM

I am in the process of restoring a '70 Camaro which has the std. black vinyl interior. Any suggestions on parts prep, type of paint/dye to use, etc.? I am dealing with the floor console, dash, kick panels, etc.. Thanks.

**TimG** · #2 08-12-2008, 05:55 PM

I just completed dying the red interior on my '70 Trans Am and did pretty much the same items. The red had discolored and was very dark on the top of the door panels and on many spots on the seats. The carpet was faded, also.

I disabled the seats and pulled all the hardware off and wiped them down with a light solvent. The original driver seat needed stitching in a few spots and that was taken care of by a friend. I hung the seats from a rope and hit them with a dye I purchased at an auto parts store. I went through some trial and error on the color and found the perfect match. You shouldn't have this problem with black. Light strokes work well and it takes a few to cover the vinyl. If you mask anything off, be careful when removing the tape because you could remove or scar what you just dyed. I left the chrome strip on top of the door panels and had to be cautious when removing the tape. I took my finger nail to separate the tape from the newly dyed door panel after is dried.

I have to admit, everything turned out beautiful. It brought the interior back to the original color and the interior carpet, seats and door panels are still the original pieces.

JHS · #3 08-12-2008, 10:58 PM

Glad your project turned out well for you. I plan to start on mine this weekend, thanks for the input.

**kwhizz** · #4 08-13-2008, 03:53 AM

Make sure you get the "Proper" Preparation Solvent that cleans the Vinyl prior to dyeing.......Very Important....

Ken

Hylton · #5 08-13-2008, 04:11 AM

..and make sure you use a proper solvent mask. That stuff is deadly!!!

**Mr70** · #6 08-13-2008, 06:24 AM

Have done the same as most above,but found that two bucket seat headrests really needed the most attention overall.
The paint would never dry,even after 4 weeks of drying time allowed.Turned out there was a heavy amount of oil/grease in them,(hair cream I imagine),so I had to really clean & prep them well,moreso then originally thought.

After a thorough cleaning on the flexible & rigid plastic pieces like kickpanels and console,you'll need to hit them with a plastic adhesion promoter first to "open" up the material to allow the dye to take to it.Otherwise the dye will sit on top and never adhere to it,no matter how long you give it to dry.
I recommend Dynatrons Plastic Adhesion Promoter #675.

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