Ok all!
I am sure you have been waiting with baited breath for me to get off of my duff and actually commit to my heater knob redying effort. True it took more than the nominal weekend but I good bamboozled into several "home projects" rewiring the kitchen lighting.
The results turned out better than I was expecting. Unlike nhromyak's steps, I attempted to dye the two knobs at room/full sun temperature using a very concentrated solution. I used "Scarlet Rit Dye" and put a full package into the 1 pint container as shown below. I made up the rig so that the knobs were suspended for more even coating and the sealed container kept most of the mess to a minimum. I soaked the solution for 24 hours and left it on my driveway on a 65 deg F day.
When I removed the knobs I rinsed them in cold water to remove all excess dye and rubbed them down. I then applied 4 coats of a latex based craft paint called "Titanium White Folk-Art" ($1 at Wal-Mart) and rubbed it into the grooves wiping off most of the excess (except for minor streaks). I removed the remaining excess with a damp paper towel 30 min after application. Check out the below before and after for the results:
[IMG]C:\Pictures\Porsche\dyeing rig2.bmp[/IMG]
[IMG]C:\Pictures\Porsche\dyeing rig1.bmp[/IMG]
[IMG]C:\Pictures\Porsche\dyeing rig.bmp[/IMG]
The finished product! I realize the after shot looks darker overall The before shot was taken during the day while the after shot was done at night. If you notice I have included one of the replacement knobs I just purchased at the top of each photo to set a color base-line to better compare the results.
[IMG]C:\Pictures\Porsche\Old Heater Knobs before.bmp[/IMG]
[IMG]C:\Pictures\Porsche\Old Heater Knobs after.bmp[/IMG]
Please let me know what you think. The job wasn't perfect but it was much better than I expected. I think I am going to put them back on the car. I like the fact my old knobs say "defrost." Dunno, but it feels like a minor victory to repair a part like that and keep it on the car.
If I skipped through a step or if anyone has questions let me know.
Ok, so it isn't as exciting as video of last weeks race...but then again why must the SCWDP be overt?!?!?!
Muuuuhhhaaaahhhaaaaa!!!
Pst......LeLand.....PM me with an address where I can send all of the profits from this to support the cause.
