Touching up Floor Mats

johncarlos2003 · 10-22-2007, 06:22 PM

If you have floor mats with colored thread reading "carrera" or "sc" or "porsche" etc they do get worn out looking, faded quickly. i have tried different ways of cleaning etc and was never happy with the "pop" i could get

recently, i tried something new and it works great! very happy with results.

i used color 107, ruby red, of the Jacquard textile paint found at Michael's art and craft supply- and probably other similar stores too! about 3 bucks total.

simply wiped vacumed and wiped (water only, never use chemicals on them, i know LLoyd's mats run- don't ask me how I know!)

then, just painted the threads in 3 thin coats- you can paint black or trim any overpaint on surrounding area(s) or use a really small brush and take much longer-

anyway, they look brand new and i don't have to buy a new set to keep them looking sharp for the winter-

I'm not against buying new ones but this let's me get a bit more out of them as I've been buying them more often than I need to as I love the look of the fresh mat- now I can extend the life a bit-

just thought I'd pass it on-

911 in SC · 10-22-2007, 07:00 PM

Care to post a pic? The PO of my car put black mats in, but I'd love to 'refurbish' the factory mats ('burgundy/ruby red') and use them, if possible.

Thanks,
Mike

johncarlos2003 · 10-22-2007, 09:35 PM

I will post them in the next 24 hrs. Need help from friend to get them sized to fit!

slodave · slodave's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by johncarlos2003

I will post them in the next 24 hrs. Need help from friend to get them sized to fit!

Send them to me and I'll resize for you.

Dave

P.S. Another solution: I took my floor mats out. Nothing like bare metal

johncarlos2003 · 01:29 AM

Thanks dave for the offer- think i got ' it . . .

FYI- note that these are pics of 2 different mats- i have two sets- not before/after pics so . . . read on . . .

The one on the right is untouched and fading after about 6 months of use- the one on the left is the one i re-touched (had in the car for quite a while before i bought the second set-
before i retouched one on left it was in far worse, more soiled condition than the one on the right which, as you can see, isn't that bad yet but still not as bright as the old one that i've redone which looks basically brand new again!- the lettering was a faint redsih greyish before i retouched it-

so i think this little project came out great- very easy and great bang for your buck!

89911 · 10-23-2007, 05:41 AM

Thank goodness. I have the same mats that were suffering the same fading. Almost to the point that I would look down and not know what car I was driving.

nesslar · 10-23-2007, 07:49 AM

911 in SC · 10-23-2007, 08:20 AM

LOL! IMO, it's not the fact that I don't know what I'm driving, but the fact that it doesn't look nearly as good as the rest of the car. That's just me though...

johncarlos2003 · 10-23-2007, 08:59 AM

A tip: do think coats- maybe 3 as mentioned and you'll proably need to do a final pass for spots you missed-

good thing is, if you do this the threads will absorb the paint, dying them instead of "painting" them-

saw mine today in natural light and they look awesome. Cheers!

911 in SC · 10-23-2007, 05:39 PM

I appreciate the pics. The 'restored' one really does look like new. I'm impressed. I will see what I can do with my factory ones. The carpet itself looks great, it's just that the 'text' looks worn and faded, just like yours most likely did.

Thanks,
Mike

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

I switched to Coco Mats this year and I'm much happier with them than the Lloyds mats.