Undying vinyl

porschenut · 12-02-2008, 07:30 PM

A couple of years ago I used some leather & vinyl dye to change the color of my rear seatback bolsters from beige to black. Now I want to undo what I did, and return them to the original beige. Can the dye be removed? I'd rather not resort to sandpaper or steel wool. I'm hoping there's a solvent that will do the trick.

ischmitz · ischmitz's Garage

I don't think there is an easy way to fully undo this. The dye is penetrating the material. It is probably easier to post a WTB add - people get rid of their rear seats all the time for weight reduction. You should be able to pick up a set for cheap. Else, get a recovering kit from http://www.worlduph.com/

Ingo

BARON5011 · BARON5011's Garage

Hi ischmitz,
Im thinking of dying my cars interior from dark blue to silver grey . Please tell us a bit of your experience doing it .--were you satisfied with the product--resultsand would you recommend it ?
What product did you use---if possible can you give me the full trade name--- we might not have it under the same name here in South Africa.
cheers
Baron

Bench-Racing · 12-02-2008, 10:33 PM

Try a small amount of lacquer thinner in a very inconspicuous spot and see what happens.

ischmitz · ischmitz's Garage

Baron,

when I changed my interior color I opted for recovering instead of dying. The Targa had a tan interior with black trim pieces and black dash. I wanted all in black. So I went and bought vinyl by the yard and went to work on the rear shelf and the door covers. I then bought black seats, a carpet kit and the rest is history.

The only data point I have is the leather strips that hold the rear seats up. I had them made by a local upholstery shop here in town from real leather. They used raw hide and dye to make them look black. After about 4 years they look faded and far from black. So my assumption is that all the dying that comes a aftermarket stuff is a stop-gap measure to begin with. If the product acts more like a paint that stays on the surface it will rub off over time. And even if it is a dye it will fade unless you really use the old-fashioned leather dyes and techniques.

I simply can't see how a dye would accomplish a color change from dark blue to a silver grey. The original color is inside the leather. To get it to look silver grey the new color has to cover the original color like a coat of paint. So you essentially use a paint. I don't see how that will last and hold up to every-day use.

just my 2 cents...

Ingo

BeyGon · 12-02-2008, 10:44 PM

I have a Buick GS/Corvette steering wheel, it was tan but someone dyed it black. I tried everything I could find to get it off. Anything that would take it off would take off the pattern/grain of the wheel so I left it alone. The only thing I can do with it now would be to re dye it black. It hangs in the garage. If you find something that takes the dye off without ruining the grain I would love to hear about it.

Dean

porschenut · 12-03-2008, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BARON5011

Hi ischmitz,
Im thinking of dying my cars interior from dark blue to silver grey . Please tell us a bit of your experience doing it .--were you satisfied with the product--resultsand would you recommend it ?
What product did you use---if possible can you give me the full trade name--- we might not have it under the same name here in South Africa.
cheers
Baron

How about if you start your own thread instead of hijacking mine?

lhoudyshell · lhoudyshell's Garage

Hey porschenut, how about you pulling your horns in, keep an open mind you might learn something. Lynn

porschenut · 12-03-2008, 03:41 PM

Hey Lynn, if you have something valuable to contribute to the subject of removing dye, I'm all ears.

Zeke · 12-03-2008, 04:42 PM

OK, use the lacquer thinner and then get some dye of the color you are going back to. You're not going to be able to simply remove the black all the way. But, if you get some of it off, you're on your way to having an easier time of the lighter color covering the darker one. Think of it as removing the surface dye even as the black dye will remain in the pores. And, you won't have a build up of dye that wants to crack.

BTW, you don't mention if you have leather or vinyl. Lacquer thinner is not kind to either, but too much might kill leather.

porschenut · 12-03-2008, 06:43 PM

It's only on vinyl. I'll try the lacquer thinner. I think this is the kind of dye that sits on the surface, as I sprayed it from a rattle can and it has worn thin in a couple of spots. Maybe I'll get lucky. Worst case scenario is I'll have to replace it, which I can live with.

BTW, I got the dye from World Upholstery. If it works, I'll post some before/after pics.

3.2 CAB · 12-03-2008, 07:23 PM

Dave, when I used to do a lot of interior restorations, we used lacquer thinner and sometime even some of the hotter paint reducers, to "open" the surface for the new dye that was being applied. Certain types of vinyl and plastics would be damaged from the lacquer thinner, but it could withstand the reducers. You might want to give each a small test in some inconspicuous area to see which may work better. Good luck!! Tony.

Phat Euro Cab · 12-03-2008, 09:27 PM

I've used the media blaster a few times to remove older vinyl dyes on both hard plastic and vinyl upholstery. The first time I tried it was while trying to fix a botched dye job on hard plastic with pretty deep grain.The media seems to get into the grain better than wiping with a rag. After blasting I wipe with thinner and apply the new dye as soon as the thinner appears dry. Be very carefull blasting plastic and vinyl, start with the gun far away and move quickly over the surface, you can easily take the grain off if you're not carefull.