Seats fading bad... advice on fixing or replacing ?

Deschodt · 03-22-2009, 01:06 PM

I have a set of sparco Torinos in the car, that I rescued from my long departed mini cooper.... They're not that old, maybe 4 years tops, and still are in top shape in terms of bolstering or seat cushion... But it seems that the Florida sun has killed them:

What can I do ? I've tried a dye for black jeans, it went right though that fabric, which returned to green almost instantly... I hate the thought of trashing otherwise perfect seats (though they could use a steam cleaning)... Recovering seems hard/expensive given the pattern and different colors and fabric/rubber on the edges.

I'm semi tempted by the monte carlos from classic car seats but, someone smack me, that's $1400 and no guarantee they fit any better or last as long... The best fitting ones I ever had in the car were Recaro SEs but they are hard to find new and don't quite go with the car's backdated look too well...(neither do my sparcos). I may spring for new seats if they sat much lower, but i am yet to find any seat that sits low in an 83.... So back to dying options ? Ideas ? Maybe redo the sparcos with basket weave might make them look "older" but I think the cost will be prohibitive...
Alcantara on the center section ? Has anyone ever farmed out upholstery work like that ? $$ ?

911s55 · 01:39 PM

If it is fabric you can try upholstery/carpet spray in an areosol can. I've used it on door panels on an old Mercury and it worked very well. You would have to do some serious masking but it should take, make sure the fabric is very clean, and remove the seats to avoid overspray.

David

porsche930dude · porsche930dude's Garage

you can get profetional quality vinal/fabric spray from auto paint shops. i believe the brand is SEM

SP2 · 03-22-2009, 03:08 PM

You can take it to an upholstery shop, all masked up, and they can shoot it with black dye. That for sure works on leather because I did that with my SC seats, and I think it would work on fabric. It is nice stuff and doesn't come off on your clothes. Should cost less than $100. Good luck!

Deschodt · 10:41 AM

results of the paint:

old:

and "new" :

I should point out that this was a mere test run... I did not wash the seat before, just did the front pad that was previously green, you can see the back part is still greenish but I did not spray it much, and put only one application... I bet another application helps a lot, and I bet cleaning the other seat first will too ! Not bad for 1/3 of a can worth $5 !

The seat feels "painted" a little bit until you brush it a little and then it's almost like before, not that it matters greatly unless you drive naked (If so I don't wanna know but the discoloration pattern should be priceless). And since I drive fully clothed, there is no transfer to my pants, so it's pretty good overall for $2 ! ;-)

gtc · gtc's Garage

Nice work!
For future reference, the 303 people make a nice fabric protectant (303 High Tech Fabric Guard) that's great for both UV protection and water resistance.

Elombard · 04-09-2009, 01:01 PM

Trust me you can do this your self ...you just need to....j/k looks great, glad to see the DIY bug was not totally killed by the suspension fiasco!

Deschodt · 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elombard

Trust me you can do this your self ...you just need to....j/k looks great, glad to see the DIY bug was not totally killed by the suspension fiasco!

Took me a minute to get the joke there, despite the suspension work reference... Pretty funny once I got it ;-) Believe it or not, it's back for a *small* adjustment this time, almost there... I should be all set tomorrow...

Interior stuff I can do, but believe you me, it's the last time I mess with an old 911's suspension ! ;-) Oil changes from now on ! ;-) Still, the board made me backdate and that came out OK...

JMatta · 04-09-2009, 03:27 PM

Wait until you wear a pair of Khaki pants on a hot day...everyone will be pointing to your back side!

Deschodt · 04-09-2009, 04:35 PM

Are you speaking from experience ?

I've had pretty good results with leather dye in the past, I don't think this should be too dissimilar. I'm more worried about it fading fast, again ! If so, I'm going with repro-period seats...

That said, point taken, I will do one seat at a time and let the car bake in the sun first, to check !

Deschodt · 04-25-2009, 02:26 PM

Well, it's been a few weeks, and it's still black and not on my pants. So I'd recommend the stuff (upholstery paint)! I did end up using most of what I got, so it cost maybe $12 or so... not bad !
The seats feel almost normal, not "painted" at all...