Interior re-dye

[wurls]

Has anyone ever completely changed their interior by re-dying the interior another color? If so, was it very time consuming? Was it difficult or easy? What was the cost of doing so?


Thanks!

[white99c2]

It was sun faded after 30 years and I purchased the Cork colored dye in spray cans from World Interior. It cost me $80 to redo it completely including the carpet.
It looks like new again.

[twistoffat]

Thats a nice Job Rob. What product did you use. I´ve got "Caramel Leather" in mine and the drivers seat needs a touch up. I got all the leatherique products just need the correct colour to match the caramel leather

[spence88mph]

nice work rob!!

[white99c2]

This is what I used, call them and give them the color code. It took me one day to do everything. Definitely the easiest thing I did to the car, instant gratification.

A year later in a daily driver car and it looks as good as the day I did it. I never use armor all or any conditioners, just wipe it down with a damp rag and as you can see I'm nutty about keeping the carpet vacuumed and spotless.

Dye in Aerosols for vinyl leather plastic and carpet, match factory colors

[SCWDP911]

Rob, what kind of prep work did the WU product require?

[Ofishbein]

What color was the interior before?

[RSTarga]

I don't think color change will work very well but redyeing works great. Also try Color Plus. They match your original color exactly , and you apply a water based dye with a sponge.

[rbuswell]

Here's a good one. I used it to do mine although I didn't change the color:

My Seat Dyeing Procedure

[wurls]

Apparently I wasn't that clear in my question.
I was wondering if anyone has changed the color of their interior COMPLETELY.
I am looking at buying a car that is Forest Green with a tan/light orange interior which is horrible, and I'd like to change it to a black leather interior by re-dying it.

Anyone done this, and if so, how hard and how much?
Thanks again!

[rbuswell]

Originally Posted by wurls

Apparently I wasn't that clear in my question.
I was wondering if anyone has changed the color of their interior COMPLETELY.
I am looking at buying a car that is Forest Green with a tan/light orange interior which is horrible, and I'd like to change it to a black leather interior by re-dying it.

Anyone done this, and if so, how hard and how much?
Thanks again!

The only major component in addition to the leather and vinyl to change is carpet. Leatherique can dye both vinyl and leather. I assume your seat belts, etc. are already black. A picture of the interior in question may help us see what problems you face. It may also help to know if you're trying to do this at a low cost or to do it "best possible".

Carpet kits are available in any color. You may rather use a new kit rather than re-dying the existing carpet. A local carpet cleaning company may also be able to dye your carpets if you prefer that but the dye will probably bleed.

If none of these options are acceptable, you may want to search for a donor car and replace everything from it.

To answer your core question, it is expensive, time consuming and difficult. You may be wise to pass on this car and find one with a black interior that is not so ugly. Black is the most common interior color, I believe so you should have plenty to chose from.

[Rusty Heap]

I'm curious too, going from a color XYZ to black. How it'd hold up, and would you start to see wear through marks, say on the door tops, or other wear/tear items.

[Aron in Toronto]

I dyed my steering wheel from med brown to black with "Color Plus" 2-3 years ago and it has held up well. Looks as good today as the day I did it.


And here is a color change found on Pelican

My Seat Dyeing Procedure

Not actually mine, just the title from the original poster.

[lfot]

How did you get at the front part of the top of the dash (by the windshield) without removing the windshield?

[SCWDP911]

Originally Posted by wurls

Apparently I wasn't that clear in my question.
I was wondering if anyone has changed the color of their interior COMPLETELY.
I am looking at buying a car that is Forest Green with a tan/light orange interior which is horrible, and I'd like to change it to a black leather interior by re-dying it.

Anyone done this, and if so, how hard and how much?
Thanks again!

from the world upholstery website:

One aerosol can is usually sufficient to renew to color of one bucket seat. If you are making a color change,
which is not recommended, you may need 2 or 3.

However, as shown in that thread about seats above here, his results (brown to tan) turned out very well. I am pretty sure I talked to him about a year after he did it and he said it was holding up very well.

And now for a question: I have always been told that on redying leather, the prep is KEY (as it is with so many things in life)... however, the World Upholstery website link above made the prep sound a lot easier than I was thinking. I thought you had to basically get all of the old dye off, but they make it sound as though roughing it up and cleaning is all that is necessary. Any real world experience out there? Sure would save a lot of time for me on my job that I need to finally break down and start.

[rbuswell]

Originally Posted by Shane Van Wey

from the world upholstery website:

One aerosol can is usually sufficient to renew to color of one bucket seat. If you are making a color change,
which is not recommended, you may need 2 or 3.

However, as shown in that thread about seats above here, his results (brown to tan) turned out very well. I am pretty sure I talked to him about a year after he did it and he said it was holding up very well.

And now for a question: I have always been told that on redying leather, the prep is KEY (as it is with so many things in life)... however, the World Upholstery website link above made the prep sound a lot easier than I was thinking. I thought you had to basically get all of the old dye off, but they make it sound as though roughing it up and cleaning is all that is necessary. Any real world experience out there? Sure would save a lot of time for me on my job that I need to finally break down and start.

Shane, in order to get a really good surface to take the dye, on leather anyway, you need to take all the dye and other crap off the surface down to the brown leather so it looks just like a bare hide. Leather is very forgiving and you actually use fine sandpaper to get the final dye off. Scared me to death! Mine had been re-dyed several times by a hack and it took a lot of work. I think mine came out pretty nice and the leather is actually much more supple.

[burgermeister]

I set out to just 'freshen' my seats, so I did not sand all the old dye off - some places I did, for repairs, but most of the area just got a light roughing. As it turns out, the color had changed enough over the years that it ended up being a re-dye by the time the seats didn't look blotchy. I filled in cracks/creases (not tears) with crack filler. After 1.5 years, the cracks are all showing again, and DE days are causing the dye to rub off here and there where I didn't sand the old stuff off.

So I'd say unless you're planning to sand all the old finish off, don't bother. And if you're just 'freshening', be sure it matches well enough before you start!

[RSTarga]

Color plus has a citrus cleaner that if used at the correct strength will pretty much strip off the original dye. You then apply a conditioner, clean off and then apply their dye with a soft terry cloth sponge. They even have a specific Porsche black. In my experience their products are superior to Lethearique. I would stay clear of the spray on products. Black should cover any color left after the citrus cleaner. Just spend extra time preparing the surface and follow their instructions and test your procedure on a less visible piece.

[Deschodt]

Time for my yearly plug for Surflex... I changed color from tan to black... in 1998 ! It's still perfect 12y later.. Applied with a sponge/rag, 2 coats, maybe 3 in places....

[wurls]

GREAT information! Thank you guys!