dye seatbelts?????
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 893
Likes: 7
From: Hazerswoude-Rijndijk Zuid Holland
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Not sure how much more confident we can be about vinyl dye. Get it at an auto paint & equipment supply store (not local auto parts store). It can be used for interior panels (vinyl covered), carpet, seat belts....anything plastic. Clean belts thoroughly, dry and spray. It doesn't get much easier. I recommend S.E.M. products.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 10,866
Likes: 717
From: Beverly Hills/Pine Ridge Florida
I've dyed many sets of belts. Only ONE way to do it right, and that's to completely remove the belts. Make a drawing or take a pic of the stitching patterns for later, then remove the stitching, remove the buckles, etc.
Go to your grocery store and buy either RIT or Tintex dye AND their corresponding dye remover or dye stripper.
Follow the directions. Cook the belts in the dye STRIPPER. This will remove the old dye. They'll come out an "ecru" or eggshell white color.
You can also use the RIT or TINTEX rust remover.
THEN....dye the belts your color. It's a 100% waste of time to try to dye "over" another color. Also, I can't see how any "spray vinyl" would work either.
After the belts are dry after the dye job (you can restore you buckles, replate things, etc.), go to a "bud" in the upholstery biz who has an industrial HD sewing machine. Your wife's Singer ain't gonna cut it.
Re-sew the belts back together, using your pix of the original stitching pattern.
Done.
Chuck
Go to your grocery store and buy either RIT or Tintex dye AND their corresponding dye remover or dye stripper.
Follow the directions. Cook the belts in the dye STRIPPER. This will remove the old dye. They'll come out an "ecru" or eggshell white color.
You can also use the RIT or TINTEX rust remover.
THEN....dye the belts your color. It's a 100% waste of time to try to dye "over" another color. Also, I can't see how any "spray vinyl" would work either.
After the belts are dry after the dye job (you can restore you buckles, replate things, etc.), go to a "bud" in the upholstery biz who has an industrial HD sewing machine. Your wife's Singer ain't gonna cut it.
Re-sew the belts back together, using your pix of the original stitching pattern.
Done.
Chuck
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Interesting.... but RIT dyes are "....NOT recommended for 100% Polyester...." according to the instructions on the back of the bottle. As mentioned above, RIT is "iffy" on synthetics. But, you decide what advice you want to take.
Obviously, taking all the hardware off the belt would allow you to do the job in one shot. Or you could just move the buckle after the first pass and cover the remainder with the next shot. Do you really care what color is on the end in the retractor? Have fun.
Obviously, taking all the hardware off the belt would allow you to do the job in one shot. Or you could just move the buckle after the first pass and cover the remainder with the next shot. Do you really care what color is on the end in the retractor? Have fun.
Pro
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 735
Likes: 1
From: Harleysville PA
the RIT worked great on my 70 442 going from gold to black and there is not reason to remove the hardware. the dye doesnt stain metal. i had the car for 10 years after dying and they looked shiny and new until i sold the car last year. i did remove the little GM tags (stitching) and never ended up stitching them back on. try it.
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