OK so my 82 is at the painters as we speak. I stopped by yesterday to discuss the plan as Sandy has left us and it is back to normal again.

He is in the process of stripping the car down so he can get her ready for paint. I originally thought I was going to stick with Charcoal outside as I was limited with my red interior.

As I spent time looking through the books of color choices I am really second guessing that decision.

So how difficult is it to change the interior color? I have checked out some posts about dye and it does not look that difficult. I have gone on youtube and watched some videos and the results look good. I need news seats so I would purchase those the color I am changing to, but would think I would dye everthing else mabey with exception to the carpet.

I am thinking blue exterior black interior. I would think the black would cover the red pretty easily. How does the dye hold up? is this something that needs to be done often (like every couple years) or does it last if taken care of?

Thanks
Joe

 

I just went through the same thing. But since my Vette was being repainted through a car accident (in which I got a huge P&S check from), I decided to just by a whole new interior. That's the best way to go.

I think if you're planning to keep the car for a long time, go that route. Otherwise use the professional color dye air sprayers and dyes.

 

Buy your seatcovers first. Then go to a professional auto paint supply store with one of the seatcovers and have them mix up a quart of SEM ColorCoat vinyl dye to match your seats. If they are [supposed to be] correct to a GM interior color, provide that color code as a place they can start. They should be able to mix it to a very close match with the seatcovers.

You can shoot the other parts with your own spray equipment or you can purchase an inexpensive ($15) Pre-Val bottle sprayer and extra gas canisters from that same store. It shoots vinyl dye GREAT and I had absolutely NO problems getting great surface quality with it. Dye is very thin and very 'forgiving' when you shoot it. Just don't try to wipe off any runs; let the dye dry completely...the run will likely disappear.

Clean all surfaces VERY WELL with detergent and water. Rinse several times to get all detergent off. Then let dry completely. Two light, covering coats of dye will change any color into any other color (even black to white). Dye has a very dense pigment.

With blue exterior, you have lots of options: interior can be black, blue, white, light tan, charcoal, oyster. All look good, depending on the hue of blue you choose for the exterior.

 

You seem really knowledgeable about this and I'd like to know (just for curiosity's sake) how does the dye and color change hold up to wear and tear, misc. scratches, etc over time? Does the dye 'change' the vinyl permanently or is it just a 'coating'?

 

I went from black to saddle interior. I used 3 each $15.00 spray can of interior dye on the upper, left, right dash pads, console, & park brake cover. Cheaper than $300.00 each and no loss if did not work. I am happy with the way it turned out and save $$$. Would not use on items that get used alot like steering wheel.

 

I used CRC Contact Cleaner to clean surfaces before painting and that worked wonders. I do have a finger nail scratch around map pocket from reaching for things, but easy to tape of and hit with a quick shot of dye.

 

Thanks Alan do you have any pictures of the interior you could post?

 

I had trouble figuring out how to post them. Check out my garage photos I will put in there.

 

Although I'm not a fan of 'spray bomb' vinyl dye (not the same sheen as original interior panels and more costly than liquid stuff), the above advice is pretty good. It would not hurt to wipe surfaces down with a pure volatile cleaner immediately before shooting them with dye. Just make sure no damage is done to the surface texture or permanent damage to the material.

Dye shot on clean/dry plastic surfaces lasts well. I shot some on my black leather-wrapped steering wheel (different than what is in my photo above) so that it would match the interior. That was over 3 years ago, and hand sweat, rubbing, nor use has changed the surface one iota. Those who have used good quality vinyl dye (like SEM ColorCoat) end up with good and long-lasting results. I'm not so sure about the spray can results for all folks.

 

Thank You Alen, looks like it came out nice.