1980 L48 Red with doe skin interior.

Trying to get all my ducks in a row to get my c3 road legal by spring to replace my current foxbody mustang as my daily driver. This is of importance because while I plan to take care of the car it will be used daily and see wear as such. Car will be outside for most of the day in variety of temps.

The main question is should I attempt a color change to black?

all major components would be dyed.
carpet and seat cushions and steering wheel replaced.

or

stick with the stock doe skin color.

I think the black interior would go better with the bright red paint and black side pipes the car has but the tan is not terrible.

How does the expensive SEM dye hold up?


i am thinking that since the car is blown apart and needs carpet and seats now would be the time to change it. It’s not a numbers matching car so I am not concerned with matching the trim tag. I don’t want to change the color if the dye will not hold up. I have had less then great results with cheaper dyes in past restorations.

thanks for your opinions and input!

 

My car was changed from blue to black by the previous owner. I can still find small imperfections that show the blue. Lots of parts that have to change to do it right and over time the original color starts to re-appear again. I would recommend staying with the original color. But hey...it's your car do what you want!

 

I used SEM in my 68. No issues. SEM makes a good product.

As for the color change to black, that's a personal choice for you.

 

I have sprayed or dyed several interiors over the years. It will work well, as long as you take the time to clean and prep the pieces. Isopropal Alcohol works best and will not leave residue behind. If you decide to move forward with the color change, you will need to replace the seat covers minimum. I wouldn't suggest spraying the seats, the paint will rub off over time and look rough.
​​​​​​Is your mind set on Black? Have you considered Red.?

 

I like my Med Saddle with my red

 

Thanks for the feedback!!

awsome to hear the SEM works well it sure is pricey but still cheaper then troop or used parts.

I have thought about red and it looks good too.

I like that saddle better then my current doe skin.

thanks for the input! I know ultimately it’s my car and I could go any direction but am happy to hear the dye is as good as they claim.

 

I did the same - from Saddle to Black on a red car. The door panels I did a few years before I finished the entire interior and it has held up remarkably well even with lots of in and out while I redid the entire interior (took everything down to clean fiberglass). Some of the more recent parts I did don't seem to be overly resistant to abrasion-type damage. Either my prep was less than perfect or they just got shuffled around too much (you can see a couple of small nicks right above the right side of the mirror in the bottom picture).

I don't know if you were planning to remove all the panels, but I wouldn't try this with all the panels in the car because I'm not sure you could clean them properly and mask everything off. The SEM dye (flexible paint, really) is very thin and likely to run on a vertical surface if you are not very careful. I also used an adhesion promoter. Of course removing panels opens up a whole bunch of "while I'm at it"

Before:

After (the scuff on the passenger door panel is just dust from my wife's foot):

 

saddle interior with red is a classic combo. black is so boring, hot, all the details get lost and hot.

 

Yes...I agree black is hot. I have to put a towel down for my wife when she wears shorts because it's a convertible that never has the top up.

 

it is classic. Doe skin is a little different tho. Some people love it.. Mine looks more like a two tone which from my research is common for the doe skin that gets some sun fade going on.

Is the doe skin leather a rare option or fairly common in 1980?

 

It all depends on what you want the car to "say" to those who look at it. If you want them to say "Wow! That is one sharp looking, racy sports car!" Then you want red with black interior.

If you want them to say, "That is one classy looking, luxury sport ride!" Then you want red with doeskin or camel/light saddle interior. You get my 'drift'..........

Changing the color of interior parts is relatively easy. You just need to remove and clean the parts...WITH DETERGENT to rid all dirt, oil, grease, and Armor-All . Then rinse & rinse again, dry, and you're ready to recolor. The critical element is to use GOOD QUALITY liquid interior dye, mixed to the color you want at a pro auto body paint supply store. Don't waste your money on junk in spray cans called DYE. I like SEM ColorCoat dye, but not in spray cans. The sheen is not right for vinyl pieces. Ask the paint store for Pre-Val bottle/gas sprayer if you don't have spray equipment. Very inexpensive, does a great job of shooting interior dye, easy to use, hard to make significant mistakes.

Since you are purchasing new seat covers, just take one of them to the store for them to match. Yes! There are HUNDREDS of possible 'black' dye shades. Buy 1 pint of dye and one Pre-Val sprayer (if you go that route) with 5 or 6 extra gas canisters. That should do the job, but you can always buy more canisters if you need. Two light, covering coats...about 15 minutes apart...will completely cover the red and become black. DO NOT try to get it completely covered with one coat. It will be too thick and not dry properly. Just cover the surface nicely, let dry, and redo again. Good Luck!!

P.S. When done, NEVER use Armor-All or other petroleum based protectant for vinyl parts again. Use only polymer based protectants like Nu-Vinyl or Meguiar's Protectant for Plastics.

 

If I ever get my C8, it will be red with a tan leather interior. Great combo, I always loved that Corvette gave and still does a choice of different color interiors. Who does that these days?

my silver corvette was a black black and I agree with the 'boring' comment, Am switching over to battleship gray on reupholstered stock seats and gray carpet. Stay tuned.

 

mine is Red with Black interior. came that way factory. wouldn't change it for a million dollars. yes my partner gets a hot butt when it's parked in the Sun. too bad.

 

My white on red 80 was converted to a black interior by a previous owner. I hate it. I've slowly (and at great expense) converted most of it back to red. I'd keep the saddle if it were my car.

That said, SEM works great. I've used it to convert some stuff back.

 

Silver looks good as well

 

My 70 was supposed to be donnybrook green with a saddle interior but someone repainted it red in the early 80s. I personally like the color combo. I am in the process of using SEM paints to restore it and have had great results. Eventually ill have it put back to green though.

 

Back in the 70's my first Corvette was a red '77 with buckskin interior. 40 years later I finally found a nice red '77 but with a black interior. I went from black to buckskin and don't regret it for a minute. I've been looking for quite awhile for a nice red and buckskin combo, never realized how rare they were. I dyed most of the hard trim and purchased all new leather seat covers, seat belts, door panels, steering wheel and carpet. You will find spots where its scratched and the original color comes through so you will need to do touch up once in awhile.


original interior

new interior

 

Interesting, love the black with red car. brown, not so much.
All about personal taste. and if you want to sell those black original seat covers. P.M. me.

 

^^. Forgot about the seat belts! Good catch.


so is the buck skin darker then the doe skin? My 80’s interior is like an off white ot light yellow color. It is not a tan but more of an off white.

wish I had pics but it’s all out of the car.

 

I had them for sale in the forum with the door panels, seat belts, carpet and steering wheel. All has been sold.