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I am changing back to the original medium saddle interior, I want to dye my top dash pad the same color as shown in the pic I submitted. Would anyone know the name of the color??
There is no name other than 1974 Medium Saddle. Saddle interior color is the hardest color to match and even from the factory there were different shades of saddle that made up all the interior pieces. Top Flight Automotive (Corvette America) sells 1974 Medium interior dye in 12 oz aerosol cans and in quart containers.
I can tell you from experience (74,77,65,65) than no two cans of saddle aerosol are going to have the same tint when sprayed. By this I mean if you spray 4 pieces of trim with aerosol can #1 and come back the next day and spray 3 pieces with aerosol can #2 the shades of saddle are going to be different. On my last 65 I had four cans saddle aerosol and ran into this again, after talking with Corvette America they confirmed that saddle aerosol can be slightly different in tint from can to can.
That last go around I ended up draining the air out of the aerosol cans and pouring the contents into a mason jar and letting that off gas for a couple days. I than ordered a quart container of saddle and mixed that with the saddle from the aerosol cans (to save on cost). I used a touch up spray gun to spray all the pieces I was spraying in one setting to ensure even shades on everything. This was one tact coat followed up with two additional coats.
Now let's take color change, you have to separate this into two categories 1) hard trim items and 2) soft trim items. The hard items are your interior trim, steering column, kick panels etc., the soft items are your door panels, dash pad, instrument surround etc. The shade of saddle will be different on hard and soft items, just the nature of the beast. For the best results after you spray the items and they have dried grab a worn white cotton tee shirt and rub all the items down to knock down the surface harshness (for lack of a better term).
Depending on your level of OCD the only way to truly get that factory fresh saddle interior is to replace all the soft items with new and spray all the hard items. Very expensive but in the end looks awesome, just depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.
Below is the last 65 I did that came from the factory with green interior.
There is no name other than 1974 Medium Saddle. Saddle interior color is the hardest color to match and even from the factory there were different shades of saddle that made up all the interior pieces. Top Flight Automotive (Corvette America) sells 1974 Medium interior dye in 12 oz aerosol cans and in quart containers.
I can tell you from experience (74,77,65,65) than no two cans of saddle aerosol are going to have the same tint when sprayed. By this I mean if you spray 4 pieces of trim with aerosol can #1 and come back the next day and spray 3 pieces with aerosol can #2 the shades of saddle are going to be different. On my last 65 I had four cans saddle aerosol and ran into this again, after talking with Corvette America they confirmed that saddle aerosol can be slightly different in tint from can to can.
That last go around I ended up draining the air out of the aerosol cans and pouring the contents into a mason jar and letting that off gas for a couple days. I than ordered a quart container of saddle and mixed that with the saddle from the aerosol cans (to save on cost). I used a touch up spray gun to spray all the pieces I was spraying in one setting to ensure even shades on everything. This was one tact coat followed up with two additional coats.
Now let's take color change, you have to separate this into two categories 1) hard trim items and 2) soft trim items. The hard items are your interior trim, steering column, kick panels etc., the soft items are your door panels, dash pad, instrument surround etc. The shade of saddle will be different on hard and soft items, just the nature of the beast. For the best results after you spray the items and they have dried grab a worn white cotton tee shirt and rub all the items down to knock down the surface harshness (for lack of a better term).
Depending on your level of OCD the only way to truly get that factory fresh saddle interior is to replace all the soft items with new and spray all the hard items. Very expensive but in the end looks awesome, just depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.
Below is the last 65 I did that came from the factory with green interior.
that interior looks awesome! Yes I have read about the aerosol, the only part will be dyed in medium saddle is the steering column..... in this pic and others I seen it the dash pad looks to be a brown, ( I really like the contrast in the color compared to the rest of interior) unless thats trickery on the eyes, and it is in fact medium saddle.. can you confirm this?? Last year I bought everything but the seats and dash pad, I just haven't decided yet if I am going to change the seats for another year..
Last edited by madvette74; Feb 2, 2023 at 11:59 AM.
that interior looks awesome! Yes I have read about the aerosol, the only part will be dyed in medium saddle is the steering column..... in this pic and others I seen it the dash pad looks to be a brown, ( I really like the contrast in the color compared to the rest of interior) unless thats trickery on the eyes, and it is in fact medium saddle.. can you confirm this?? Last year I bought everything but the seats and dash pad, I just haven't decided yet if I am going to change the seats for another year..
Not 100% sure what a day 1 74 dash pad would like against the door panel color, ageing has a lot to do with this. Maybe a 1974 sales brochure might have a saddle interior in it to compare.
Not 100% sure what a day 1 74 dash pad would like against the door panel color, ageing has a lot to do with this. Maybe a 1974 sales brochure might have a saddle interior in it to compare.
Do not remember how long this top dash different color ran for with a lighter saddle interior. But starting in 1973 a interior with a medium saddle the upper dash was dark saddle. If memory service me it was the DOT reg about glare may be caused by light colored upper dash areas.
Do not remember how long this top dash different color ran for with a lighter saddle interior. But starting in 1973 a interior with a medium saddle the upper dash was dark saddle. If memory service me it was the DOT reg about glare may be caused by light colored upper dash areas.
1974 dash color
