I have seen a bunch of threads about dying interior panels. I have all the panels out of the car and some are vinyl and some are plastic. I would like to even dye my factory seat belt if I could.

The car came with Dark Saddle and I am switching to Black. I also have a complete 73 interior that is Black from my parts car, but they are in worse condition than the panels in my 72.

I went to the SEM website and watched their training video. It was mpore like a sales presentation on all their products.

Please post up any and all advice with results. I a mlooking specificially for:

1. Cleaning procedures
2. Cleaning products
3. Can I use the vinyl prep on the plastic or should I use a different prep?
4. Do I use a primer or not (I have a vinyl primer)?
5. What manufacturer is best?
6. How long should I let these panels cure before I re-install?

Thanks for the help.

 

i used my hvlp gun to apply the sem primer and dye that the suppliers sell. i first cleaed the panels with joy dish soap and a brush (several times) and then used water based grease and wax remover to clean off the last traces of silicone. then i just sprayed the primer and dye. i didn't use the sealer, because on a test piece it looked too shiny. it's fairly durable, but it's not like the factory dye plastic.

 

Clean parts with detergent to get all oil, dirt, Armor-All , etc. off the surface. Then rinse, rinse, rinse to get all the detergent off. Dry thoroughly, then shoot with SEM 'ColorCoat' vinyl dye. Dye is formulated differently than regular paint and it will bond with plastics/vinyl/nylon very well, and will not chip or peel like paint.

I highly recommend buying SEM at a professional auto body paint supply store in your area. Get a pint can and shoot it with your equipment or buy a $10 Pre-Val bottle sprayer and a couple extra gas canisters. They work great and dye is easy to shoot and very forgiving, because it is so thin but pigment content is very high. DO NOT try to wipe or repair any runs. Just let them dry, as most all of them dry flat and cannot be seen.

For seat belts (nylon), you must clean well first...more difficult because of the fact you can't remove the webbing. I would suggest that you remove the belt 'set' from the car (not too bad, since the interior panels are removed anyway. Extend the webbing completely and hold in place with a small squeeze clamp or other suitable item. Drape webbing over some large round object (5-gallon paint can?) so the weave is separated a bit; mask what you don't want dyed and shoot. A couple of light, covering coats should do the webbing (each side) and any panels. Don't worry about the innermost part of the seat belt....it won't be unreeled enough for it to show, anyway.

 

I just done most of mine this past Sunday and Monday. I too switched from Saddle to Black. I bought the SEM spray cans from a local auto paint supplier.

I think they key was clean, clean and clean. I only bought three different cans. One was Vinyl prep, Sand Free and the Matte Black.

The vinyl prep is a chemical that softens and cleans the plastic or vinyl. The sand free is a clear "primer"....

I will say this, if and when you are spraying a part, the black may fisheye or look dotted after you spray it, just leave it and wait for it to dry good then spray it lightly again. The stuff as posted above is forgiving. Don't panic if it looks a little weird....Just give it some drying time and lightly spray and all should be good.

I also noticed as the humidity was down here in West TN this weekend....It dries really quick....which is a good thing....Good luck and let us see some shots....





Here is also ashot of center console I also used same spray cans.....

 

I recommended the liquid SEM, rather than the spray can SEM, for two reasons. First, the 'sheen' of the spray can SEM dye is not the same as what you see in most new cars...or what was present in a new C3. I think the 'after' photo above shows just that; it is a bit more 'matte' finish than the 'factory new' interior displayed. Secondly, the spray cans are more expensive. You can buy 3 spray cans for about the same money as a pint of dye, the Pre-Val sprayer, and 2 extra gas canisters. But you can do the entire interior with that pint of dye. I'd like to know how many spray cans were used to do an entire C3 interior; my guess would be about 6 (or more).

But, money aside, I think the quality of the finished interior is better when using the liquid dye. Just my .02.....

 

I dyed the interior of my 81 using SEM in rattle cans. I have a camel interior that was in good shape but faded to an ugly pinkish tan color.
I pulled the seats and removed all the trim. Scubbed everything with a stiff brush with Simple Green cleaner. Then scrub everything real good with a scotchbite pad to give the surface some bite for the paint/dye.
I have dyed this way many times in the past and I always wipe the seats and trim down with acetone. This is similar to the prep SEM and others sell. It softens the surface and helps adhesion greatly. Just be careful, you need to dampen a clean soft cloth with the acetone, not wet, and lightly wipe the surface. Don't scrub or you'll take the grain off and make a mess.
Let it sit for about 10 min. before you spray. Temperature is important, no Critical, to get good adhesion with this dye. Don't dye if the temp is below 60F or over 90F. Don't spray in full sun. believe me I learned this the hard way. Use an organic respirator in a well ventilated area unless you want your kids feeding you like a baby in the nursing home when you fry your brain cells.
Your first coat should be a tack coat, move quickly and spray an even light coat over the entire surface of the item you are dying. Let that tack up for about 5 - 10 min. then go over it with a second color coat. Spray that coat even but not wet, just enough to lay on the color and cover. If you are doing black over tan, this coat may not completely hide but dont worry about that now. Let that tack up for 10 to 15 min. then lay on a good wet coat. maintain an even distance from the surface, move slowly and evenly overlapping 50% on each pass. Let that dry at least 30 min. While you are waiting you can touch up any runs with a small soft brush.
After that lay on another wet coat, touch up any runs quickly with a soft brush and respray those areas to smooth it out then leave and don't even think about touching it for 24 hrs.
On the seats, I use a paintstick to push the pleats and seams open and spray those first, then everything else is flatwork.
SEM is the best vinyl spray out there. Duplicolor is garbage don't waste your $ on it.
If done right the interior will look like new and wear well. good thing is you can always do a little touch up when the drivers side bolster wears which it will.
If your carpet is in good shape and you don't want to spent $400+ for new carpet, you can dye that too. Get liquid RIT dye at Wal Mart. Assuming you have the factory nylon carpet, it will take the dye. Cheap aftermarket poly carpet won't take dye. try a test area first.
Vac and clean the carpet with a good carpet shampoo and let it dry completely. I use a small box heater inside with the windows cracked open 2". Mix the dye up strong in a spray bottle and start spraying the carpet until its wet and somewhat even. then take a brush and brush the dye in until you get an even color. Dry it again then vacuum. you may need several applications to get the color you want. Now this works great if you just want to fix faded carpet or darken up the color but wont work to change the color completely. Dont use the upholstery spray dye on the carpet, it leaves the carpet stiff and dont get down into the base of the fibers.

 

I sprayed, dash, both lower dash pads, center console, windshield trim, headliner (4pcs), back window trim, new to me seat belt trim pcs and the quarter panel trim....I used one full can of matte black and about a third of another....I like the look and how it turned out.

I used the matte because it was closer to the color of my new seats and door panels.....I did not color my carpet or door panels....Total investment of $35

 

Hi 7T1,
You continue to mention the Pre-Val sprayer.
I used to be able to find them various places, (hobby store, Lowes, Home Depot), but ... no more.
Where are you buying yours?
Regards,
Alan

 

Over and over and over again.

Simple Green or similar; nothing that would leave a residue. A wipe down with lacquer thinner or alcohol after that.

I did not use a prep.

I did not prime any vinyl panels. I primed my ebrake console with Krylon gray off the shelf at Wally World.

SEM

Not particularly long. The SEM shoots like lacquer and sets up fairly quickly. Can label might specify a minimum time.

I shot dark blue SEM over the black the PO had left me. Most of the time the blue covered the black in one coat.

My SEM dark blue has been in use for about twenty years now. It still looks good. No rub off anywhere, no peeling.

 

Some great information and good timing as I'm getting ready to do my interior.

 

"I will say this, if and when you are spraying a part, the black may fisheye or look dotted after you spray it, just leave it and wait for it to dry good then spray it lightly again. The stuff as posted above is forgiving. Don't panic if it looks a little weird....Just give it some drying time and lightly spray and all should be good."

the fisheye is caused by grease contaminants. the wax and grease remover works very well for this. use it just before you paint. even the oils on your skin can cause fisheyes. when painting cars i also use a tach cloth that is basically a semi-sticky spider web looking cloth that will grab dust and other stuff.

 

Lots of good info in this thread. Whenever I paint, vinyl dye, etc, I try as hard as possible to avoid touching it with my hands. For larger pieces I use jackstands.

I recently redid the seats in my 78 pace car.

For the buckets, I used DuPont vinyl dye, liquid, sprayed with a latex gun. (You can get away with a lot with vinyl dye.)

For the hinge covers and adjustment ****, I ended up using SEM vinyl dye in a spray can. (thanks to hunt4cleanair for the tip on the color!)

The SEM dye did a GREAT job. Looks smooth, even, wonderful.




This picture blows my mind. I have no idea how the original **** ended up that bad, and I'm floored with how great it turned out.


The DuPont did great as well:

New on left, old on right.

 

Curby, Keep us posted on how it works out for you. Interior work is on the list for mine too, but I am still shaking out the mechanicals. I would like any other tips you could provide. Thanks.

 

This is what I used and was very happy with it. Dupont Vinyl Color. Just take a sample of color with you to your local auto body paint supply, I used my center armrest, and have them mix you up a batch. Sprayed it with a cheap-o harbor freight small detail gun and it came out really great. No mixing, ready to go. Oh yeah... I also used it on my seat belt webbing. Very pleased with the results. Good luck.

 

Same as what I used on my seat backs above. Worked well.

 

Very nice. They look great.

 

Great timing on this post - thanks to all who gave info

 

SEM rattle can
Clean over and over and over again. Used tide/warm water

No primer or anything special.

Numerous light dust coats.

Not a C3 but still GM stuff

All kick panels, lowe seat pieces, steering wheel. Matches factory stuff perfectly, wheel color doesnt bleed or get sticky when hot
Good stuff!!

 

The Pre-Val sprayers are still available. I find them at the pro auto paint supply stores and, strangely enough, the home paint supply stores...like Sherwin-Williams. If you thin about any paint to the needed viscosity for them to work well, the Pre-Val will shoot about any paint and do a good job. (No thinning necessary with vinyl dye...it is already about the perfect consistency for the Pre-Val sprayer.)

I live in a relatively small town (Crossville, TN) and can find them in 2 local stores.

P.S. As an 'aside' note, I've seen threads about folks using Rustoleum to paint their cars. I wonder if any have sprayed on the Rustoleum using the Pre-Val sprayer?

 

I believe I've read that after people have thinned it enough. Of course, to "roll" rustoleum you need to thin it out anyways... at that point, it really begs the question why not just get real paint?