theandies

Anyone tried it? Just wondering. My belts are out of an 4th gen Firebird and are light tan. I'd like to use my dark saddle dye on them to match the interior better.

CAMS69

69 corvette rear t-top straps factory blue. Boiling water, black rit dye and something else depending on what material is made of (have to look that up ). Worked perfect

62corvette

Only until you move/use them.

theandies

That's what I was thinking. It works great on interior panels etc and doesn't smell like rattle-can paint so it has to be a true dye but I don't think it would penetrate the seat belt material and as you said just come off as if paint. I guess I cold try it on my original lap belts and see.

7T1vette

Belt webbing is nylon. I couldn't find anything useful when I Googled "recolor nylon seat belt webbing". I have used liquid SEM vinyl dye to recolor some black seat belts to a midnight blue color. They were pretty stiff after shooting, but some use frees them up.

If the color needs to be much different, I think vinyl dye is not the best way to go. It might be easier to just find new webbing material of the correct color and swap out the webbing. You can find lots of belt webbing sources with Google.

Priya

Did you dismantle the belts any or just put the whole assembly webbing and all in the dye?

Don't you pretty much need a shop that specializes in seat belts to sew the new webbing in place?

Red 69

Years ago, I went to a shop that sewed canvas awnings to have my belt material sewn. Any shop with a walking foot machine and using heavy nylon thread can do the job. Due to liability issues, these days upholstery and like shops might be reluctant to do the work, but it never hurts to ask. Beyond that, it is an easy job, just have the stitching pattern the same as the original stitch pattern.

Grumpy 427

Sent my old belts to http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/ Came back new correct colour with the factory GM tags sewn on to them.

CAMS69

[QUOTE=Priya;1595330408]Did you dismantle the belts any or just put the whole assembly webbing and all in the dye?

yes worked great for me ! google rit dye there is a chart somewhere that will tell you what to add to the boiling die. I dont remember exactly what it is but if the strap is nylon you add some common household ingredient

CAMS69

For more intense color when dyeing fabrics containing cotton, rayon, ramie, or linen, add 1 cup salt to the dye bath. When dyeing nylon, silk and wool, add 1 cup white vinegar to the dye bath. If possible delay adding the salt or vinegar until 5 minutes after the fabric has been in the dye bath. The delay will help to promote level dyeing.

Priya

I'm sorry, I don't understand - did you remove the webbing from the mechanisms before putting the webbing in the dye or just put the whole assembly webbing and all in the dye?

cv67

Id have them redone
Tried gently ones on a 67 GM car the threads fell apart once wet

7T1vette

Nylon belt webbing (and plastics, in general) deteriorate when exposed to UV rays from the sun. After this many years, you would be wise to just replace those old belts...out of "safety", if nothing else.

You can buy belt webbing over the internet in style, size and color of your choice. If I recall correctly, about 20 feet will give you more than enough to replace all of your belt webbing.

You should also be aware that the shoulder belt webbing is the same width but thinner than the webbing for the seat belt. This can be an issue, as there is only so much room for the shoulder belt to wind up in the retractor. Consider this when you buy your material.

And, yes, any shop with heavy-duty stitching capability can do the job. You want the 'thread' material to be appropriate for this job (strength and type of material), and the stitching patterns should be very similar to what was on the original belts; but those are the only 'limitations' for redo of the webbing.

A racing seat belt shop would be the BEST place to go, as they already have the correct threads and know about seat belt construction. Wherever you go, take the ASSEMBLED belt sets and the new webbing to the shop and let them disassemble and reassemble the set as needed. DO NOT remove the old webbing yourself; they need to see what you have now to produce what you want.

theandies

So I broke out my old lap belts and sprayed them with my dye. It appeared to go on nice and I let it sit for about an hour before testing it. I got an old white cotton tee shirt and rubbed the hell out of it and nothing came off. I then rolled it up and let it sit another hour and it held up fine. I'll test again in the morning but so far I'm liking the results.

SwampeastMike

You just add vinegar to RIT dye for nylon.

Going from light to darker of the same color family (like it seems you want to do) should work well.

Priya

Is that for the RIT general purpose dye?

I checked out the RIT web site and they make a special dye they say works for rayon, nylon and some other artificial fibers.

SwampeastMike

I've used the general purpose dye (with vinegar) for nylon before and it worked well. I haven't used the synthetic dye so I can't comment but it seems it's already acidic so there's no need to add vinegar. I've never dyed seat belts.

Are you able to remove all of the metal pieces without harming the webbing? If not I sure hope the plating is fully intact as any bare steel or existing rust points won't won't be too pretty when boiled in water

Don't forget to wash and rinse the belts very well after dying or I can guarantee you'll get transfer to your clothing.

Don't even think of using RIT dye remover or bleach unless all metal is removed!!!

Priya

I had hoped to put the entire seatbelt assembly in the dye. I haven't looked at the Corvette seat belts closely but if I remember correctly on my Eagle they webbing couldn't be removed from the mechanical bits without ruining it.

What's the proportion of dye to vinegar to use?

blue by you

I dyed mine in my 71 black to blue lite coats let dry between coats work the belt in and out for ea coat worked well