63 Interior Dye

[John M.]

I have to do redo the radio side panels, speaker grille etc and have tried the dye from Corvette America. It goes on nicely but is not a good match. The interior color is dark blue. Any suggestions on who might have a better match for this color?
Thanks.
John McRae 30025

[Michael G.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

John,

Many auto paint supply stores can match the blue if you bring them a sample. I spray painted my radio side panels with a matched plastic paint put in a spray can by such a store. The match was perfect.

[John M.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

Thanks Mike,
The local paint "expert" wasn't any help; said he knows of it but they don't do it. I'll check with the body shop guy and see what he has to say.
The car is the same one as your 63 convertible except no L84, no any flight A work in progress. Did you have a formula from your supplier for the dark blue?
John

[Donald H.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

John,

Did you try any from Long Island Corvette? I have a 66 coupe trim tag Dark Blue, but some previous owner changed to black. So as I restore the car I will be changing back to 66 Dark Blue. I have been experimenting with 66 Dark Blue from both LIC and Corvette America. The LIC is a lighter shade of blue. The Corvette America 66 Dark Blue is so dark that it looks black unless you take it outside into bright sun light.

I don't know how the 63 Dark Blue compares to 66 Dark Blue though.

Don

[John M.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

Don, I have some cans of LIC red dye that I used on a different car. The labeling instructions/words are identical to those of Corvette America so I concluded that they came from the same manufacturer and therefor didn't try the LIC after the disappointing CA dye. But, from what you say maybe I should; the 66 Dark blue that you have sounds more like the 63 color that I need.
The 63 Dark blue is very dark and very blue. I'm going to ask the body shop for some help.
John

[Michael G.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

John, I still have the can at my office. I'll check it out tomorrow and see if there is a code or manufacturer on the can. I'd send it to you, but Its been a couple years, so I'm not sure its still good. If your efforts fail and all else fails, I'll get you a can at our local auto store.

Are your other components original or repros? You may find that the original dark blue is a bit more purple than the latest parts...

[John M.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

Thanks Mike, I think all the components are original; some in rougher shape than others but the side panels, speaker grill and windshield molding are all the same dark blue and it's quite different from the Corvette America color. The seats and door panels are also pretty close to this color; very dark and I think are original and in fairly good shape. I know little about 63 interiors and would like someone more knowledgeable to look at these parts so I might bring some of them to a chapter meet next month.
I'll let you know how I make out with the dye.
John

[Stuart F.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

I made the mistake of accepting the 66 DK Blue for my 63 back in the 70's. It is wrong. It is too light and too flat. It looks like what the 63 DK Blue might be expected to look like after years of exposure to the sun and the elements. I finally found a match with that marketed by Mid America years ago and bought a half dozen cans which I still keep in my in house storage (important here in central Florida).

Stu Fox

[John M.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

I have had no luck with local suppliers and my body shop, except... one of the parts suppliers has SEM 15043 Shadow Blue vinyl paint which looks very close. I didn't buy a can today because I was looking at the other otpions but for $16 I might as well give it a try since I spent a lot more than that for paint and shipping for the CA stuff that doesn't match.
This guy also said they can do custom colors from a swatch. They send it somewhere. We'll see.
John

[Michael G.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

John, I found my can, at least I'm pretty sure this is it, as its the proper color. It's in an 'SEM" spray can, labeled "SEM MARINE VINYL COAT", but it was custom mixed at the paint dealer somehow. Unfortunately, there is no identifying number on the can. I'll stop by the dealer and see if they still do this.

[John M.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

Thanks a lot Mike. I'll wait for your reply. If they can't do it I'll check out the one I found today.
John

[Hugh W.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

I Went through this exact exercise a few months ago trying to track down the paint formulas for the 63 interior blue. The paint codes are available but not the formulas; I even contacted Ditzler/PPG who manuactured these GM inerior paints in an effort to get formulas for their codes...they don't have them. The interior dyes available from LIC, Corvette America, Etc are not designed for spraying metal trim but rather the "soft" interior trim like vinyl. I eventually took a piece of my vinyl interior (dash pad from Al Knock) to my local automotive paint store and had them match it and make me a spray can of flat and another of satin to paint all my iterior trim pieces. They came out abolutely perfect. This is the only way in my opinion. Good luck.

[Donald H.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

I Went through this exact exercise a few months ago trying to track down the paint formulas for the 63 interior blue. The paint codes are available but not the formulas; I even contacted Ditzler/PPG who manuactured these GM inerior paints in an effort to get formulas for their codes...they don't have them. The interior dyes available from LIC, Corvette America, Etc are not designed for spraying metal trim but rather the "soft" interior trim like vinyl. I eventually took a piece of my vinyl interior (dash pad from Al Knock) to my local automotive paint store and had them match it and make me a spray can of flat and another of satin to paint all my iterior trim pieces. They came out abolutely perfect. This is the only way in my opinion. Good luck.

Did you paint/dye any vinal or plastic, or fiberglass? If so, what did you use for that

[John M.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

I tried a couple of shops here and had no luck with a "dye" for vinyl. They say they can match the color with paint.
I got a can of SEM Color coat that is close but not close enough. There is some purple in this original color and no one that I've tried has it in a dye.
So having cleaned everything I'm not going to touch the seats, door panels or dash, except some small spots on the passenger side dash pad, which I'll touch up with an artists brush and the SEM. These original parts aretoo good to mess with and will have to do as is. Then all that really needs doing is the radio speaker grille and the lower windshield molding which can be painted. I'll find something for them somewhere this year... I hope

[Harry S.]

Re: 63 Interior Dye

John, I used Tower Paints in Wisconsin. Look them up. They will mix the paint, lacquer, and put it in a rattle can. They were spot on for my saddle 63 interior. They are very helpful on the phone and they have the formulas for what you need.

Cheers