1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

[Russ S.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

No, I highly doubt that.

Hi Russ,
Is it possible that somehow over the years the coloring agent in vinyl 'migrated' and is condensed in the darker areas?
Is there any correlation between the 'texture' of the vinyl and the dark areas? Is it in the 'low' areas of the texture?
Regards,
Alan

[Russ S.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

So Mark, Are you saying that these vinyl parts have never been taken apart before? If you know that, then there would be a possibility of a abnormality but if in the car's past it could have been apart, it could then be possible that a previous owner cleaned them including the wrap around portions.

Russ, if you look at the third photo above, it shows a section of "virgin" vinyl that was protected under the console. The two-tone marbling pattern is similar to the rest of the interior's vinyl. I doubt solvent was applied in this obscure area.

[Russ S.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

If it was re-dyed at some point, then the stitching should be dyed also. It appears as if the stitching isn't re-dyed. Mark can you confirm this?

looks to me like it was redyed at some point and it is wearing out.

corvette America will dye certain parts before selling them
they do this with the door pulls and I be willing to bet on lots of other parts too.
chesper than making twenty colored parts instead of five or six

i have never seen anything like that on light saddle interior before

[Mark E.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

Russ,

I purchased the car in 1990 with about 95k miles and a few months later removed the console and dash to replace the wiring harness. The harness was buggered up badly, and as I recall some of the bubba work suggested the dash was removed before. The vinyl on the dash and console looked old back then and factory applied. As background, when I purchased the car it looked like a car that was driven hard and minimally maintained with some poorly done repairs over the years. The interior was mostly there but worn, and the leather seats and door panels (but not the dash or console) were hastily spray dyed by the selling dealer (don't you hate cheesy make-ready work that dealers do to their cars?). So this car didn't look like someone's baby who took the time and expense to replace the vinyl on the dash/console.

I feel stuck. My new console doesn't match the dash, which has some sort of mystery vinyl nobody has seen before. And my old console, which does match the dash, is broken, torn, and worn.

So what are the possibilities that have been suggested?

a- The car has a super rare style of Light Saddle vinyl that's original. Maybe from a supplier not often used? And since it's super rare maybe this means it's worth a bundle.

b- Someone applied a darker tan/brown dye to the recesses of the grain. If this is the case, they did a super thorough job, including treating vinyl hidden between and behind all edges and behind trim.

c- The darker color in the recesses of the grain is from dirt, fading, staining, age or wear. If you saw it, you'd realize this isn't the case.

d- Someone removed and replaced the original vinyl on the dash and console with the stuff now on the car. I guess this is possible, but does anyone in the aftermarket have the ability to do this? And if this were possible, why go through the expense on this beater/driver car? Insurance claim?

e- Long ago (much earlier than 1990 since these pieces looked old then), the LH and RH dash and console were replaced with aftermarket pieces with this different vinyl. But where could that have been sourced? Could these be Chevy service replacements using a slightly different vinyl?

I'm taking Russ's advice and contacting Al Knoch. He's probably seen everything.

[Michael W.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

My '73 still had a few original interior panels when I bought it, notably the center console and the two dash panels. The center console had the marbling you describe. A gentle scrubbing with mild cleaner returned it to it's original monochromatic appearance.

[Mark E.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

My '73 still had a few original interior panels when I bought it, notably the center console and the two dash panels. The center console had the marbling you describe. A gentle scrubbing with mild cleaner returned it to it's original monochromatic appearance.

This weekend I cleaned a test section thoroughly to check this. In order of aggressiveness, I used saddle soap, Dawn, Simple Green, wax & tar remover, acetone, and finally lacquer thinner. No difference. The vinyl is clean.

[Mark E.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

Yesterday, I sent Al Knoch an email with photos. I'll keep you posted with their thoughts about this.

Meanwhile, the '70 remains apart...

[Kenneth B.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

Is your 70 a early mid or late VIN? May be you could find if others with VIN'S around had all the same color or something like yours. Like I said my 7601 has just under 20,000 MI on it & I bought it from the original owner in 1979.

[Mark E.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

I just talked to Al Knoch. They've never seen this before! Just my luck.

They suggested I send my console to them so they can examine it. After seeing photos only, their working theories:

- The OEM supplier ran out of the regular light saddle vinyl and used this stuff instead. Or-

- Someone in the field sprayed dyed the darker saddle color, and wiped it off leaving the darker color in the vinyl's recesses. (Comment: The darker color is in every seam and hidden portion of vinyl, so this seems unlikely to me. And I'm not sure, but the darker color seems molded, not sprayed.) Or-

- Someone replaced the original vinyl with this stuff. But they don't know of anyone who can do this in the field for these pieces.

I'll go ahead and ship the console to Al Knoch so they can look at it in person. Meanwhile, I feel really stuck.

To recap:

- My (apparently) original front console, LH and RH dash, dash top and trim piece under the steering column are light saddle (code 424) with a darker saddle color in the recesses of the vinyl's pattern (as shown and described in prior posts). The darker color seems to be molded into the vinyl, not applied- but I could be wrong about that.

- The used car dealer I purchased the car from in 1990 spray dyed the door panels, T-top trim pieces, leather seat surfaces, and seat trim so the original colors of those are obscured. The brake console isn't original and is also spray dyed one uniform color.

- The problem: The forward console is damaged, and needs to be replaced. But the car's vinyl does not match the reproduction stuff used by Al Knoch or Corvette America.

SN 12931; trim tag says F22 (June 22), 424 (saddle leather).

Any ideas?

[Dennis D.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

I think you are right about the distress of the saddle vinyl. I have seen many parts colored this way. Bought light and dark dupont interior color years ago. Don't think you can get anymore. You might be able to have a supplier mix up SEM to match your sample. Think you have the method wrong. You want to darken the lighter piece. If you are happy with the light solid saddle color of the new piece, you can apply the darker coloring over the light, and wipe off right away leaving the dark remaining in the recesses. Really is rather simple to do. The key being the right shade, so may be a little trail and error.

[Mark E.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

Dennis,

It's hard to express in words how relieved I am to receive your post! You are the first person I've talked with over the course of a few years who has seen this before.

What more do you know about this "marbling" effect (you called it "distress of the saddle vinyl")?

Is this original to some cars, or something that was done after delivery?

If original-
- Any idea why only some '70 Light Saddle cars are marbled/distressed?

- How common is it? Is it unique to '70 Light Saddle, or have you seen this effect in other years/colors?

- Do you think the vinyl was originally molded with these two marbled colors? Or was it molded in light saddle and then dyed with a darker color as you describe?

Sorry for all the questions, but again, you're the first person I've found who's seen this before.

Is that a '70 Donnybrooke Green in your avatar? By chance, could it have a Light Saddle interior?

[Dennis D.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

Using my phone here. When I get home I'll get back to you. Yes that's my 70 L46 avatar.

[Sal C.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

The dark "marbling" is original as far as I know. I have seen it many times. That's what makes 1970 Saddle interior parts so hard to find.

[Mark E.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

If it was re-dyed at some point, then the stitching should be dyed also. It appears as if the stitching isn't re-dyed. Mark can you confirm this?

The stitching is an off-white to dirty white color. I don't think the console or dash were dyed. Other pieces, yes; those, no.

[Mark E.]

Re: 1970 Light Saddle "marbled" coloring- How to duplicate?

The dark "marbling" is original as far as I know. I have seen it many times. That's what makes 1970 Saddle interior parts so hard to find.

So you've seen this marbling also, yet several folks (including one or two owners of a '70 with Light Saddle) posted above they've never seen this before.

Maybe some Light Saddle cars are marbled and others are not?