Can vinyl seats be dyed successfully?

[Michael G.]

Good evening all. Am going to be dyeing my dash pads in the near future. While at it am considering dyeing the seats as well...both are Nassau Blue. Anybody attempted to dye vinyl seats......and if so how do/did they turn out? What is or would be the wear factor knowing one will be in out of car. Any unforeseen obstacles? Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Mike....28614

[Jack H.]

Re: Can vinyl seats be dyed successfully?

Yes, vinyl seats CAN be dyed and the secret lies in material prep prior to the application of the vinyl paint/dye.

Now, as for durability...FORGET ABOUT IT! A human body sitting in the seat, rubbing against the fabric surface & generating body sweat is going to challenge the integrity of the coating over time.

Items that don't see human touch like dash pads, tend to work out reasonably well, but seat and door panels generally don't retain their uniformly fresh finish after being re-colored...

[Gary J.]

Re: Can vinyl seats be dyed successfully?

It may last for a while but the dye will crack, peel, and flake evidentily.

[Dick W.]

Re: Can vinyl seats be dyed successfully?

Anytime that you dye the vinyl, it is going to be obvious. The dye will somewhat fill the grain and make the surface smoother

[Bruce B.]

Re: Can vinyl seats be dyed successfully?

I used Plasticoat vinyl dye on a non-stock interior and it is great.
I have sat on it most of this summer ( around 2500 miles) and I have touched it up once on a small area.
The key to vinyl dye is precleaning the surfaces.
Soap and water and do it twice. Pay attention to the seams and embossed areas, thats it. No solvents needed. Be sure to let the items (seats, door panels, dash pad, etc) dry throughly and then spray.
I have a 62 with a sewn diamond pattern interior which looked good but was a bad color. I did the whole interior and it looks great.
Not an original car but lots of fun.
See pictures.

[Floyd B.]

Re: Can vinyl seats be dyed successfully?

Most (if not all) of the interior "dyes" on the market are actually a form of paint (i.e. it is not the same as dying leather) so the usual rules of surface prep apply. Silicone is the ultimate enemy of interior painting and unfortunately most interiors are very polluted with silicone through the use of products like Armor All - so get a good silicone remover like PPG DX330. To improve adhesion you might want to try SEM Vinyl Prep #38348.

Good luck - interior restoration is always an adventure!