carpet dye

M

mixxer

New member
i Have a new client with a 76 caddy El durado that im going to tackle the outside and the engine bay, the inside will wait till after the new vert top is put on.Any way he asked me about the carpets being so faded if it was worth dying them or should he just buy new carpet . I have no experience with carpet dye so i told him i would check and let him know. Does anyone have any thoughts ,i dont know if they can be dyed while still in car or do they need to be removed,is dye just for spots or do you do the whole car,is it even worth it or should he just get new carpets?
 
If you haven't done them before it would be difficult. I do them once in awhile, but for me I'm used to mixing waterbase dyes to get the color almost perfect to the original. That's because I don't take them or the seats out, and I don't want to have to dye every square inch, like far underneath the seats and tight corners. You'd need to use a compressor and spray gun, airbrush will do just fine if it's got a large nozzle. Since you don't have your colors already, you probably would need to get a match-up from some place like colorplus. You send them a swatch (cut it from way underneath one of the seats) and they send you the color. It needs to be a little watered down but not too thin, in order to get all the way down the knap. Then you lightly dry with a heatgun or hair dryer, brush it in another direction and spray a second time to get complete coverage. By the time you go through all that and spend money for the supplies, you'd need to get a very nice price for your work. So for a one time shot definitely not worth it.



As an alternative, cleaning real good, then spraying with a fabric protectant can bring a little of the brightness back (unless it's my imagination!). Maybe some others have another idea.
 
I could tell you how to do it and it would look really good, but you'd think I was a hack. It doesn't sound very technical or professional, but the end results are fantastic.
 
No i dont want to do it ,i would have to find someone to do it or is it more cost effective to just buy new carpets?
 
integritydetail said:
I could tell you how to do it and it would look really good, but you'd think I was a hack. It doesn't sound very technical or professional, but the end results are fantastic.
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Dont hold back.. tell us your process
 
integritydetail said:
I could tell you how to do it and it would look really good, but you'd think I was a hack. It doesn't sound very technical or professional, but the end results are fantastic.
Click to expand...

spray paint the carpet, brush it then vacuum?
 
i use flat black enamel paint on black carpet and then vacuum. It makes it soft again if the paint is still slightly moist.
 
've never done it but have seen it done successfully with black rattle can aerosol. Sounds cheap and I used to be skeptical, but saw some good results. Most carpets are grey nowadays, though, and some beiges, so highly doubt there are good matches for those. But if there are, I'd be interested.
 
TTWAGN said:
spray paint the carpet, brush it then vacuum?
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Well I tape off the plastic, and use aerosol carpet dye instead of spraypaint. And also thouroughly clean and dry first. But yeah, that's about it and the dye is only like $6 per can; usually only takes 2. I was really surprised at the results: looks new except for areas of wear.
 
I'e done a few, but my work is not on the true professional level (but much better than some used dealers I've seen just spray and walk away). It is very important to tape off interior trim (ask me how I know!). I first shampoo, allow several days to dry, apply several coats brushing immediately after spraying to ensure uniformity, and then shampoo a few days later to help eliminate the heavy chemical odor. A trained eye can catch it as it does appear a little bit off, but it is usually much better than the previously heavily stained look.



I would think paying the cost of having the interior dyed would be substantially less than buying new carpet and having it installed.
 
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