Does a painted interior really look good?

[mauibarber]

Aloha guys,
Here is my dilema and question.  Right now my car has black interior and the only thing it really needs to look great is new door panels and a new headliner.

However, part of me really wants a tan(saddle) interior.  To do this of course besides buying the new headliner, door panels, carpet etc. in tan I would need to paint the pieces that can't be purcahsed in tan like the upper door pads, A-pillar, dash, etc.  I am concerned however that painting them or dying the black pieces will not look good.  How can you paint or dye black vinyl and have it look nice?  I'm worried I will get it all tan and regret not keeping it black because the painted/dyed pieces look crappy.   

When you spray paint the upper door panels for example, can you look at it and tell its spray paint?  Does it scratch off easily? How does a light dye like saddle penetrate a black vinyl piece?

Also, by any chance has anybody done their interior tan but left the upper door pieces black?  Be great to see a pic if this has been done.

Thanks for any advice,
-Alex

[bill440rt]

Hi Alex,

Great question! I'm changing a black interior in my '69 over to white. Some pieces are good & I can dye them, others are trashed & need replacement.

Just in case you missed it, here's a thread I did on headrests that were dyed from black to white. Going from black to tan should be even easier.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,45307.0.html

As long as you get a quality dye, such as PPG, DuPont, or SEM, you should have no problems. Most of the time, the mixed dyes like PPG & DuPont can be mixed in different gloss levels depending on the parts you're dyeing. That will lessen the "crappy" effect. The parts MUST be cleaned thoroughly, & use the proper vinyl or plastic prep sprays from SEM prior to applying the dye.

The dye doesn't really "penetrate" vinyl, it's more like a paint that adheres to the surface. As long as it's prepared properly you shouldn't have a problem. You don't want to load it on, either. Nice, several thin coats. The interior in my '68 went from green to black, & there are parts in there such as upper door panels that have been dyed since the late '80's that still look good.

Parts that are not heavy wear items such as seat covers should just be bought new in tan & not dyed. Other parts like the upper door panels, kick panels, seat hinge covers, sunvisors, etc can all be easily dyed.
Good Luck!

[Mike DC (formerly miked)]

SEM vinyl paints have the best feedback on most of these threads. 

I agree.  (And I've tried several vinyl mixes from "real" auto paint companies like DuPont, PPG, etc.  SEM was better.)




You could also just do the seatcovers & lower door panels in tan with replacement parts, and then leave everything else black.  That's not unlike what some modern sportly cars have from the factory.  I think it looks quite good.

I would at least just get the repro seatcovers & door panels assembled in the interior that way one time and look at it.  Then if I really still wanted things tan everywhere I would start painting things.



And on colored interiors, they're not all just one solid color.  The "Saddle Tan" factory 1969 color was one shade for the seats & door panels, another slightly darker & flatter shade for the dashboard, and a third slightly lighter shade for the headliner and its trim. 
   

[375instroke]

I used SEM on a set of '68 Charger seats with the pleats.  Going from dark green to white, and they looked and wore great while I had the car.  I used trisodium phosphate, or TSP with a Scotchbrite and water for prep.  TSP is available at Home Depot.  There is a fake TSP brand that isn't as good as the real stuff.

[JimShine]

I would stick with one system on the vinyl, dye or factory tan. They do not play well when they are right next to each other. The factory tan vinyl has a marbled appearance of gold and brown that creates a tan color. Dye just gives the approximation of the overall color.

No matter how well you prep the vinyl, the areas that you touch most often will wear eventualy. But you can always touch it up. Your idea of black uper pads would not be a bad idea. Some will nit pick them, but atleast they wont wear out.

For me, I have OCD with this. I used SEM, but it just didn't look factory no matter what I did. I ended up buying all real tan interior parts, and continue to do so always upgrading the conditions until hopefully I can piece together a clean interior.

[Musicman]

Check out the Surflex product by Colorplus.

http://www.colorplus.com/

[mauibarber]

I've ordered the SEM camel and prep materials.  I did a search on the site and the Camel color was recommended.  I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Thanks,
Alex

[JimShine]

I already know:

This car below is SEM Camel upper pads, steering column, dashboard, dash pads and armrests. Factory Saddle low door panels and seats. It is close, but does not give the factory color up close as it is not multi colored. If you go with this, use it through out and it will look fine. Its time to redo this one as well as the upper pads are wearing. The prep just promotes adhesion (which is important), it doesn't make the dye bulletproof.

[1969chargerrtse]

I was wondering if anyone had the chrome trim for the headrest?  I had never heard of them before, thanks for the posting and pictures.  Great job.

[bill440rt]

I was wondering if anyone had the chrome trim for the headrest?  I had never heard of them before, thanks for the posting and pictures.  Great job.

See my post above. I got mine from Krusin' Moons.