Anybody had experience with re-dying leather interior ?

[DINODENASH]

Hi Gents
Just doing some research ...anybody had done this before ?

 

[tman]

I read an epic thread once with someone that changed the interior of his E46 (I think) by dying the interior orange or red.

It was a hell of a job, very well documented tho.

 

[DieselFan]

I read an epic thread once with someone that changed the interior of his E46 (I think) by dying the interior orange or red.

It was a hell of a job, very well documented tho.

If it's the same one I'm thinking of it was a cinnamon colour...

 

[faisel]

Speak to a chap called Hans. He sells a Swiss or German dye.082534 3341

 

[ChefDJ]

MC Auto Trimmers - Randburg

They do a very good job on leather dyeing and interior work, and their prices are not bad.

 

[Solo Man]

I have done it on a few occasions. Used a product made in a factory in PE, called Stapol, google it. Have sprayed my old E36 seats and they came out very nicely. Even dyed the grey door cards of another E36 a type of mustard colour to match the "new" seats i installed and they also came out nice. Dyed grey headrests the same mustard colour and had the same results. Dyed a friends E46 grey seats the same grey and he was also happy with the result. I am not a panelbeater and i used my old compressor and cheap spray gun as you are not too worried about paint running on the upholstery as it is not a smooth surface anyway. The main thing is to clean the surface thoroughly before you do your spray painting. As with any car you have to mask/remove the items you do not want to spray like the plastic handles on the seats, etc. I watched a few youtube directives and it was actually easy to do. Cheap as well. Did my E36 seats with door cards and headrests for about R400, which included a 5l of thinners which cost R100 at the time. (Only used a small amount of thinners, say about a litre)

 

[Jason330i]

I checked theres a branch in goodwood cape town... Solo man can you mabe post pics of the steps to do this i would really love to do this to my car

 

[OppositeLockMT]

This may give you an idea: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1105063-E36-Interior-re-dye-lots-of-pics

 

[Solo Man]

When you buy the leather dye from Stapol they will sell you their solvent which i used to give the leather a final clean up after i had cleaned it with upholstery cleaner (you have to remove the seats from the car of course). Let it dry out and then i just diluted the dye about one third thinners and two thirds dye, and spray it on the upholstery after you have masked off the items you don't want to spray. As easy as that. I normally give it about three coats but it all depends on how bad the seats were or how good the dye covers. But it is up to you to decide how many coats. If you go for a completely different colour then it is absolutely up to you to decide how many coats.

 

[2fast2furious]

MC Auto Trimmers are really good, ask for Medwyn

 

[Jason330i]

What do you spray it on with?

 

[DieselFan]

What do you spray it on with?

Spray gun and a compressor

 

[Jason330i]

Ok thanks

 

[Solo Man]

Just keep in mind that leather that has tears or cracks will not look much better after the dye process. I think one can buy a product to fill up the cracks but not sure if it is available in SA. Google is your friend in this regard. Iirc, i think i have seen something advertised in the UK to fix the cracks. I have a very cheap compressor and even cheaper spray gun that i use. Adjust the compressor so the pressure is regulated to about 20psi for the best result. Also, Google how to use a spray gun/how to spray if you haven't done it before. Actually very easy on upholstery. I have a highish table on wheels which i cover with a piece of plastic and i remove the seats from the car and put them on the table when spraying them. Works like a charm! When it is windy i work in the garage with some strong lighting and the table on the wheels is nice so one can turn it for best lighting. (Move the cars out of the garage if you are spraying inside)