dying arm rests and visors

[19mike69]

have any of you guys ever done this?mine are maroon and need to be black,does this dye you can buy rub off after a while?

[cwilli84]

I think in most auto parts tortes you can now buy a spray paint for vinyl so instead of dying it is a paint process. I need to do some armrests too ,change from blue to black or red haven't decided yet. I think Duplicolor makes it or one of the other repair paint manufacturers. Good luck

[19mike69]

yeah,i just saw the stuff you are talking about at wal-mart....i kept my old dash pad that im gonna try it on to see how it works

[Longhorn Man]

I have done it twice.
The dash pad, headliner, and sun visors I would do again, door panels and arm rests, i would not.
The door panels (on a daily driver) take too much abuse, after a year, you'll have small chips and scratches (i'm talking the padded ones as in a CST or Cheyene model) The arm rests are too soft and you lean on them and squeeze them more than you think you do (again, in a daily driver), and the dye will crack and split.
I decided to offer even up trade for my arm rests when i was going from white to black on here, and all it cost me was shipping. (Can't remember who I traded, it's been about 2 years now)
If/when you do this, remove the items to be colored, and scrub them real good with dish soap and water, or car wash. (I prefer dish soap for its wax removing qualitys) and then follow with a paint prep. You can get prep in spray bomb form at the local parts store...probably right beside the dye. Folow the directions to the 'T' for good results, and don't do it on a real humid day...it'll turn out foggy and fugly.
Good luck.

[Longhorn Man]

Oh, and grab an extra can for future touch up...this way in one or two years you aren't searching all over town looking for the same brand and color code. Trust me, there IS a difference between one companys black, and another companys.

[crustysarge]

I have done this many times with good results IF you clean well. I use SEM vinyl prep cleaner.

1. Scrub the part with very warm sudsy water, maybe use a medium-stiff bristle brush and a scotch brite pad but don't rub too hard. Do this a few times to get all the old armor all and crud off. Armor All will be your biggest enemy in this process.

2. Use the vinyl cleaner prep and rinse well with very warm water.
This prep will "soften" the vinyl tp help it asorb the dye. I usually do it twice. I then wipe dry.

3. Lightly coat the part with SEM dye spray paint and let dry and then coat again. Depending on the color you might have to give it 3 coats.

4. DO NOT handle until a day or two has passed and don't let it get wet either. Like I did once when it rained...

5. Install and enjoy your "new" interior.

SEM stuff is good if used correctly. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN first.

[MOTHERTRUCKERS]

We use SEM cleaner, Bulldog vinyl-plastic adheasion promotor and SEM dye with very good results.

[Longhorn Man]

Bull dog is an awsome product. I can't remember the products I used, got it at an auto body supply place...was shocked that they had it in spray bomb, but it was the exact same as the quarts for paint guns...so I opted to not buy a gun and compressor and garage..

[19mike69]

bought some SEM satin black and did my door panels,visors,and arm rests and they turned out great....look just like the new black dash pad i just bought