Getting rid of the Blues... seat painting

[jayharrell]

Well, heres a little experiment i tried on my 88ish 60/40 bench seat. After seeing how bad seat covers fit, and how much recovering cost, i went for the 3rd options, Rattle can for fabric.

I gathered up a can duplicolor Fabric paint for $6.99 at Advanced Auto, Flat Black.


First off i took the wifes carpet cleaning machine with the upholstery tool and really got after both seats last night so they would be good and dry today. I vacuumed them with a shop vac this morning just to get all the dirt and dust off that i could. It had some bad discoloration, fading, and a couple of stains, not pretty. But the seat is a good start with no rips or tears, all the foam is in great shape,


Following the can's directions *probably the first directions I've actually read in a LONG time* I did do a test spray on the back just in case. After it dried about 15 minutes, everything looked good so i went for the whole thing.


The one can was able to cover the whole seat. I'll head back for a 2nd can just for touch ups and some deepening of the color.


All in all it turned out pretty good. I figure it'll take 3 more cans to cover the 60 bench and touch up the 40 seat. I'm sure I'm not the first to try this, but maybe this will give another option for about $30 just to get rid of the Blues, i mean a blue seat. Next, the visors.

[Brad]

Hmmmm, I would think that it would wear off in a short amount of time. Does it look like it covers well? Would you do it again?

[jayharrell]

i probably would do it again. I need to get in and out a few times to see if it wears off. But it doesn't look like it will. When i ran my hand over it today i didn't get any flakes or anythign on my hand. It might actually hold.

[msgross]

I wouldn't wear my white leisure suit in it but it looks good....

Did it change the "feel" of the fabric?

[jayharrell]

a little. it feels like when you wash a pair of jeans and hang them outside to dry, real stiff. That seems to be form the drying agent, but i think it'll relax over time. I just put my white T shirt on, going to try it out.

[Brad]

Awesome description. I'm curious to see if you'll have a white T-shirt when you come back to post!

[jayharrell]

shirt is still white. Looks like it worked. i ran a stiff carpet brush over it and it relaxed the cloth. Its almost like it came from the factory this color. But like i mentioned, i do need another can just for touch ups on the side. The Vynal in the front looks damn nice. I scrubbed it with a scotch bright pad before i painted it to make sure it would hold. I'm almost certian 4 cans woulda done both seats just fine. Too cool.

[jjdup]

I used that stuff on a honda 4wheeler seat about 2 years ago and it works great on vinyl. The seat was red and i sprayed it black.

[leddzepp]

This works GREAT for carpet too...won't peel or crack!

[j-dogg]

How's the odor? Does it smell like a paint factory when you get in your truck?

[thirdstreettito]

Originally Posted by Brad

Hmmmm, I would think that it would wear off in a short amount of time. Does it look like it covers well? Would you do it again?

[jayharrell]

Smell is almost non existant. I let it dry out side all day before i put it in.

As for the fading, its worth it to me to run it for a month or 3 for $10, then spend the money for a seat cover that didn't fit and i didn't realy like. If i purchased a seat cover for $80, theni would have to get my moneys worth out of it before i recovered the seats.

Just a low cost option to make it match the inside untill i can have the seats recovered by a pro. Its not a perminant solution. Just a stop gap.

[FRCvette]

I think the seats look great and this was a good idea.I sprayed a blue vynl full size chev truck seat in a past project.Lasted a couple of years before it started wearing off.

[Brad]

Thanks for the update on this! I'm tempted to try it on my pair of grey bucket seats.

[special-K]

Your seat looks good.I`m sure the stiffness will relax.

First of all guys,it`s die and not paint.It is designed to go on fabric and flexing and wear value are what makes it a seperate product.I took the blue repro Cheyenne/Sierra(all vinyl) seat out of my white GMC and died it with the same flat black for my wrecker.It looks great!!Not seats,but all your interiors these days are died over black.It takes alot to wear off,as I`m sure you`ve all seen.They`ve come a long way with dies.