Back To Black!!!

matty.dc · 09-07-2012, 09:13 PM

I know all E30 guys with a dark carpet suffer from the dreaded fading rear deck after all of those years of UV damage.

Today, I took off the rear deck and dyed it to look like brand new!

Materials
-Black pre-mixed dye purchased from Michaels-$6.99+Tax
-Spray bottle

Steps
-Remove rear dash(if you cant do this please don't ever work on your car alone)
-Blast the rear dash with the hose to get the dirt out of the fabric.
-Stand up the dash to dry
-Fill the spray bottle with the premixed dye
-Spray evenly across the whole rear dash almost like you're spray painting.
-Wait for the dash to dry
-Reinstall

A very simple procedure for a great outcome.

Ceeker · 09-07-2012, 09:21 PM

yeah, GREAT JOB!!!!...just a pain to take the parcel shelf out. I suppose if you have a few hours to kill..
Are you saying Michael's arts and crafts sells fabric dye?

matty.dc · 09-07-2012, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ceeker

yeah, GREAT JOB!!!!...just a pain to take the parcel shelf out. I suppose if you have a few hours to kill..
Are you saying Michael's arts and crafts sells fabric dye?

Yes, they do!!!!!! I bought 2 bottles just in case. I might also do the floor carpet as well in time to come.

BMe30 · 09-07-2012, 10:28 PM

I did the same to my rear deck about 5 years ago.. I used the dupi-colour fabric dye... Still black as day 1.

I was thinking about blacking out my carpet and headliner too

Ceeker · 09-07-2012, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMe30

I did the same to my rear deck about 5 years ago.. I used the dupi-colour fabric dye... Still black as day 1.

I was thinking about blacking out my carpet and headliner too

two ways to go about that. remove the entire thing -time consuming - hard to put back or tape everything off to prevent overspray. Apparently, Rudy did this with one of his. the shit gets everywhere but possible to do. I think the later is probably more easier. I would remove the seats for sure. and then just lay a drop sheet down and tape of the panels and glass.

Ceeker · 09-07-2012, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matty.dc

Yes, they do!!!!!! I bought 2 bottles just in case. I might also do the floor carpet as well in time to come.

Curious, how is the feel to the fabric after the dye? I did my carpets in desert tan from Dupli color. Canadian tire carried it. Took about 8-9 cans. it turned out 300% better but the texture of the carpet changed somewhat. Got the bristly feeling. I was able to brush most of it out to soften it up a bit - but not as nice as factory. Let me know how it feels after you use Michael's product on the carpet.

matty.dc · 09-08-2012, 09:57 PM

So I went out this morning, got the hose and started to rinse the excess dye off...... NONE of it took to the fabric! Huge pain in the ass, so I went out and got the Duplicolor fabric dye. Applied it, waited for it to dry and brushed it slightly to regain the softness and reinstalled it back in the car.

Done!

adam325i · 09-09-2012, 09:32 AM

Nice Matt! Looks so good. I'm gonna have to do this before I put everything back together.

defaultName · 09-09-2012, 10:02 AM

So originally did you use the powder dye that you mix with water?

I'm wondering because I dyed my carpet using Dylon powder that you mix with hot water and spray on with a spray bottle. It worked great and my carpet looks a lot better. I was going to do the rear deck as well.

After I did about 3 coats on my carpet I let it dry and then installed it. I never hosed it down after it was dyed. If I rub the carpet I do get a bit of dye on my fingers but not much. The carpet does feel a little more coarse then before.

Is Duplicolor dye a powder? Or is it like spray paint?