Want to see saddle interiors and interiors dyed with Sem Landau black or Camel

[Dino]

I can't decide to change the green interior to black or saddle so I would love to see a few pics.
I have some pics of saddle interiors on a 2nd gen but they all look different.  Does anyone have a real saddle interior and doesn't mind posting a few pics?

I would also love to see pics of interiors dyed with Sem #15013 Landau black and pics of interiors dyed with Sem #15173 Camel, which seems to be as close as you can get to saddle.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Does Landau black match the Legendary black seats gloss wise?  My seat's need to be recovered but the dash, door panels and uppers will be dyed.

You know I thought about redoing my car in the original F8 as it is really a nice color, but I can't bring myself to keeping the green interior, it's just not working for me.

At this moment I'm thinking either white exterior, no vinyl top with either black or saddle interior.  I would still love a black car with saddle interior but the black really mutes the body lines whereas the white shows them off.  Since I drive the car a lot, black would only look good up to 30 minutes after it's washed, white looks good even when it's a bit dirty.

Originally the car had a white vinyl top which was replaced with a black top, my wife really likes the black/white combo but I'm still going topless here, I think Chargers just look better without the top of c pillar trim.  But I do agree with her, it still looks good.

Maybe I can leave the exterior as is for now and dye the interior black, it WILL look good, no doubt about it.  And I can still change to saddle later one if I want to.

Aarrrghhh decisions decisions.....

[Back N Black]

 I have used the Sem #15013 Landau black on my interior and it looks great. I did all of my dash padding and upper door pads that were originally green,i did my seats that were originally white. The seats were done 4 years ago and still holding up great. I don't have any pics right now until i get back home next week.

Edit: you can check the car domain link below and there are a few pics of my interior Page 3,9 and 15.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2987097/1969-dodge-charger

[Dino]

I have used the Sem #15013 Landau black on my interior and it looks great. I did all of my dash padding and upper door pads that were originally green,i did my seats that were originally white. The seats were done 4 years ago and still holding up great. I don't have any pics right now until i get back home next week.

Edit: you can check the car domain link below and there are a few pics of my interior Page 3,9 and 15.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2987097/1969-dodge-charger

Thank you sir!

That looks really really nice, good job!   

It doesn't really show in the pics but I'm assuming it was a good match for the black door panels?

[Dino]

Thinking out loud here....

Although it will need a lot of masking and ventilation, I can use Sem color Coat on my headliner while it's in the car.  It does have the typical wrinkles next to the rear window so I'll try to correct that.  apart from that it's in pretty good shape.  Unless I find shoulder belts that fit in with the console I'll have to plug the shoulder belt holes in the roof.

I would have to get the dash pads removed without taking the dash out AND paint the dash frame black.  Again it will need some careful masking and it won't be easy spraying the dash top with the windshield in.  If I remove the windshiled now it'll raise the cost as I would replace it and the seal with a new one and who knows what I'll find in the glass channel.  That's a can I don't want to open just yet.  There's a time and place to restore, this isn't it, all I want now is a good looking driver quality interior.  What is the correct paint for the metal dash frame anyway?

I should be able to get the dash pads removed although the top dash pad will be tricky.  They're all in great shape although the pad around the center a/c vents needs some more straightening.  It's not bad but I'm sure I can manipulate it a bit.  They were pretty warped but after the heat went through them wfor about a week they straightened out almost all the way! 
The upper and lower door pads will then be repaired.  The uppers have hairline cracks, the lowers have about one small tear per panel so not too bad to fix.  I can then paint all of those outside.  Has anyone painted door panels before?  If so how did you handle the door pockets?

My rear armrests are as good as new so will be painted, fronts are toast so I need new ones.  How are the repros?  Forget about them and find a nice used set on ebay?

Plastic trim and metal interior trim will all be painted, I do need to find the small piece connecting the two bottom rear window trim pieces.

New seat covers front and rear and ACC carpet should finish up the rest.  I'm on the fence regarding the seat foam, $200 seems quite a lot.  I wonder if I can find some generic foam elsewhere.   

How many spray cans of color coat would I need to do all those things?  Would I be better off buying the regular paint as I have a compressor and hvlp gun?

[johnnycharger]

Camel Before and after

[440]

My opinion is to remove as much as you can before painting, If possible strip the dash down as close to the bare metal frame as you can. The more you can remove, clean and prep the better the finish. Use a good quality etching primer. Painting the dash frame with the windshield in is going to be tough as it's hard to mask the edge that meets the windshield, especially with the windshield gasket. Most reputable glaziers will be able to reuse the original gasket and from what I've been told none of the repop gaskets fit as well as the originals. Also just a "reseal" of the original glass/gasket isn't all that expensive, quite worth it in my opinion for a better finish, plus you'll be able to check the window channels to make sure nothing nasty is going on that will later require major repair work.

Remember, there is no exact "color" for saddle/tan interiors, so go with what you like and what you believe looks right... Even photos of original cars with saddle will give you a false color palette due to aging and other variables.   

 

     

[Dino]

Thanks Johhny, that's quite the difference!

440 I totally agree with all that.  I intended to remove everything from the dash as I will need to prep and paint the pads, redo the chrome on the a/c vents and all that.  I would take the windshield out but I'm afraid to find the rubber to be unusable.  I also may decide to replace the windshield as it's starting to get pitted and it's getting that white haze in the bottom corners.  Not sure if it's worth trying to polish it.  If I have to replace both then I just killed the budget for the interior.  I still have to buy seat covers and foam and get all the dye, prep and repair products.

I'm not sure what to do.  I'm not afraid of the masking.  I did autobody for over 15 years and I can mask the windshield with clear plastic to get 'some' light through.  Depending on the product it may be hard the lay down even coats on the top of the dash but it will be very hard to see anyway.

I know you're right, I should remove the windshield, but again I'm not sure I want to find what I may find.

I don't want to do this cheaply, I just know that with good prep I can have that interior looking brand new for many years to come and for a low cost.  The dash is the trickiest part by far. 

This car is a driver and needs to remain like that for a long time, I don't have the time or place to take it all apart and start from the ground up.  Not yet.

[doctor4766]

Chrysler windshield rubbers have often suprised me in that models even older than our cars, the rubber is often still quite supple and able to be reused.
If your glass is pitted anyway (and delaminating) maybe you should just take the plunge and get it out in order to get a clean finish on your dash, and the difference driving behind a new one is like day and night. Polishing such a large area would near on cost you what a new glass is worth.

I dyed my door panels, including the pockets. Easy job to do as you just stretch the vinyl out after you've applied the first coat(s) and hit the parts that were hidden in the folds.
Don't forget to use prepsol or similar on the panels first to clean off oily hand marks and other contaminants.

[Dino]

Chrysler windshield rubbers have often suprised me in that models even older than our cars, the rubber is often still quite supple and able to be reused.
If your glass is pitted anyway (and delaminating) maybe you should just take the plunge and get it out in order to get a clean finish on your dash, and the difference driving behind a new one is like day and night. Polishing such a large area would near on cost you what a new glass is worth.

I dyed my door panels, including the pockets. Easy job to do as you just stretch the vinyl out after you've applied the first coat(s) and hit the parts that were hidden in the folds.
Don't forget to use prepsol or similar on the panels first to clean off oily hand marks and other contaminants.

It would be nice to have a brand new windshield, no doubt.  The pitting is not bad at all, the sun really needs to be in your face to even see them.  I think our old Honda is worse.  The delaminating is just annoying, it's way down in the corners so doesn't obstruct visibility, I just want it gone.

That's $300 I didn't count on though.  If I can spend it then I'll get one but I'll have to do the math.  I have a very very large cost coming up this winter and the Charger needs to take a back seat.  I'd spray the seat's if they weren't too far gone to save some money.

I have time until spring to decide so maybe the financial situation will turn for the better.  It'll give me something to think about.  Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated.

[440]

The problem with dying door panels is that you don't get the color "marbling" that you get with original/re-pop materials, same with the seats. The legendary door panels and seats that I have are a few different shades of brown/tan that give it an overall more natural look.   

I'm not sure if you remember Dino that I was redoing the dash/ door pads etc on mine in a saddle tan, very similar to what your doing. I've finally got everything back now and am overall pretty happy with it. I ended up using 3 different shades. Armrests and bucket seat covers matched to the door panels/seats. The darkest shade was used for all of the dash pads, kick panels and a pillar moldings. I had the upper door panels dyed an in between shade to blend everything together a bit better.

I originally wanted the kick panels and a pillars the in-between shade but the interior guy talked me out of it saying that it looked odd from the many photos of different cars that I supplied him with for reference. At least he gave me enough dye that if I decide they are too dark I can easily re sprayed them lighter.

I tried to take a photo but for some reason the flash made the door panels and lighter colored items look pinkish in color, so I'll have to try and get a good photo later.

I think it was you Dino in fact who said one color saddle interiors look spray bombed. I'd bite the bullet and pull the windshield...

Do it once and do it right... It'll last you another 42 years or most likely even longer.....

   

[Dino]

The problem with dying door panels is that you don't get the color "marbling" that you get with original/re-pop materials, same with the seats. The legendary door panels and seats that I have are a few different shades of brown/tan that give it an overall more natural look.   

I'm not sure if you remember Dino that I was redoing the dash/ door pads etc on mine in a saddle tan, very similar to what your doing. I've finally got everything back now and am overall pretty happy with it. I ended up using 3 different shades. Armrests and bucket seat covers matched to the door panels/seats. The darkest shade was used for all of the dash pads, kick panels and a pillar moldings. I had the upper door panels dyed an in between shade to blend everything together a bit better.

I originally wanted the kick panels and a pillars the in-between shade but the interior guy talked me out of it saying that it looked odd from the many photos of different cars that I supplied him with for reference. At least he gave me enough dye that if I decide they are too dark I can easily re sprayed them lighter.

I tried to take a photo but for some reason the flash made the door panels and lighter colored items look pinkish in color, so I'll have to try and get a good photo later.

I think it was you Dino in fact who said one color saddle interiors look spray bombed. I'd bite the bullet and pull the windshield...

Do it once and do it right... It'll last you another 42 years or most likely even longer.....

   

The main reason I'm leaning towards painting it black is because of the marbling effect that saddle has.  If I decide to do it saddle I would buy new door panels on top of getting seat covers.  I think everything else can be dyed.  I did say it would look spray bombed so I'm glad you used different shades, I'm sure it looks great.  I have a tan interior in my honda and it does look pink-ish under some lights.  Best pics will be had on a bright sunny day!

I have 3 reasons I want to do the interior soon.  First of all it's green, second it's worn and the driver's seat is so flat you sit in a hole and lastly it's green!  I know reason 1 and 3 are the same but they are very good reasons!

If I decide to go with saddle then I'll just hav to save up and buy as much news as I can.  If I go with black I can keep it pretty cheap and easy to do.  But I'd want to leave it black for quite some time as well.  I'm not spending all this time and money just to have it black for a year, then come back and redo it in saddle.

Sometimes I wish I could just take the whole thing apart and start from scratch, but once I do I woould wish it was running so I could enjoy it.   

I do want to keep it running.  I can redo the whole interior pretty fast and make it look like new in there but only in black.

I have time to think about it but I do appreciate all the help here. 

On the windshield, everyone is in agreement, I should take it out.  So I'll take it out.

[440]

Black is by far the easiest, but what do you really want? If saddle is what you want then you'll never be totally happy with black, or vica versa. I don't think the interior is terribly hard to redo other then the headliner.

Regardless of what color you want you'll have to buy new seat covers, dye doesn't hold up terribly well on high wearing items. I'd suggest new door panels for the marbling and carpet, everything else can be dyed or painted pretty easily.

Set yourself a reasonable budget and do as much as you can, starting with the most difficult (headliner) and working to the easiest (seats). If your budget runs short finish what you can and save to finish your project or finish it bit by bit till it's done. At least by leaving the easiest for last all the hard stuff will already be done and your project will come together quicker and easier in the end.

[Dino]

Very true.

What I really want is saddle, I love the color and the marbling but I would have to find a good exterior color to match as well.  Initially I wanted a black exterior but it mutes the body lines and doesn't look great when dirty.  That's the color combo of my honda and it only looks good when it's cleaned.

I do not dislike black though, I do like it a lot and I would not be unhappy with it.  In a white car the black might look better, not sure.

Regardless of color I need new seat covers (mine are torn), carpet and package tray.  My headliner looks great so I am inclined to just dye it, it'll be easy enough to do and will hold up just fine.  Headliner's are not that expensive but it's quite a bit of work to install vs just dyeing it.  Dash frame, dash pads, plastic trim and upper door pads will be easy to dye and again color doesn't matter, no marbling in those pieces as far as I know.  Door panels are a different story.  I was a painter for a long time so I may be able to recreate the marbling but don't know if it's cost effective.  My panels are a 9/10 so will need a bit of work before ready to paint.  Worst case scenario I need to buy them and spend an additional $450.  I'm dyeing the rear armrests but need to buy new fronts.  I would like to have color matched armrest to avoid the risk of dyed ones fading but with good prep they should hold up.

When you have more pics of your interior I would love to see them.  I need to sit down with the wife and look at black vs saddle and make a decision.  I probably should do that before the christmas sales as well as likely that's when the best deals can be found.

[440]

Just be careful when dying your armrests, as informed from the guy who did my interior. If you dying original armrests it's no drama, but if your dying re-pops you'll have to change your approach a bit. He informed me that although he doesn't know what or why it is, but with all re-pop armrests for some reason they do not accept dye well. He showed me one that he did with extra binder mixed in to increase the adhesion and it still scratched off reasonably easy while rubbing it with his fingernail. He ended up spraying them with a product they use to re-grain repaired vinyl, which sticks to anything and also dyes well.

I based the color of my interior off the Legendary seat covers/door panels as a guide and used photographs as a guide to vary the shades from there. Although I wasn't too happy about doing it at first, I ended up dying brand new BE&A upper door pads and dash pad to vary the color slightly.       

I'll try to get a photo soon. Full sun tends to wash out the colors for some reason with my camera and the flash screws up the color equally as bad... A bright overcast day seems to work the best for me.

[Dino]

Just be careful when dying your armrests, as informed from the guy who did my interior. If you dying original armrests it's no drama, but if your dying re-pops you'll have to change your approach a bit. He informed me that although he doesn't know what or why it is, but with all re-pop armrests for some reason they do not accept dye well. He showed me one that he did with extra binder mixed in to increase the adhesion and it still scratched off reasonably easy while rubbing it with his fingernail. He ended up spraying them with a product they use to re-grain repaired vinyl, which sticks to anything and also dyes well.

I based the color of my interior off the Legendary seat covers/door panels as a guide and used photographs as a guide to vary the shades from there. Although I wasn't too happy about doing it at first, I ended up dying brand new BE&A upper door pads and dash pad to vary the color slightly.       

I'll try to get a photo soon. Full sun tends to wash out the colors for some reason with my camera and the flash screws up the color equally as bad... A bright overcast day seems to work the best for me.

Thanks for the heads up!  I'll probably buy a nice set of used armrests.  I hear the repops are not that great overall so I'm not taking chances.