Interior dye pros and cons??

[moparmoynihan]

Hello, I'm looking for all of the lower dash pieces in black, non a/c center for my 1969 Charger. All I have been able to come up with so far is a real clean set of green ones. I will have to dye these, I want them to look perfect. Should I buy them or wait for an original black set. I don't want them to start flaking and looking like crap. Whats your opinion?? Thanks Johnny.

[resq302]

Johnny,

Pros and cons to both.  I currently have my upper door pads spray dyed and should they chip or get scratched, you have to redye them.  To do it properly, you should pull all of the pieces around it so the dye will match exactly and respray everything.  However, on the flip side of that, the padded dash I have in my charger has been in there since I got the car back in 2000.  I noticed two little specs of blue showing through so I ended up pulling the dash pad and respray dying it so it looks brand new.

The nice thing about original colored correct parts is that if you rub up against them, there is no chance of another color showing through.  However, there comes a price with wanting it that way.  I think Mike at BE/A body is either finishing up or has the lower dash pad available for non/ac b bodys now.

[Back N Black]

I used SEM dye on all of my interior and it turned out great. The Dash below was originally green.

[tan top]

I used SEM dye on all of my interior and it turned out great. The Dash below was originally green.

     that looks great ! nice work 

[moparmoynihan]

That looks KILLER!!! Back in black, that car of yours is extreamly sharp. My Dash pad is from BE/A, at the time they didn't have the lower ones available. I'm going to check right away. Thanks for your responces Johnny

[twodko]

I've not dyed anything on my car but I have used SEM exterior satin black during my grille resto. Excellent stuff SEM makes. I'm also converting my buckets to headrest buckets and have a pair of green headrests that I will be sending to "Just Dashes" for a complete resto including dye to black. They also buff the rods and replace the silver stripe. Give them a call and see what they might be able to do for you.

Back in black your dash turned out stunning!

Tom

[66FBCharger]

Is dyeing interior parts really just painting the parts? I thought that interior dye somehow penetrated the part the same way people dye a t shirt. If it penetrated the part, I would think it would not chip off the part.

[Back N Black]

Here is a couple more pics of the seats dyed black, they were originally WHITE.

[nh_mopar_fan]

The hard plastic is more of a paint than a dye. I used SEM stuff on my wife's Valiant ragtop and it worked GREAT.

The key to getting a good finish is to mist it a few times with light coats rather than hit it with one hard coat.

I would think that the stuff you used on soft items, like seats, is a dye.

[skip68]

SEM 

[Brock Lee]

Is dyeing interior parts really just painting the parts? I thought that interior dye somehow penetrated the part the same way people dye a t shirt. If it penetrated the part, I would think it would not chip off the part.

It is called dye, but it is a flexible paint. It does not penetrate. They make additional products that help strip the vinyl and plastics of foreign contaminants and another to sort of etch the surface, but it just sits on top. Dash pads usually will hold up, but stuff you touch all the time will not. Touch up is touch because it acts just like paint. A chip in the dye overcoated leaves an impression of that chip. To fix it you have to clean the old dye off with lacquer thinner.

[jaak]

SEM is great stuff....I dyed a rubber floor mat in my daily driver, about 7 years ago...still looks great my feet hasn't wore it off. On my 73 all the plastic trim (lower door panels, sail panels, headliner trim, etc) was changed from dark green to white, and it still looks great. I have never had any problems with SEM rubbing/flaking off when applied correctly. Now some of the cheaper stuff (Dupli-color, plastiKote) I used in some beaters had adhesion problems.

Jason

[Brock Lee]

I used to have SEM dyed upper door pads and armrests. It was correctly applied with the special prep and materials and all. It lasts about a year before it chips. I noticed where elbows rest on the pad and around the door lock stem it flakes first. My car gets driven do these things happen. But I had to ditch the dyed upper pads and the armrests.

[Mike DC]

                        
Another vote for SEM vinyl "dye" (paint).  It's not indestructible but it's the best sprayed on color you can get.  Nothing will hold up to usage on seat vinyl but it's decent for stuff like dashpads, door panels, headliners, etc. 


I've used several of the real body-shop type vinyl paint products from DuPont, PPG, etc.  I think the SEM spray cans are better.  
   

[nelson_audet]

for my lee's interior panel, i have use SEM product.. and the result is great..