Dyeing Original Carpets?

[Marty Rogan]

I have a set of original carpets in my early '71 that are in pretty good shape. They are the cut pile type. Problem is that the sun faded them while it lived in the South.

What experiences have you had with dyeing carpets? Please share any tips and tricks you may have found. Things to stay away from would be good hear too.

My first thought was to use RIT fabric dye. I have also heard some people say to use SEM vinyl dye. I have used the SEM on door panels with fantastic results. It just seems odd to use it on carpet though.

The brown jute underneath the carpet is shot too. So far I have not been able to find a supplier for that. If anyone has found a source, let me know.

TIA,

Marty

[geezer]

I filled a 55 gal. plastic drum with boiling hot water using the Rit dye. The carpet was a badly faded navy blue from my Barracuda, but not excessively worn. The dark blue color was restored but the carpet still looked aged. I think what stood out the most was the ends of the fibers, that didn't seem to take the color as well. I ended up buying a new carpet set and the difference between my failed attempt and the new carpet was like night & day. I won't try it again.

[Marty Rogan]

Sounds like RIT is not a good choice.

Thanks Geezer!

Marty

[hls30.com]

I have used both Rit and SEM on both fabric seat upholstery and carpet.

The Rit had the same short comings Ron spoke of-and it came off on clothes on long sweaty backed trips.

The Sem gooped together at first, but with brushing to separate the fibers, it actually looked good for about two weeks, then the dye started coming off-in the high wear areas. The places that weren't touched looked good, but the point was to make the entire thing look better for an acceptable length of time. Granted, at that time the car was a daily driver.

I came to the conclusion that a dye job was a money saving time waster for faded seats/carpet. By the time you remove, clean, dry, dye, dry, and replace, you spend too much time on a too-temporary fix.

On an occasional driver, it might be Ok-for a daily driver, never again!

Will

[Marty Rogan]

Well, this would be used in an occasional driver, but the SEM solution does not sound too promising either. If I am going to go through all the time and trouble to do this, I would want something that lasts.

Thanks Will.

Anyone else have another solution?

Marty

[rtaylor]

I have a 71 that had the black carpets that were faded dark gray in spots. I sprayed mine with SEM Landau Black and used a fingernail brush to work the stuff in. The carpets look almost new, no issues of coverage. Its been two years since I sprayed them. No new fading that I can detect.

IIRC the label on the spray can said that you could use thie stuff for carpets. Hope this helps.

Wil beat me to the punch. But I did not have the trouble with it gouping up at all. Maybe you had a bad batch Will? Did you use Landau Black?

[hls30.com]

I did this in the early 90s. I used fabric/Vinyl SEM had nothing (at least where I was) that mentioned carpet. I dyed a set of Honda seats(orig. Gray) and re-dyed my faded black(brown looking) carpet at the same time so they would match. I don't remember the specific name of the color-only that it was black. It could well be that the formulations are better now, but I spent the better part of four days on the project-waiting included-with about 8-10 hours of serious work remove the carpet, reinstall the seats, beat the sand out, vacuum, wash and rinse it three times, once with Dawn, once with carpet cleaner, and once with dye prep from the place I bought the SEM dye from. Let it dry (hurry up and Wait). Dye it/Dry it (three soakings) rnr the Honda seats and the carpet.

The dyes probably are better now, but when I painted/dyed my 280ZX interior burgandy again, it faded to purple in 90 days-even with meticulous preparation as directed.

I value my time more than that!

Will

[EScanlon]

Dye's require fibers that will accept the dye.... most carpet is nylon, plastic, or some other non-dyeable material. While you can get a dye to more or less stain the material, it will wear/flake off. The dye can't be beat when used on FABRIC that has a high wool or cotton content, but most automotive rug/carpet is nylon strand that has been woven through the backing. Cut or Loop is a style of weave and cut or no cut to the looped material and not a consideration on dye or not.

The SEM material, although termed a "dye" is more of a "paint". I've had excellent results with it. Now this is where Cut or Loop will show a difference. A properly prepared CUT pile (i.e. brushed) will accept a SEM "dye" job very well, the Loop will require a bit more saturation (in my experience) which in turn will cause some of that goopiness and "glops" that Will referred to. The trick is to apply a light coat, let it dry, then a second coat and again let it dry, and so on. If you try to achieve color depth in one coat....heck, why not just pour it on.

I've dyed door panels both in plastic and vinyl both with SEM and Flex added standard car paint. Both turned out very well, however the results are VERY dependent on the prior surface preparation. Don't skimp out there. Use the cleaner they recommend, it DOES open the surface up to accept the dye/paint.

On carpet, make sure it is clean and DRY.

FWIW

E

[AZ-240z]

I know we are talking about carpet, but has anyone had any experiences or good results using these or other products to dye seatbelts and luggage straps? Thanks.

Dan

[EScanlon]

Actually, the last set of luggage straps I "tinted" were done using good old liquid shoe polish, Kiwi Brand. It's been 7 years and no fading or dye coming off on your hands.

E

[Arne]

Seatbelt manufacturers generally say to never attempt to dye or recolor the webbing, due to the possibility that whatever you use might cause deterioration of the material. Same reason you aren't supposed to paint a polycarbonate helmet.

[AZ-240z]

Actually, the last set of luggage straps I "tinted" were done using good old liquid shoe polish, Kiwi Brand. It's been 7 years and no fading or dye coming off on your hands.

E

Thanks, E, I'll give that a little experimentation. My set of luggage straps has had all of the hardware newly clear zinc plated, so the straps need to look equally as good.

Dan