Dyeing Original Carpets?

[MidLifeCrisiz]

I dyed my '71's carpet with 2 packs of rit dye. Carpet is black, had faded to a brownish gray color. Hot boiling water in a wheel barrow (about 7 gallons of water) dipped and then soaked for a day. I hung them to dry for at least a week in the sun. This was in the middle of last summer, they look great and I've had no leaching or wearing to this point. I think it was worth the effort for the little time and money it took and they look great. If they start to wear, I'll look at new replacement, but for now why not try it. Less than $5 and an hour of time.

Glad to hear about the shoe polish on the luggage straps, i need to give that a try.

Thanks

Steve

[Sailor Bob]

Did mine with a spray bomb (6) - after a very intense cleaning, it took several coats - brushing the fabric in every possible direction - but the results were dramatic. Looks new - I am very pleased.

Also dyed the cargo straps in a bucket of hot salty water with regular fabric color - less impressed but adequate results.

[Marty Rogan]

Did mine with a spray bomb (6) - after a very intense cleaning, it took several coats - brushing the fabric in every possible direction - but the results were dramatic. Looks new - I am very pleased.

Also dyed the cargo straps in a bucket of hot salty water with regular fabric color - less impressed but adequate results.

What "spray bomb" product did you use? What kind of brush, soft brissels, or stiff brissels (liek a hair brush?

Thanks for the input.

Marty

[Sailor Bob]

Marty

First things first, the pile of the 77 carpet is long - I seem to remeber that the older Zs have short pile, don't know if that matters or not. I needed to use a hard brush to open it to the base while spraying.

I will go through my box of 1/2 empty spray cans and see if I can find one. I believe the product was actually called carpet dye - I bought it at a "Canadian tire" store - it's kind of a everything store for all kinds of car related junk and sundries. I am heading out there this afternoon - I'll see if I can get a name for you.

[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

Hello E,

I took my luggage straps to the local shoe repair shop, asked him for some liquid Kiwi shoe polish, and he said that was not a good choice. He recommended a small can of Meltonian Suede Renew coloring spray which says it won't rub off.

Well, he talked me into it, I took it home and lightly sprayed the straps. The color is good with no shine, and dried quickly. I waited a day, then took a clean white cotton rag and buffed a light residue of the coloring agent off, even though the label say it will not rub off.

Straps look good and natural, I'm pleased with the results, and just thought I would pass on this experience to anyone interested.

Dan

[EScanlon]

Dan, that's even better than my solution. Mine was on the basis of what I had on hand that would do the job. It was left over material from my Air Force days.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I can't really pin down whether it was the Polish or the Dye I used. (We used both in the service, the dye to repair scuffs on your boots, and the liquid polish for the heels and edges of the soles, the rest of the shoe/boot got regular Kiwi paste polish and buffed to a mirror shine.) As a result, it may have been the dye, which came in the same kind of dispenser as the liquid polish. (The container I'm referring to is the one with the angled sponge on the top.)

Anyhow, I'm glad you got something, as for the most part the luggage straps get a ton of sun in the rear deck and being able to recolor them makes them look tons better.

E

[Sailor Bob]

This is definately a late reply, but may be to someones benefit. The product I used was called: "SEM Color coat" (flexible coating). Probably not an actual dye, but it worked very well and has stood up to three years of wear very well. Sorry for the earlier misleading remark - could have sworn.

On the can it recommends a pre dye wash with a product called "plastic Prep" - I didn't use it, but I can see the purpose. All relevant instructions are on the can.

Edited August 4, 2008 by Sailor Bob

[Marty Rogan]

This is definately a late reply, but may be to someones benefit. The product I used was called: "SEM Color coat" (flexible coating). Probably not an actual dye, but it worked very well and has stood up to three years of wear very well. Sorry for the earlier misleading remark - could have sworn.

On the can it recommends a pre dye wash with a product called "plastic Prep" - I didn't use it, but I can see the purpose. All relevant instructions are on the can.

Thanks for the reply Bob. And its not too late. I got super busy lately and did not get to this project yet. I hope to soon.

Marty

[BRE-240Z]

I used RIT Dye on my luggage straps with excellent results. A pot of boiling water on the stovetop is all you need. Throw the straps in, stir things around and shazam.

If you do this, just make sure that you rinse them very well. You don't want the dye coming off onto anything else.

I have also used the RIT Dye for seat belts with good results (I put some 200SX retracting seat belts into a 510). The belts were tan, and I wanted them to be black. The RIT Dye took care of that....I have not heard that seat belts are not supposed to be dyed, as someone mentioned above, but in my case the belts that I was installing were so much better than the old belts that it was an improvement either way.

[Sailor Bob]

BTW - the product is not recommended for a radical color change. More like coloring up to the original.

[jdizon]

dyeing restores missing colors in spots, usually caused by bleach, urine or harsh cleaning chemicals. also for color missing from specific areas; UV fading, ozone fading, water mark & unsightly discolorations. Spot Dyeing for darker-than-original-carpet stains.

henderson carpet cleaning

[Marty Rogan]

dyeing restores missing colors in spots, usually caused by bleach, urine or harsh cleaning chemicals. also for color missing from specific areas; UV fading, ozone fading, water mark & unsightly discolorations. Spot Dyeing for darker-than-original-carpet stains.

henderson carpet cleaning

So, how much do you charge to clean and re-dye a full 240Z Carpet set?

Marty