I'm changing the color of my interior. Fun, fun, fun.

[zbane]

Since I finally have a second vehicle to drive, I have been thinking about what I should do with the zx. My interior is complete, and in very good shape, with only a few cracks in the plastic (dash excluded, of course) but was faded noticeably in areas. Even though I think the tan and champagne colors work nicely, I have wanted to change it for some time.

So I took the plunge and removed the bulk of the interior, cleaned with degreaser, wiped with clean strip, and sprayed with krylon fusion burgundy (satin).

I know others have used the SEM products, but I couldn't find any in my area, so I went with what I had available.

The interior is going to be a two tone burgundy/black with black carpeting. I am taking inspiration from the M Roadster (first pic), and am winging it from there.

Spring break is coming up, so I will use one of those days to pull the dash (fun!) and try to repair it as others have (I've printed the directions from that thread, and am sourcing supplies). I will also try to repair my plastic quarter panel surrounds with the same method and will post results, be they good or bad.

So far, I have solid base coats on most of the panels, I plan on double or triple coats for the most used areas.

Once I am satisfied with the burgundy, I will apply the black (also satin, don't want too much glare from gloss).

I have the headliner from a red parts car, I plan on using it once I clean it up, that way I won't have to worry about dyeing the headliner. The RIT dye worked well on the door panels, but I don't want to risk warping the headliner.

Doing the seats will be an issue, but I will find a way to do them and the carpets...

The coating is darker than appears in the photos, and applies pretty evenly- dries very quickly.

I welcome any comments or suggestions...

[Zak's Z]

Thats a bold move to make, it looks interesting. I had a Z3, and my friend has a M roadster with the exact combination in your pic, and I love it (but im more partial to the blue M). The color looks pretty uniform so it should look good when you get it together. Please post some pics of the final result.

[BRE-240Z]

David, that looks great!

[twsutt]

David, it's looking great.

I've been thinking about changeing my interior from black to light gray, but I haven't had the courage to attempt it yet. It looks like pretty uniform. I've been afraid that it would look like spray paint.

Any trouble applying the die? It doesn't look like you have any of the runs that I usually get when using spray paint - I tend to lay it on to heavy (must work on paitence.)

Don't forget to post pics of the final product. And keep up the good work.

[zbane]

I used the RIT liquid dye to color the carpet inserts in the door panels and map pockets. Since I did all of this at work (yeah 3rd shift!), I didn't have access to a bathtub for soaking the large panels.

I used a large bucket for mixing the dye and HOT water, and was able to place the map pockets in the brew. Periodically, I would turn them over and let them continue to steep.

As this was going on, I used a cup to scoop and pour the dye down the carpeted lengths of the panels, catching the excess back in the bucket.

This worked okay, but the end result was more of a very dark brown than black. So, after it had dried, I used a fresh mix of less diluted dye and poured it directly on the panels and let it sit there for a couple hours. I did this outside on the blacktop; I would not suggest doing this on plain asphalt, as it will show...

I too, tend to rush the application of spray paint, and forced myself to go in light coverings. The good thing about this stuff is that you only need wait about 30 seconds before you apply the next coat. It is very sensitive to areas that are not 100% clean, and will not adhere to these areas. A little touch up with Prep-All is generally all that is needed. Just wipe down the area with a damp paper towel, let dry and reapply the stuff.

Krylon sells a variety of finishes for there products. I chose the Satin finish because the others looked way too much like rattle can spray paint.

An added bonus (to my eyes, anyway) of using the satin stuff is that on the textured areas, it looks like leather.

The next step (after laying the final coats of burgundy) will be to mask off everything and apply the black. Hopefully that will go smoothly, and then I can add chrome color to certain areas.

[mally002]

Looking good,

Let us know how the plastic repair goes. Did you use any type of plastic primer? It looks like it went on very well.

Have fun,

[mazingerz1976]

Keep us updated, i did very much the same, the interior of mine is burgundy and i refreshed some of the plastic parts applying a plastic primer and then a few coats of burgundy red....

[twsutt]

David,

How's the progress going on your interior? Show us some pics.

[zbane]

The weather hasn't been too cooperative this week, but I did just manage to get these items done. Tomorrow, depending on weather (of course) I plan on pulling the seats and dash.

The armrest is painted black, as is the surround for the mirror controls.

The krylon spray doesn't adhere well to rubber. I sprayed the rubberish boot last week, and it did not dry. So I stripped it off with prep all, and will try again with much lighter coats.

The shift knob on the left is from a parts car, the right one is original. The silver center used to have the 1-5+R markings. I will try to hand paint these later.

[zbane]

The good thing about doing things inside the car is that rain really doesn't matter that much.

[zbane]

Today I managed to get the dash pulled and had intended to start repairing the cracks in the dash.

Alas, it appears as though my problem isn't just that the dash has cracked, but has separated.

I intend to carefully saw through the areas that haven't completely separated (including the metal backbone of the dash portion), create some space for the seal all, and close it up. Of course I forgot my hack saw (didn't think I would need it) at home, so that will wait till tomorrow.

I decided long ago that I was no longer going to use the dash speakers, so I am going to close them off entirely. For the metal frame dash (center location), I have "liquid metal" filler. I placed a backing plate (timecard) on the underside, and applied filler from the top. After it had set up a bit, I reversed order and created a (hopefully) solid mass of filler. The stuff claims to be easily sandable when dry; we shall see.

During disassembly I found two lights that I didn't know existed. Finding the replacement bulbs might be hard, but it'll be nice to see them work. One illuminates the ignition, the other should illuminate the stereo.

[zbane]

The first two shots are of how my carpet used to look. The entire set was in near pristine condition, so I saw no need to order a replacement set in black. The only part that wasn't usable was the rear deck carpet which was a cheap replacement that the PO hand cut.

The first dyed photo was taken about 2 hours after I started. I kept adding hot water (steam can be seen) periodically. Since I used 2 complete 8oz bottles of RIT dye, I didn't think a little dilution would hurt anything.

The second dyed photo was taken about 24 hours after I started. It's already black as night, but I'm going to let it sit another 20 odd hours (too cold now to go outside to rinse-the hose is frozen).

It's times like these that I'm thankful to have a job where I can pretty much do whatever I want, so long as it's a slow day/night...