Vinyl dash re-coloring writeup
05-18-2008, 07:19 PM
#1
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Vinyl dash re-coloring writeup
Disclaimer- No real 928 content here but I thought it might be of interest to folks with vinyl interior parts that might need freshening. Besides, I've never done this so I wouldn't want to practice on shark parts.
The victim here is my daily driver 1995 BMW 525iT. The car lost its garage spot to the 928, and is outside all day too at work. So dash is pretty badly sunburned:
The car is otherwise in good shape and I will be selling it eventually, so it has become my practice pad for cosmetic repair.
I wrote to SEM a while back and got their catalog and requested some color chips and literature on vinyl repair. There are two shades of tan vinyl in my car, but they had a match for the dash (SEM Classic Coat BMW neutral #17343). I bought the following from http://www.vinylpro.com/home
So- the protocol (Hint: It's all in the prep!):
1. Disassemble all grilles, covers, etc that will come loose.
2. Wash the hell out of the dash with Dawn and water using a sponge with a green scotchbrite pad to scour all the old Armour All/etc out of the vinyl. I did three or 4 passes with fresh rinse water each time.
3. Clean the dash again with SEM soap and a clean sponge, then rinse and dry with lint-free towels.
4. Tape off everything you don't want to spray:
5. Clean the dash with SEM vinyl prep, work it in with a lint free rag and then rinse off with water once more, then dry. (I blew it off with compressed air to be sure). The instructions say to ensure that water sheets on the surface without beading at all, that way you know you've gotten all the old oil/silicone/dressings out of the vinyl.
6. The nozzle on the paint can be turned horizontal or vertical- I used vertical.
7. In the shade (ambient temp about 75oF) I sprayed 4 mist coats from 6-8" away, letting each dry for about 10 minutes. The whole thing used maybe 60% of one can.
8. Let cure for an hour or two, then unmask and reassemble. The instructions on the can say to avoid abrading the painted surface for 24 hours.
Result:
The finished product looks pretty good- the base of the instrument pod 'hump' is a little dark (leftover sunburn) because it's hard to spray there, but it's not too bad. I also managed to scratch the paint on the little frame around the VIN- otherwise it's hard to see that it's been painted. The color match is excellent- a tiny bit lighter, but it feathered nicely at the edges of where I painted. Someone remind me to followup in a few weeks/months to see how it's holding up.
Total time was ~4 hours - 3 hours diassembling/washing/taping, and 1 hour to paint (on and off).
Perhaps this'll inspire anyone with vinyl interior bits that are intact but faded. SEM doesn't have a color chip chart for Porsche specifically, but they do have a lot of color options.
PS- I also refinished the black trim around the sunroof with self etching primer and SEM trim black today. Remember that picture of Chuck Z's car covered up when he painted the door lock surrounds? That wasn't overkill - The SEM selfe etching primer makes LOTS of overspray. The vinyl paint does not generate nearly as much overspray.
The victim here is my daily driver 1995 BMW 525iT. The car lost its garage spot to the 928, and is outside all day too at work. So dash is pretty badly sunburned:
The car is otherwise in good shape and I will be selling it eventually, so it has become my practice pad for cosmetic repair.
I wrote to SEM a while back and got their catalog and requested some color chips and literature on vinyl repair. There are two shades of tan vinyl in my car, but they had a match for the dash (SEM Classic Coat BMW neutral #17343). I bought the following from http://www.vinylpro.com/home
So- the protocol (Hint: It's all in the prep!):
1. Disassemble all grilles, covers, etc that will come loose.
2. Wash the hell out of the dash with Dawn and water using a sponge with a green scotchbrite pad to scour all the old Armour All/etc out of the vinyl. I did three or 4 passes with fresh rinse water each time.
3. Clean the dash again with SEM soap and a clean sponge, then rinse and dry with lint-free towels.
4. Tape off everything you don't want to spray:
5. Clean the dash with SEM vinyl prep, work it in with a lint free rag and then rinse off with water once more, then dry. (I blew it off with compressed air to be sure). The instructions say to ensure that water sheets on the surface without beading at all, that way you know you've gotten all the old oil/silicone/dressings out of the vinyl.
6. The nozzle on the paint can be turned horizontal or vertical- I used vertical.
7. In the shade (ambient temp about 75oF) I sprayed 4 mist coats from 6-8" away, letting each dry for about 10 minutes. The whole thing used maybe 60% of one can.
8. Let cure for an hour or two, then unmask and reassemble. The instructions on the can say to avoid abrading the painted surface for 24 hours.
Result:
The finished product looks pretty good- the base of the instrument pod 'hump' is a little dark (leftover sunburn) because it's hard to spray there, but it's not too bad. I also managed to scratch the paint on the little frame around the VIN- otherwise it's hard to see that it's been painted. The color match is excellent- a tiny bit lighter, but it feathered nicely at the edges of where I painted. Someone remind me to followup in a few weeks/months to see how it's holding up.
Total time was ~4 hours - 3 hours diassembling/washing/taping, and 1 hour to paint (on and off).
Perhaps this'll inspire anyone with vinyl interior bits that are intact but faded. SEM doesn't have a color chip chart for Porsche specifically, but they do have a lot of color options.
PS- I also refinished the black trim around the sunroof with self etching primer and SEM trim black today. Remember that picture of Chuck Z's car covered up when he painted the door lock surrounds? That wasn't overkill - The SEM selfe etching primer makes LOTS of overspray. The vinyl paint does not generate nearly as much overspray.
Last edited by Rob Edwards; 05-19-2008 at 01:35 AM.
09-05-2008, 09:53 PM
#5
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I saw the car in person before he sold it and it looked great!! Definately worth doing but take into consideration Rob is a bit of a perfectionist.
09-05-2008, 10:16 PM
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I sold the car back in July but I saw it today (never sell your used car to a needy single mom in the next building over....
) and it's holding up fine. I will be fixing the twisted seatbacks in the BMW on Sunday and can take a pic of the dash. The car has been living outside in the SoCal sun since it was done, though it's only been a few months.....
) and it's holding up fine. I will be fixing the twisted seatbacks in the BMW on Sunday and can take a pic of the dash. The car has been living outside in the SoCal sun since it was done, though it's only been a few months.....
