3000teeth

So I removed my dashboard to restore it. I've started removing the cork-colored (orange-colored) dye with acetone, medium-grade steel wool and terry towels and its coming along a lot better than I expected. I've decided on Surflex and will wrap-up the de-oranging tonight and clean it with the Surflex citrus cleaner. After that comes leather conditioner and then the black dye. Here are a few before pics. I'll post the stripped and dyed pics throughout the weekend.

Dean_Fuller

Wow...rare to see the original in such good condition.

3000teeth

Here's where I'm at now. This is after about 2.5 hours total work with nothing but acetone, steel wool and a towel. I'll probably put another hour or so into it before I clean it with the citrus wash.

3000teeth

It's the one part on my car that hasn't yet been restored that anyone has ever said that about.

Jadz928

Acetone is pretty hardcore. Another hour and you may de-leather your leather.

Might want give some love back to you leather with some hide food or Lexol.

3000teeth

There are still a few spots where the paint seems to gob up and stick on the surface, plus I want to get around the seams with just acetone and a towel, rather than risk injuring the thread with steel wool.

The Surflex conditioner goes on after the cleaning and I'm supposed to "bake it in" by putting it back in my car with the windows up in the sun, so the instructions say. I have some Lexol too, in case I need it.

Jadz928

Lube it up real good!

No joke, man. I take my seats out of Perl for the winter, lube em with Lexol, cover with saran wrap. Awe yeahhh.

kelanel

Very cool! Are you going to turn the center console and pod black as well to match? What are you using for a Dye solution?

3000teeth

I've got a full black and red interior from an 87. Seats, rear console, door inserts and all the lower bits are red, but the dash, door panels and ceiling parts are all black. The Surflex color I chose is "Porsche 917" which matches the black perfectly (as compared to another Rennlister's 911). I'm dying everything black and getting a new carpet kit, pod and some other parts from Rob Bud. The interior work has only just begun.

3000teeth

After a little more acetone and a citrus milk rub-down, she's starting to look like a baseball glove.

3000teeth

Conditioned and looking like a trusty old saddle.

Podguy

Acetone is a pretty tough way to get high. Some states marijuana is semi legal and a lot better for your body. Leatherique makes a leather prep. Wet or dry sand paper with the Leatherique prep does an excellent job of removing the old surface dye. Figure maybe two hours max for a dash. Leaves behind a nice smooth surface that is controlled by what grade of wet or dry you use.

I find terry covered sponges as the best for applying the dye. Allows for an even flow.

I would be worried the leather is dried out by the acetone. After conditioning I would wait a few days for the leather to get healthy before applying the dye, A black garbage bag over the dash with conditioner and left out in the sun will allow the conditioned to get soaked into the leather.

Good luck.

3000teeth

I'd certainly be brain dead by now if I wasn't wearing a mask... err, wait, I own a 928, I may have been brain dead before I started this job.

The plastic bag idea seems to be pretty popular. This Sufflex "Soffener" seems to do have done a pretty good job, so I'm not sure I'll need it, but I may throw another coat on and try that today since I can't paint it until tomorrow.

One thing I'm not sure I can fix: At the corner seams on each side, the leather has lifted a little bit and has formed a sort-of bubble under the leather. Anyone know if I can inject some glue in there somehow and push it back down?

Podguy

If the leather has been softened then the glue might not take. Leather like vinyl can be shrunk with a heat gun. You have to be careful but the combination of heat and glue might work.

3000teeth

OK, I recommend doing this right the first time. Color-Plus is harder to get off than the old dye. This is about an hour of trying to remove it with all types of stuff.

What I did wrong is that I didn't soften the leather enough on the top of the dash, where it was most sun-baked, before I applied the color. It's a shame because the softer leather on the sides and bottom look great. On the top it looked like I just painted it and nothing I did could get the sponge or brush strokes out. I made it worse by adding more coats to try to fix it.