jstyer

So I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of the first round of interior changes that I decided to perform on my 1995 Aventurine Green C2. The car had been siting untouched for 4 years, with the last year of that being outside. Many bits of the interior were heavily faded, and the steering wheel, shift ****, and parking brake handle were all heavily cracked and soiled with oil.

I didn't really take any before shots... Here's one crappy cell pic that I took the day I picked the car up:



Here's another picture where you can see the damage on the steering wheel and shift **** a bit better.



So I removed the upper dash, lower dash, door tops, center console, shift boot/****, parking brake handle, and steering wheel. All the parts were re-died to Porsche Black using Sureflex die by Color Plus. Then I replaced the steering wheel with a full grain leather Momo unit, and the steering hub cowling with the 964 RS cowling so that it would fill the gap caused by the new Momo hub. In addition I added the nearly mandatory Walrod guage rings. They look so good!

Here's some eye candy of the new look. Overall my total cost was $326.00 including used hub and wheel, new steering cowling, and new guage rings. The final result looks pretty dang close to new!

jstyer

More pictures:

jstyer

I used Sureflex on the ignition bezel, and it worked out pretty well!



Even on the shift boot, the Sureflex stays true to its name... This stuff is amazingly flexible.



Gratuitous Walrod ring shot...

jstyer

Things that remain to be done are:

RS carpet kit, RS door panels (Already ordered), and eventually some kind of shift **** and parking brake handle replacement... I just haven't decided what yet.

To finish it off, here's some pictures of the shop assistants... The first guy is a 13 year old Aussie who is as deaf as can be. But still great help! The second is a female Aussie/Border Collie and is sharp as a whip.





If you guys want to see or download any of the pictures in higher resolution, just check out my flickr at the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77663382@N04/

P-daddy

Wow, looks very good! $326 well spent

swmic

Looks great! Nice touch on the ignition bezel. Wonder how it will hold up. I touched up the classic grey interior in my 968 before I sold it. Was very pleased on how it turned out. Surflex is good stuff!

Nurburger

Beautiful dogs! What are their names?

I like what you're doing with the interior - as said above, money well spent!

jstyer

Thanks for the feedback guys. The door panels look so good right now that I'm hesitant to install the RS doors... Though I know I'm gonna love them based on all the pictures I've seen.

As far as the dogs, they are Ringo and Missy! As I said Ringo is 13 and Missy is 11. Both pretty old for their breeds, but fantastic dogs. I think GSD's are the only dogs I like as much as Australian Shepherds.

e3photo

The car is looking great. I should have a black e-brake handle,when I am done, if you would be interestd in it. I have a shift **** with black boot,but it has seen better days.


Emerald

jcochran1

Man that looks great. I have to say in my search for the perfect Porsche I haven't been considering gray interior cars, I'm rethinking that now. Thanks for opening up my eyes with a little creativity.

H.H.Chinn

With the car stored outside for a year, were any of your orange gauge needles faded? Great job on the interior dye job and around of WooFs to your assistants!!

Sagres74

Out of curiosity, how do you use the Sureflex die? I looked them up and read that you can apply it w/ either a brush or sprayer. Was there any scuffing or sanding involved?

jstyer

Emerald, thanks for the line on the ebrake handle! Depending on how the die wears... I may be taking you up on that.

As far as the gauge needles go, I'm not sure if they faded much... If they did, then they did so evenly because they all look the same to me.

In regards to how I applied the sureflex, my process was as follows:

Two wipe downs with a slightly damp cloth, then immediately chased it with a dry lint free cloth.
Let dry overnight
Then totally scrub with Colorplus's citrus based leather cleaner, then let dry for 24 hours.
Then buffed the entire surface of every part with ultra fine grade steel wool, followed up with another wipe down with another lint free cloth to remove all of the steel shavings.
Finally 3 coats of Sureflex applied with a fine 1.5" paint brush. I started with a cheapo ace hardware brush, but it kept dropping bristles into the finish. I then upgraded to a nice $15 brush from Hobby Lobby and the problem went away. I waited about 45 minutes between coats.

There were practically no brush marks on any of the parts, and the finish came out rather nice. They say you can install the parts after 24 hours, but I waited about a week. There are a few little differences in the patina of the finish under certain light conditions, but it is barely noticeable.

After the recommended 6 week total cure time, I'm going to buff all the parts and I'm sure that'll smooth everything out nicely.

ble2011

Very nice. Really transforms the interior. Thanks for posting as these threads are a great resource for some of us who are on the fence with doing something like this.

Benton

Great project, great dogs! We have about 5 Aussies in the extended family; they are the best dogs I have ever had.

Where did you get the non-airbag steering wheel hub trim, and what did that set you back? I still need to buy those parts. Nice job applying the surflex, it really is a great product to save $$ and end up with great results.