[66 joe]

The black carpet kit I installed about 7 yrs ago is already showing its age. (black turning tan from sun, rain etc.)
Car is a driver, and I wanted to see if there are any tricks to restoring color for the year.
I know the answer but trying to avoid replacement for at least a year. thank you, Joe

[rexs73gto]

Yes it's very easy to redye your carpet to make it look brand new. Remove the crpet from the car go to your local walmart or any other store & buy 3 boxs of black Rit dye . Mix in in a big bucket at least 5 gallon bucket with a little bit of white vinager, about a 1/3 of a cup for the 5 gallon bucket stir it up good in HOT water. get some rubber gloves on that will cover your hands & forarms so it doesn't get on you. The with the carpet out in the sun start by pouring some of the dye on the carpet & with a big sponge wash the carpet in the dye. Get it good & wet. Thn with the sponge wash in in real good so the dye gets in all the carpet areas . Then when it's good & wet let it dry in the sun for awhile about an hour then do the prosses all over again so you use most all of the dye from the bucket then hang it on a clothes line or fence to dry. When it's good & dry , vacume it out real good & the carpet will look like new. You can also dye the seat belts too by soakieng the belts in the bucket for about 1 hour & then let them dry to. The carpet will look as if you just bought a new one . Reinstall & you done.

[66 joe]

thanks, just asking my self now, should I just replace with better heavier carpet kit? I do remember buying the cheaper 1 !!! that sounds like a good weekend project. Im sure more economical

[rexs73gto]

It saves a lot of money about $ 6.00 for the dye & water well it's almost free. The only thing that caosts is your time , & if your like me I've got lots more free time then money.

[0300youmadeit]

Does this work better than the rattle cans vinyl/carpet dye/paint? Can you do a color change with the Rit? Thanks

[raidex1]

SEM makes a paint that is made for vinyl,plastic,rubber and carpet. I did mine last year and it still looks great.

[jmt455]

I have used SEM Color Coat and Duplicolor Vinyl & Fabric dye.
Both worked excellent.

[78w72]

x3 on the sem paint. landau black is a great match for GM black. it has specific instructions for doing carpet. spray light coats, brush lightly with a brush, then a couple more light coats & brush again. if you do it right, the carpet isnt too stiff & the color will last longer than the original dye in the carpet.

the dye thing sounds ok too but seems like a lot of work to remove it from the car & it would be very messy i imagine. rattle can is quick & easy.

[rexs73gto]

The rattle can MAY work but your going to have an awful lot of over spray to clean up. There is no way you can spray anything inside of a car that you won't have overspray. The baet way is to take it out & use the rit dye if your not going to use a new carpet. To anwser your question about if you can color change with the rit dye. I don't know for sure but to make the carpet the same color works great. I don't really think you can redye to a different color because the carpet in your car is not a fiber material but made form petrolum like the carpet in your house. Panit will change it but all paint no matter how little you spray it on will make it stiff no matter how much you brush it as it is PAINT & paint get hard when dry, otherwise it wouldn't stay on your parts., it would just wipe off.

[78w72]

have done it many times, inside a car. just open the windows & have a cross breeze. put down some towels & rags around the seats, then some newspaper masked to the side panels etc. its probably such a small area that there really isnt any "overspray" that will stick on anything. if you have ever used the sem brand pastic & vinyl paints, the overspray is very minimal & what doesn't hit the carpet becomes a dry dust that doesnt really stick to things that aren't being sprayed directly & are mostly vertical. on the same note, sem paint is not like regular glossy spray paint used for metal etc, when used properly & brushed like they say, its absorbs into the fibers & is NOT stiff after you brush it while still tacky. saying "all paint will be stiff" is not entirtely true if its made for fabric & carpets. i have used the sem on fabric & carpet many times & even to touch up faded seatbelts, it works very well & is not stiff, fabric seats covers i can agree since you touch them everytime you sit in them, but on carpet it is actually quite soft if you follow the instructions.

as for the rit dye, where are you suggesting one saturates the carpet with a black dye? on the driveway, garage floor, nice pretty lawn? that sounds like it would make a huge mess & possibly ruin a driveway or make the wife very unhappy. not too mention removing the carpet takes a lot of effort.

the original poster wanted a quick way to get another year or so out of his carpet before replacing it, a quick touch up with sem rattle can is by far the easiest way to do that & has excellent results. was just a suggestion speaking from experience.

[Old Goat Racer]

Take the carpet out, spray it, put it back in, your done.
I did it to 1 of my 4 cars. You can't tell which 1 it is.

[rexs73gto]

Useing the rit dye is very easy & you can do it anywhere you want as it won't stain anything that it come in contact with, but if you must do it so nothing get hurt dyeing it on a lawn is the easiest way & cleanest as the dye will just absorbe into the grass & you will never know it was there. Now as far as taking the carpet out , that is very easy & if you can't get your carpet out in about 30 min's there is something very wrong. Plus if it takes much longer then that you probley have no idea what your doing to start with & should find someone to help you as you need help. Taking a carpet out is one of the easiest things you can do on a car. Dyeing the carpet is by far the very best way to color a carpet & the best way to do it.

[mogeo]

funny, I just did this on my convertible before a car show. I just used semigloss in some real light mists. Blocked area not to be hit with cardboard and towels. NO overspray. Before it dried I used an old towel and quickly brushed the carpet. NO stiffness, and you cant tell. Looks great!
keep in mind I was fading only in 3 or 4 small area. Blended perfectly

[78w72]

Originally Posted by rexs73gto

Useing the rit dye is very easy & you can do it anywhere you want as it won't stain anything that it come in contact with, but if you must do it so nothing get hurt dyeing it on a lawn is the easiest way & cleanest as the dye will just absorbe into the grass & you will never know it was there. Now as far as taking the carpet out , that is very easy & if you can't get your carpet out in about 30 min's there is something very wrong. Plus if it takes much longer then that you probley have no idea what your doing to start with & should find someone to help you as you need help. Taking a carpet out is one of the easiest things you can do on a car. Dyeing the carpet is by far the very best way to color a carpet & the best way to do it.

the point was that removing the carpet when he only wants to get another season is a lot of effort. therefore, removing it & dyeing it is in no way "by far the easiest way" its closer to an hour of work to remove it, then dye it , then reinstall it.... hmmm

i have taken out & installed many carpets, & while it is not "hard" it is far from "easy." you have to remove front & back seats, console, sill plates & lower foot guard etc. then line it all back up & tuck the edges when reinstalling, some may do it in 30 minutes most will take over an hour. either way its quite a bit of work especially on a hot summer day. compared to 15 minutes of masking & spraying. so far i count 5 people who like the spraying & have had great results.

& im confused on how you say rit dye wont stain anything it comes in contact with... how does it work on the carpet then?? it is a dye, it WILL stain anything & everything it touches aside from glass, metal or plastic etc. go pour a strong concentration on old porous concrete or wood deck etc... guaranteed it will stain it to some degree, it may come out with some cleaner & hard direct water, but it will stain. the instructions even say dont let it touch things you dont want stained & to use bleach to clean up spills or your washing machine after use.

66joe: your choice what you do to accomplish your goal of touching up the carpet to last another year, but its pretty clear which way is easiest & has great results.