1980 Pace car door panels
 

I have an 1980 Pace car

I have re dyed the interior (all SEM paint) white to factory color trying to get it to look showroom new / Dash and console and kick panels all dyed.

I will post pictures shortly looks incredible a lot of work / just need to install steering column.

QUESTION my door panel has some small stains
I know they are like a dove grey vinal
Any suggestions on a color I can use to touch up dye the edges of the panel trying for perfection.

As always Thanks Again in advance

I haven't used it myself yet, but Ames has some good color matched paints and stains. They have the light grey and dark grey for my 79 TATA, but as I said, I haven't used them yet.

The trim is Oyster, trim colour code 12. I'm not sure what that translates to in any paints or dyes.

Thanks
 

These are the SEM paint colors I have researched and used to provide a perfect match for interior dye
This is what is shown for a correct color restoration. After much research

Oriely has these colors also Advance Auto

White / Oyster SEM 15103 all white trim

Kick Panels a darker grey SEM 15163

Dash and console lighter grey SEM 15393

I want to fade in touch up the light light grey on the door panels edges / I do not want to paint the entire door panel
I am looking if any one has found a color they like or have used to fade in

Found the name on a firebird site that sells the door panels and they are called Oyster Sierra grain viny HERE IS A START for a paint Oyster Sierra grain vinal / google says the pace car sears are also oyster sierra grain vinal possibly the door panels are white not light grey. Time to do a little sample test tomorrow.

AS Always thanks in advance for any help

sorry i dont have any help on the color match... but SEM is not dye, its flexible paint. & being its paint it will scuff & wear off on high wear areas so its a good idea to use SEM low luster clear on any areas that can get scuffed up.

I think SEM also makes a dye. Seems like I used some back in the 90s. But that's been a day or two ago.

never seen real dye from SEM, their products are vinyl/plastic paints designed for better adhesion & flexibility on plastic/vinyl. just wanted to mention the clear for high wear areas.

all these interior plastic/vinyl parts were either molded in color or painted, vinyl & plastic cant be dyed.

Vinyl can absolutely be dyed. ABS plastic and such cannot. Just one example of a vinyl dye. Specifically states not a paint.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/v...+5ba290cf3fbf6

that would be great if it worked as advertised, but everything i have heard/read says vinyl & plastic cant be truly dyed with consumer type products & when calling most auto paint suppliers they dont carry any real dyes for plastic/vinyl.

have you tried that VHT product? i haven't & have not seen much about it being used on these classic cars, its almost always SEM. VHT also sells high temp paint they claim will last on headers, yet when i tried it on a set of pontiac headers it flaked or burnt off in a few months... same results for friends that have used it on chevy & ford headers. products dont always work as advertised.

you'd think if it worked good & could actually dye vinyl/plastic with good looking & lasting results it would be what everyone uses... but most everyone including many pros use the SEM rattle can stuff or have a custom color mixed up. would be interesting to see how the VHT works on 40 year old vinyl & plastic to actually change the color.

& according to the VHT info in that link, it says it can dye plastic & leather too but strangely doesnt work on cloth? also under paint type it says "single stage top coat" ?

my comments were mainly regarding calling the SEM paint a dye & that there will be mixed results trying to actually dye plastic or vinyl.

I recall the using the SEM interior paint when it was called elastic something or other. (cant recall the name) Then it was changed years back to just Color Coat, but its the same product. It's Excellent, but for sure just a flexible paint. They might have made some sort of die, but I have never seen or used it.

Yes, it's an American forum thing, referring to paints or dyes when referring to soft and flexible surfaces or hard plastics and metals. While not correct, people know what you are talking about.

My 1980 also needs the rear side interior panels re-sprayed. the rear lowers are for sure a different type of plastic from the rear uppers. they lowers have a bit of a brownish tint to them. Uppers still look correct as I recall. My door panels look great, but they are discolored where they close agains the door jambs/seals. So when the doors are open, you can see that edge is discolored. I think that is a very common issue. If thats the area thats going to get resprayed, I would worry a little that it could wear off from the constant contact? I also don't think the door panels have a consistent solid color to them like the plastic does. So blending in a color might be tricky?

If anyone can post some pics of current, before / after pictures that would be great to see!

All I do remember is doing a color change on the interior of a car back in the mid 90s. It was red and I wanted black. I had to use 2 different products IIRC. The ABS plastic had to be soaked in soapy water overnight and prepped really well to get rid of stuff like Armour All and other oils.

The softer vinyl items in the car, when done, looked fantastic. There was no scratching off the color. Maybe if you really dug into it with a sharp object. I never went that far to see the amount of penetration, if any. The ABS stuff was a total pain. Had to use adhesion promoter first. Follow exact stages. It was still fairly easy to scratch off. Nature of ABS. As you stated before, it's molded in that color.

Perhaps what I used back then wasn't actually a dye. That's been a few days ago. I do remember two different products and two different outcomes. I certainly don't possess the knowledge to debate "does it or doesn't it". I only know my personal experience and that is that the vinyl looked amazing and the ABS was less than stellar. Whether it was a paint or a dye, the vinyl stayed looking like the day I sprayed it for the 5 years I had the car. The plastic parts not so much.