[davesmit]

Sem is great stuff, prep is the key.

[PontGuy]

I am just finishing up my dash now using SEM mixed to color codes from TCP global. I shoot dye with a cheap detail gun. One very light coat followed by a second heavier coat to cover as soon as the first coat flashes off. Dye is much easier to shoot than paint since the gun is set at very low pressure and there is no tendency to run or drip. The biggest complaint I have about rattle cans is the color is never quite right. I've had good success in the past getting local jobbers to match color but this time I couldn't get that to work out.

I still have some parts to do- ash tray, filler, pillar covers and lower A/C duct, but very happy with the way it is coming out. As others have said prep is key. Also some of the plastic parts will take dye very well, but some (like the glovebox door) absolutely must be treated with adhesion promoter or the dye will peel right off.

Walt

[Cammer-6]

yep thats red
wonder how it would look if you painted the kick panel speaker grilles red too

[PontGuy]

Yeah this car is as red as they come. Hard to miss coming down the road especially with the top down.

Its the first interior that I have ever re-done that wasn't black, and it is much more challenging. There are actually two shades of red used and they are a PITA to match. Photos don't help because the red shades run together especially using a flash. Here is a pic taken in natural light after stripping and prepping the dash and console, which really shows the difference in the shades. What has really made it fun is my dash came in the dark red (burgundy) which everyone tells me is wrong. But the glove box plastic matches the dark shade perfectly, go figure.

Next challenge is the seat covers and door panels. I've spoken with Legendary and have vinyl samples from SMS. Still considering options.

I considered painting the kick speaker grills, but then the black speaker cones would show through. Not sure it would look better and it would not be reversible.

Back to topic- I really like shooting the dye with a gun instead of rattle cans. Most people that don't paint would probably not consider it, but with the low gun pressure you don't need a big compressor. And its very forgiving so you don't need a fancy gun. The only tricky part for a beginner would be to get the spray pattern set right and to be sure not to put the first coat on too thick. But then again with a rattle can you have no control of the pattern at all.

Walt

[Ragtop Man]

One thing I've learned from modeling in 1/25 scale: undercoat is everything.

When you are making a color move, you need to kill whatever is underneath first with a good primer in a neutral color like gray or tan or white. My hunch is that the undercoat color (Green) had an effect on the final color, and may have thrown it off a few shades.

If you are making a color change over anything but a parchment, you need some sort of primer. Cheap stuff won't get it. You need something with pigment that can block the base color with as little film build as possible.

Shooting with a gun, it pays to practice before you whip out the long-sought parts. Most guys have extra parts kicking around that are going to the flea market anyway, it's good to buy a little extra, and practice with the gun the fan setting and pressure.

Another tip is to use a shop vac to pull the cleaning solution off the parts instead of a towel that will just redistribute it or wipe it back in. That little Green Machine cleaner is pretty cool with a little ammonia in water to really strip the oily buildup from hands, armor all, etc.

[PontGuy]

Agree 100% on primer when using regular paint, not so sure about dye on vinyl. Most all primers have builders in them that would fill in the grain. But then again I never tried to make a huge color change like from green to red. I probably would have used laquer thinner to cut into the original finish and dull it out completely as a first step, then vinyl prep, and then tested the dye on a small section to see what I got before shooting the whole thing. Laquer thinner is tough on the finish but it won't hurt the actual vinyl unless maybe you go really crazy with it.

Checking and adjusting the pattern on something like a cardboard box before shooting parts is mandatory even if you have some experience. And test parts are always a good idea for someone that's never done it before. I am hardly an expert at painting with a gun, just an experienced hobbiest, but shooting dye is about as easy as it gets.

[chupiw1]

I am no expert, but 20 years ago, when I was in my early 20's I dyed the interior in my 1970 Nova. I read an article in one of the musclecar mags about dying vinyl. I went to a automotive paint store that sold PPG products and bought some vinyl dye. I didn't have a compressor or paint gun and used pre val spray units. The hardest part of the whole operation was cleaning the interior. I probably spent about 4 or 5 hours cleaning the interior, and this was for an interior that was already clean. The guys at the paint store said that the interior had to be very clean to get good results. The whole process took 1 day start to finish. I wish I had taken pictures before and after, because the results looked very professional. The dye isn't cheap, back then it cost me around $100 for the dye,pre val spray units and masking tape, but it was worth every cent. I have done a lot of work on cars over the last 25 years, and to this day I have never seen better results before and after, on a car spending 1 day of work and $100.