Attention Faded Red Interior Folks!

[240Z240Z240Z]

Hi guys!

Thought I'd share a tip I came up with today.

When I dyed the magnolia seats in my XJ6, I used an expensive water based acrylic latex colorant that I special ordered fom a place on-line. I went through quite a number of bottles of the stuff at $20.00 each, but it came out looking super nice and very original, so I was OK with the expense.

I got to thinking that the stuff was pretty much the same as the stuff they sell at the craft shop in the little $1.00 bottles. So I went down to the Benjamin Franklin store and bought several different shades of maroony red "Americana" paint in the 2oz bottles. I did a color matching test using a never installed red Nissan seat cover I bought many years ago from the dealer but never used. What I discovered was that the "Napa Red" color was a really good match!

My 36yo red interior is in good physical shape, but its really faded and the tops of the rear shock towers had turned a yucky dark brown color for some reason. I also had an ugly splotch on my passenger seat from some misadventure. I applied the stuff like I did in the Jag using a 1" foam brush to go around all the edges and the tops of the towers and then following that up by doing the rest of the towers and wheel arches with a 3" round tack sponge. It took about 3-4 coats to completely cover the dark splotches on the towers and seat.

Basically, you wipe the vinyl down with alcohol to get any stuff off the surface and then use a small fan to dry it. Then do the edges of the vinyl with the foam brush and fan dry that. Then do the body of the towers and dry them. Repeat 3-4 times. Really scrub it in. On the last go around use a 50/50 mixture of Napa Red paint and Satin Varnish which you buy next to the paint. The varnish gives the last coat a bit of a shine to make it look new.

The whole job for the shock towers took a couple of hours and they look like new. The beauty part of this operation is that its real inexpensive (under $3.00) but it yields professional results and its really durable. I've seen the spray on stuff, but didn't want to have to mask everything off and deal with over spray, etc. The Americana craft paint is water based so its water clean up and it can be thinned if necessary. I'm sure that there is a color that will closely match the tan, white, and maybe even the blue interiors as well.

Give it a try!

[240Z240Z240Z]

Here a link to some pictures I took...


http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563457093ZXhQMY

[Carl Beck]

You'll have to let us know how it holds up. It would be good to have something that doesn't need to be sprayed.

I've used the SEM NAPA Red vinyl and trim paint - it's an exact match to the original, and it will hold up well. You can spray the seats and door panels without fear of it rubbing off on your cloths.. if you follow the mfg. directions.

FWIW,
Carl B.

[240Z240Z240Z]

You'll have to let us know how it holds up. It would be good to have something that doesn't need to be sprayed.

I've used the SEM NAPA Red vinyl and trim paint - it's an exact match to the original, and it will hold up well. You can spray the seats and door panels without fear of it rubbing off on your cloths.. if you follow the mfg. directions.

FWIW,
Carl B.

It held up really well in my Jag and it appears to really bond well in the Datsun too. I thin it with a little water so it's not too thick and that allows the grain of the vinyl to show through. Its not tacky and won't rub off on your clothes.

[mikewags]

This really looks great. I will want to eventually try this with my black vinyl interior; The back of the seats/shock covers have a few scuff marks that i'd like to address.