14 replies to this topic

[Clubby1275GT]

i want some black vinyl seats for my gt and found some brown ones for sale, wondered if it was possible to spray 'em black? and if it would stay on the seats and not rub off onto my clothes?
nice one
Daz

[Guess-Works.com]

Yup, been there done that... and it works too....

Get specialist Vinyl spray, you can get it fron Halfords, tenner a tin, and one will just about do a seat... so if you're doing a whole interior, look to spend 40 to 50 notes on spray, so it's not as cheap a solution as you may think...

[dklawson]

There are vinyl spray colorant spray cans available but I don't know what you'd find in the U.K. In the U.S. I buy a product from SEM which is available at my local automotive paint supplier. There should be similar products available to you.

I've used this product on static panels but not on seats. As with most paints/coatings, your success will depend in large part to the preparation you put into the process.

[ian]

you need a paint called liquid plastic 5, made by bradleys.
a few years ago i changed vinyl seats from blue to black and it works good. dont think halfords do it though. try frosts or like i did, find a car upholster, think the tin is about a tenner though like john said

[Clubby1275GT]

lads youve been as helpful as ever, nice one, might purchase these seats then! as for preparation how would i go about doing that? cant exactly rub it down n primer it can ya? its riun the material. i can live with tenner a tin, itll cost me over £100 for black vinyl seats anyway, brown isnt as sought after lucky for me!

[dklawson]

The product you buy will have preparation instructions on the can. They might also recommend additional chemical products they sell to activate and condition the vinyl prior to applying the new color coat. Be sure to go through all the cleaning and prep steps on the can and use all the materials they recommend if you want good results.

Obviously you could start with regular vinyl cleaners... just don't apply anything with silicone to the seats prior to re-coloring.

[ian]

i have a tin in front of me, all it says is clean with plasticprep, but if i remeber correct i couldnt get hold of that so i rubbed the seat down with fine wet and dry with soapy water, then used white spirit to clean them, then the paint. the seats still looked good after 2 years of use when i sold it

[Clubby1275GT]

so u reckon its worth it then chaps, jsut gonna have to find somewhere to do it now as good old english weather prevents me going our in the sunsh.....i mean rain.

[Clubby1275GT]

chaps, i cant find anywhere to buy black vinyl paint from to re-do my seats??
cant find liquid plastic 5 and yahoo or any other search site doesnt even come up with any places to buy it from??
anyone have any ideas or previous experience?

[minimadjonesy]

Mate, try here!

paint

[ian]

thats the stuff, but if your having trouble i could always go round the place i got it from and post it on to you.
if i remember right i used a tin per seat if your doing door panels too i'd go for 4 tins.
i think frost are about the same price, let us know how you get on

just a thought......i went through yell.com and looked up local upholsters

[Clubby1275GT]

the seats im buyin are on ebay now, reckon theyre worth it?? look how much my bid is!! nah not doing the door cards, already got some black pukka ones, just need to paint the two fronts and the back seat!!

[mini_kev]

If theres a halfords near you try the vinyl spray they do.
I have some ready for spraying my steering wheel and dashboard.

[Clubby1275GT]

right then, sprayed the back seats that were originally brown vinyl black last week, they came up ok, quite a few patches where the black had dried greyish??? (any ideas why) but if u lick ur fniger and wipe the grey it goes back to black until it dries again. plus they still stink of paint real bad and dont want to put 'em in the car until the stink goes!! which feels like never!
plus once vinyl spray used, are u meant to spray oer it with anything?

[dklawson]

The grey color is probably the result of putting down a heavy coat when the weather was somewhat humid. You'll get similar results with lacquer when the weather is cool and damp. You might try applying one more light coat over what you have.

The solvent smell will probably hang around for a bit. Though it seems counter intuitive, putting them in a closed car parked in the sun may do more to drive out the smell quickly than leaving them in your garage to slowly air dry.

As for applying a top coat, you'll have to check with your vinyl spray maker. Some manufacturers have complete systems including preparation and conditioning chemicals as well as top coats.