DIY interior re-colour
Discussion
As promised several times, here is a little write-up of my interior re-colour. I’ll do a separate one for the carpet replacement and apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes.
I know there are a few of you guys looking to do a similar job on your cars, so if you have any questions I'll do my best to help.
Before
After
Never really liked the doeskin/light carpet combination but I bought the car on condition/history and new outriggers so the original plan was to get it re-trimmed/carpeted etc. After getting quotes from the usual suspects I thought the not inconsiderable cost (£3k - £4k) would be better spent on Nitrons/brakes/power etc.
Choosing a new interior colour scheme was easy as I’ve always loved the black/magnolia combo, I then used dozens of interior pictures off here and James Agger’s website to decide exactly which parts were which colour.
Black – dash top/windscreen surround, targa hoop, top of door surrounds, bolsters, gaiters
Magnolia – the rest
Black carpet piped in magnolia, black carpet door cards
Carpets were purchased form Central TVR via E-bay for the bargain price of £210 inc delivery – they are black with magnolia trim.
The car is only half-hide so I needed a system that would work equally well on both leather and vinyl. Searching on here suggested The Furniture Clinic would be the people to talk to about a re-colouring kit.
FC advised that I should use what they call “Adhesion Promoter”, together with a magic ingredient “Cross Linker X” on the vinyl to ensure the new colour stays put. An early test piece suggested these products worked brilliantly – scratching with a screw driver failed to lift the colour.
Items Purchased from Furniture Clinic
1 x Large Colourant Kit - colour matched (TVR magnolia) with satin finish (really don’t like glossy leather)
1 x 500ml of their standard black colourant
1 x 250ml of adhesion promotor
1 x 50ml of cross linker X
http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Colourant...
The above would easily do the interior of a Chim/Griff, but I also re-coloured two MX-5 seats so needed to buy more gloss leather finish. The MX-5 seats have not yet been fitted as the original seats came out looking so good.
I managed to get a cheap centre console from Ebay to practice on. This turned out so well that I’ve fitted it to the car.
My Process
1. If at all possible, remove the trim form the car – makes the job much easier
2. Scrub with hot soapy water, twice. Rinse and dry.
3a. Vinyl - Thoroughly wipe down with alcohol solution, twice....it’s all in the prep!
3b. Leather - Lightly scrub with the leather prep & scotch brite then wipe off the residue. Thoroughly wipe down with alcohol solution.
4. Apply 2 coats of adhesion promoter (mixed with 10% cross linker X) using a sponge. Dry with heat gun after each coat.
5. Apply 2 coats of colourant (again mixed with 10% cross linker X) using a sponge. Dry with heat gun after each coat.
6. Apply several light coats of neat colourant (no cross linker X) using the spray gun until total coverage is achieved with an even colour. Dry with heat gun after each coat.
7. Apply 2 coats of gloss sealant. Dry with heat gun after each coat
8. Apply 2-3 coats of satin finish. Dry with heat gun after each coat
Windscreen surround
I modified my method for the windscreen surround as I didn’t want to remove the windscreen and couldn’t get the inside of the car masked off well enough to avoid overspray.
I used the same basic method but did all stages (except clear coats) using a sponge rather than spray gun. The black colourant covers very quickly and evenly – just apply in multiple, light and even coats. Cotton buds were used in awkward areas where the screen meets the dash.
General hints & tips
1. Take your time – prep is the key to a good result
2. Apply in a well vented area and wear a mask – fumes are strong
3. I bought a Clarke mini compressor (FC will also hire you one) because the propellant cans are crap, expensive and awkward to use.
4. The black colourant was too thick to spray – FC advised to mix in up to 10% water as a thinner, this worked OK.
5. Strain the colourant through a paint/coffee filter – you do get the odd lumpy bit which WILL block the spray gun nozzle. When it does become blocked use a pin to clear. I ended up cleaning the nozzle in hot water between each coat.
6. Stand the colourant bottle in a bowl of hot water before starting – this helps reduce blockages and gives a better spray pattern.
7. Make sure the environment you are working in is dust/fluff free. I made the mistake of doing the door trim on a carpeted floor and even though there was newspaper down I had problems with fluff floating onto the wet paint.
The results are not perfect but I'm well happy, the satin finish gives a very convincing leather look and ‘stiction’ of the colourant to the vinyl is excellent. Some parts (bolsters and dash) have been in for almost 6 months without any problems, the seats have been in since Christmas (about 1500 miles) and show no signs of wear.
I also changed the dash from cracked veneer, to a piano black effect using rattle cans, clear coat and lots of sanding/rubbing/polishing
I know there are a few of you guys looking to do a similar job on your cars, so if you have any questions I'll do my best to help.
Before
After
Never really liked the doeskin/light carpet combination but I bought the car on condition/history and new outriggers so the original plan was to get it re-trimmed/carpeted etc. After getting quotes from the usual suspects I thought the not inconsiderable cost (£3k - £4k) would be better spent on Nitrons/brakes/power etc.
Choosing a new interior colour scheme was easy as I’ve always loved the black/magnolia combo, I then used dozens of interior pictures off here and James Agger’s website to decide exactly which parts were which colour.
Black – dash top/windscreen surround, targa hoop, top of door surrounds, bolsters, gaiters
Magnolia – the rest
Black carpet piped in magnolia, black carpet door cards
Carpets were purchased form Central TVR via E-bay for the bargain price of £210 inc delivery – they are black with magnolia trim.
The car is only half-hide so I needed a system that would work equally well on both leather and vinyl. Searching on here suggested The Furniture Clinic would be the people to talk to about a re-colouring kit.
FC advised that I should use what they call “Adhesion Promoter”, together with a magic ingredient “Cross Linker X” on the vinyl to ensure the new colour stays put. An early test piece suggested these products worked brilliantly – scratching with a screw driver failed to lift the colour.
Items Purchased from Furniture Clinic
1 x Large Colourant Kit - colour matched (TVR magnolia) with satin finish (really don’t like glossy leather)
1 x 500ml of their standard black colourant
1 x 250ml of adhesion promotor
1 x 50ml of cross linker X
http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/Leather_Colourant...
The above would easily do the interior of a Chim/Griff, but I also re-coloured two MX-5 seats so needed to buy more gloss leather finish. The MX-5 seats have not yet been fitted as the original seats came out looking so good.
I managed to get a cheap centre console from Ebay to practice on. This turned out so well that I’ve fitted it to the car.
My Process
1. If at all possible, remove the trim form the car – makes the job much easier
2. Scrub with hot soapy water, twice. Rinse and dry.
3a. Vinyl - Thoroughly wipe down with alcohol solution, twice....it’s all in the prep!
3b. Leather - Lightly scrub with the leather prep & scotch brite then wipe off the residue. Thoroughly wipe down with alcohol solution.
4. Apply 2 coats of adhesion promoter (mixed with 10% cross linker X) using a sponge. Dry with heat gun after each coat.
5. Apply 2 coats of colourant (again mixed with 10% cross linker X) using a sponge. Dry with heat gun after each coat.
6. Apply several light coats of neat colourant (no cross linker X) using the spray gun until total coverage is achieved with an even colour. Dry with heat gun after each coat.
7. Apply 2 coats of gloss sealant. Dry with heat gun after each coat
8. Apply 2-3 coats of satin finish. Dry with heat gun after each coat
Windscreen surround
I modified my method for the windscreen surround as I didn’t want to remove the windscreen and couldn’t get the inside of the car masked off well enough to avoid overspray.
I used the same basic method but did all stages (except clear coats) using a sponge rather than spray gun. The black colourant covers very quickly and evenly – just apply in multiple, light and even coats. Cotton buds were used in awkward areas where the screen meets the dash.
General hints & tips
1. Take your time – prep is the key to a good result
2. Apply in a well vented area and wear a mask – fumes are strong
3. I bought a Clarke mini compressor (FC will also hire you one) because the propellant cans are crap, expensive and awkward to use.
4. The black colourant was too thick to spray – FC advised to mix in up to 10% water as a thinner, this worked OK.
5. Strain the colourant through a paint/coffee filter – you do get the odd lumpy bit which WILL block the spray gun nozzle. When it does become blocked use a pin to clear. I ended up cleaning the nozzle in hot water between each coat.
6. Stand the colourant bottle in a bowl of hot water before starting – this helps reduce blockages and gives a better spray pattern.
7. Make sure the environment you are working in is dust/fluff free. I made the mistake of doing the door trim on a carpeted floor and even though there was newspaper down I had problems with fluff floating onto the wet paint.
The results are not perfect but I'm well happy, the satin finish gives a very convincing leather look and ‘stiction’ of the colourant to the vinyl is excellent. Some parts (bolsters and dash) have been in for almost 6 months without any problems, the seats have been in since Christmas (about 1500 miles) and show no signs of wear.
I also changed the dash from cracked veneer, to a piano black effect using rattle cans, clear coat and lots of sanding/rubbing/polishing
Edited by swanny71 on Sunday 7th April 12:56
Edited by swanny71 on Sunday 7th April 21:30
Edited by swanny71 on Wednesday 3rd July 18:57
db418BHP said:
Ive ordered the same apart from the black.
I am sending them a sample of the dark blue to match.
Excellent post Richard. Maybe you can come round to mine sometime and give me a hand (ie do it for me)
Happy to lend a hand mate and/or share what I learned doing mine (ie not do it for you) I am sending them a sample of the dark blue to match.
Excellent post Richard. Maybe you can come round to mine sometime and give me a hand (ie do it for me)
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