Carpet dye?

[andyoleary]

Ok, I know this has been discussed before and I've had a look at some old threads (leather magic UK/Europe) but wanted to ask for current feedback if possible on whether anyone has found a suitable source for dying the navy blue carpets in my Tuscan.

They are quite sun-bleached in places and I want to try my hand at doing it myself if I can but dont want to end up with a dye that bleeds out on anything for weeks/months after it is done.

Any advice?

Cheers

Andy

[earlyriser]

Andy

Funnily enough, Ive been doing exactly the same thing and for the same reason - even the same colour! I've tried contacting Leather Magic (01964 630650) as earlier threads advised, but so far I've had no answer. Let me know if you have any success and I'll do likewise.

Martin

[andyoleary]

Ok Martin, will do. I've emailed LeatherMagicEurope.co.uk so will see what they come back with.

Cheers

Andy

[lewis_sharman]

Theres a thread on here that talks about using dylon. I did it a few weeks ago and has come up a lot better, but not perfect. But then again my carpets are supposed to be bright red and were bleached to almost white by the sun. I will find the thread and post a link.

ETA

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

Edited by lewis_sharman on Monday 9th February 14:52

[andyoleary]

Hmmm, cheers Lewis, I might have a look out for some Dylon then - navy blue is probably the easiest (most "standard") colour to sort out then, worth a try.....

Thanks

Andy

[YKB]

I had the same problem - Tuscan, dark blue carpets, sun bleached to nearly yellow in places. Can't help with a supplier but I had my carpets done by a someone that does a mobile service a couple of years back. Didn't cost much. They looked like new when finished and still do two years later (although we've not had too much sun recently!). It might be worth getting a cost from someone local.

[TailHappy]

I had heavy faded blue carpets in my cerb when i bought it. In places they were almost yellow!
As a temporary measure i decided to have a go at dying them myself until i get a retrim.
Bought a dye kit off ebay, its an industrial kit and worked very well. Its very hard to tell where the faded bits were and so far it hasnt rubbed off on any clothing. Took 3 applications for mine.

Heres a link.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CARPET-DYE-KIT-All-colours-f...

[andyoleary]

Looks interesting, thanks very much for that, the fact that it says it works fine on Nylon is good as I think some other dyes work best on wool. How much did it make up in one kit for you? Did it really cover 6 square metres? (or is it 6 metres squared.... )

Cheers

Andy

[spyschim]

i used renovo air brushed it on when hard stiff brush good as new !

[TailHappy]

I used the whole lot to do both floors and tunnel carpets so i dont think the 6m square is strictly true, although i did make up slightly stronger solutions to dye the yellow bits. i took the seats out to do the job and used a spray bottle to apply it then a brush to make sure i got it into the pile.
Im not saying it gets them back to original condition but certainly brings them back to a uniform shade of blue!

If you decide to give it a go, spend some time masking off and wear disposable gloves, it takes about a week to come off your hands!

I will try to post a before/after pic.

[RPE11Y]

The navy carpets in my Tuscan were BADLY faded when I bought it - thought I would have to budget for re-carpet in the near future.
But, tried out the Leather Magic stuff and they came up an absolute treat in one go!
The guy new exactly the colour I needed, and it completely re-freshed my interior for not a lot of money and just a couple of hours of not too difficult work!

Just be diligent with the masking/protection of other upholstrey and it really is quite easy and well worth doing if the carpets are still in good order other than the fading...

[earlyriser]

I followed TailHappy's link and have spent the afternoon with the dye kit.

Two things:
(1) Mask, mask, and more masking. I'm glad I took the time to do a thorough job (preparation!);
(2) the instructions say 1/2 oz of dye per gallon. With navy carpets this was far too light. I'd guess the whole 1 oz of dye per 2 litres of water, max.

Still drying out but is MUCH better than it was and only about £15 (oh, and 1/2 a Saturday!)