Freshen up seats

Tonyger · Postby **Tonyger** » Sun May 05, 2013 10:32 pm

Has anyone tried to redye their seats?

I have a bride Zeta II that's a little faded and I wanted to fresh it up a little.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Mon May 06, 2013 8:54 pm

It should be quite doable. There is a write up on the US site. You will of course have to remove the covers. Bear in mind that if you have contrast colours it will dye then as well.

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Mon May 06, 2013 10:48 pm

Tipping the cover on the seat is polypropylene. The dye in poly is included in the liquid state and then the fibre is extruded. There are no dye sites so the dye is unlikely to take.

Tonyger · Postby **Tonyger** » Tue May 07, 2013 2:22 pm

MrsB wrote:Tipping the cover on the seat is polypropylene. The dye in poly is included in the liquid state and then the fibre is extruded. There are no dye sites so the dye is unlikely to take.

Thanks for the reply. I don't really understand the last sentence; I'll check if the seat cover is polypropylene.

Tonyger · Postby **Tonyger** » Tue May 07, 2013 2:25 pm

Mr Morlock wrote:It should be quite doable. There is a write up on the US site. You will of course have to remove the covers. Bear in mind that if you have contrast colours it will dye then as well.

If I have removed the cover; can i just replace the cover with a new one or even upgrade to a new series one such as one with the gradient rather than all one colour?

Cheers

Tony

narita · Postby **narita** » Tue May 07, 2013 8:44 pm

Good "advice".

FYI if you decide to dye bride seats these are no longer a authentic item and become a fake seat.

The engineers at bride spent countless hours and yen on R&D.

Why undo their hard work?

Support the scene dont destroy it.

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Tue May 07, 2013 9:03 pm

You can certainly replace covers either by buying a replacement or getting one made but that might be a bit exxy. Replacing MX5 covers ( standard seats) and dyeing was on the US sight- I guess they are still there. Its true that you cannot dye all materials though I was guessing the covers were not prop - I do not really know and not quite sure how to check. Another thing that is worth having a look at is one of the VHT products eg Vinyl dye.It can be used for carpets and you can bet that some carpets will be prop. I have not tried it on seats but have done it on sun visors and it worked ok. If someone were to try the VHT it could be done in a inconspicuous area to see how it performs. Incidentally I replaced an OEM cover ex Mazda spares on the drivers side on an NB and was very happy with the result.

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue May 07, 2013 9:11 pm

narita wrote:Good "advice".

FYI if you decide to dye bride seats these are no longer a authentic item and become a fake seat.

The engineers at bride spent countless hours and yen on R&D.

Why undo their hard work?

Support the scene dont destroy it.

Not sure if joke post...

?

Dann

narita · Postby **narita** » Tue May 07, 2013 9:53 pm

Quite frankly im offended that you would assume I joke about JDM.

its not a style its a LIFEstyle.

Tonyger · Postby **Tonyger** » Wed May 08, 2013 4:33 pm

narita wrote:Good "advice".

FYI if you decide to dye bride seats these are no longer a authentic item and become a fake seat.

The engineers at bride spent countless hours and yen on R&D.

Why undo their hard work?

Support the scene dont destroy it.

I have no clue what you are on about haha

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Wed May 08, 2013 10:50 pm

To explain the last sentence if you take a polypropylene filament and put it under a microscope you would find it is solid this is the same for new generation Synthetics which are solution dyed. They are dyed while in a liquid state.That's what gives them such good resistance to staining. The shape and characteristic of the fibre doesn't allow for them to absorb much if any moisture. If you took a piece of wool and did the same thing it would have crevices for want of a better word that die can fill. The same for older generation nylons. If you spill red cordial which contains acid dyes on a poly carpet you can flush it out, if you spill the same on a woolen carpet you'll be putting a mat over it. Heres a test but use tweezers and dont burn your fingers. take a small amount of fibre obviously from an inconspicuous place and burn it. When you extinguish the flame you'll find if its nylon it will smell like celery and form a brownish black ball on the end. if its polypropylene also known as olefin it will smell like bitumen and form a black ball. if its wool or natural fibre it will smell like burnt hair or paper and crumble. The characteristics of all fibers are different. End of tonight's lesson on fibers ps poly is widely used in car upholstery. Good luck which ever way you decide to go:)

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Thu May 09, 2013 9:11 am

Thats great MrsB to get an experts insight- enjoyed the lesson .

deviant · Postby **deviant** » Fri May 10, 2013 12:05 am

What do you do for a living MrsB?

Postby **Okibi** » Fri May 10, 2013 1:14 am

Great post Mrs B. :mrgreen:

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Fri May 10, 2013 8:02 am

Thanks Guys!
Okibi you've got it - "it does get in"
Deviant I fix buildings and contents that have been affected by water, fire or pretty much anything else you can through at them.