Dyeing seats

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79Scott

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Has anyone ever tried to dye the seats in their truck? My seat is very good shape just a little faded from being so old. Don't really want to have it reupholstered.

Thanks
 

bucket

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Cloth or vinyl?
 

bucket

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Sorry, cloth

From what I've experienced, a complete color change doesn't work very well, even going to a darker color. The original color tends to show through, plus you loose a lot of the the soft 'fuzziness' even after some use. It will be downright rough at first.

If just touching up faded areas with the same color, like the top of the seatback, it may turn out ok. But it still won't be as soft.
 

82sbshortbed

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25 years ago me and a buddy used to dye interiors of cars for dealerships used cars. Bucket is right about the seat being rougher after being dyed. You can use a brush on it after dying it to help it but, will still be rougher than before you dyed it. Carpets aren't as bad if you brush them too while it's drying to make it softer.

And it's only temporary. It will wear off after a bit and then look really bad. They used to do it to help sell the cars. Because once you bought it it's yours and they didn't have to fix it once it came off.
 

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80BrownK10

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25 years ago me and a buddy used to dye interiors of cars for dealerships used cars. Bucket is right about the seat being rougher after being dyed. You can use a brush on it after dying it to help it but, will still be rougher than before you dyed it. Carpets aren't as bad if you brush them too while it's drying to make it softer.

And it's only temporary. It will wear off after a bit and then look really bad. They used to do it to help sell the cars. Because once you bought it it's yours and they didn't have to fix it once it came off.
I looked at an Expedition, the seats were rougher and stiffer than they should have been. Looked good from a distance for what Ford's of similar age looked. These were leather seats. It occurred to me that they had been "restored" or "repaired". They had a full material and a paint or dye over them.
 

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