Dying Cloth Seats

[blck325is]

Has anyone dyed cloth seats to a darker color? I have a line on on some cloth seats that I want. Problem is their color is different from what I want. I need some idea on what process I should use as well as what dye I need to use. Thanks.

[sharky]

VHT makes a fabric dye, did my carpet and the bolters on my seats and came out great and has lasted 2 years just fine

[blck325is]

Hmm so it won't bleed onto clothing after its dyed?

[2mAn]

Bumping this since its the only thread that comes up in a search. Ive been searching for this VHT Fabric Dye and it looks like its for Vinyl.

What works good on cloth? I need a black back seat ASAP

[AndrewBird]

The VHT stuff is paint, though they call it dye. Same with Duplicolor.

Your best bet would be to strip the seats and use RIT dye in the washing machine or in a big pot. Depending on the material though, you might not end up with what you want. Some synthetic materials don't take dye well.

[2mAn]

Its the BMW cloth rear seat. Most of it is cloth, but there is also vinyl on the sides. RIT is a product I remember reading about. I think I will try that.

[2mAn]

Since I would like this to be a helpful post to others who decide to embark on this journey... I'll leave this here:

In order to properly do this, I needed to pull the cloth covers off the seats. It went fairly smoothly until I got stuck, but they are basically ready to go. Here are some pics of todays mini adventure

My hand looks absolutely filthy here, but its just the lighting! There are about 40 of this little waffles that go around the perimeter of the seat. It was a pain to get them all off


making progress and the tools I used...


and just when you think you're done, theres more!




annnnnnnd success. then repeat for the other half





unfortunately, I got stuck on the seat belt buckle receptacles and couldnt remove the second cover. I will get them off tomorrow and dye the covers. then I just have to see if I can reinstall all those little waffling clips. might just drop it off at an upholstery shop and have them finish it...

[AndrewBird]

Those clips are called hog rings. They make a special pair of pliers to install them. I think Harbor Freight sells them, but they are cheap pretty much everywhere.

[2mAn]

Yup, unfortunately in the dying process the old cloth got torn apart in the wash... :(

[Poorboyz]

I was going to use the RIT in a big bucket of steaming hot water mixed with dye.

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

[2mAn]

That would be a much better idea! I didnt have a big bucket, but for $3.50 in quarters I had access to a giant washer/ dryer and figured why not. Now I regret it...