carpet dye

[135roundel]

hey I'm looking for opinions or advice
I bought a 91 vert about a month ago, the car is/was in pretty rough shape. Anyways it made it through the initial cleaning pretty unscathed, but the carpet just didnt want to let some of its stains out and it seemed like it had some sun bleaching.
I was just reading in another thread that a guy used rit dye to go from tan to black with nice results, so what i'd like to hear from you guys about is what i should do, rit has a tan dye that looks a good bit darker than the carpet (or what color it is now). Should I bother trying to re-dye it tan (im thinking that some of the stains will still show) or just go black
Thanks for looking

[mrcheezle19]

I would go black because it will be easier to hide the stains. You could probably do a lot of coats of tan though and they'd go away. Check out dupli-color vinyl and fabric coating. Buy a few cans and spray the carpet from a distance to make sure you don't go too thick, do a few coats and use a brush to rub it and help pull the carpet up. If you don't the carpet will turn out rough and lose it's soft feeling. That's what I did and it turned out good.

[jrobie79]

bryndana colorbond > duplicolor, SEM, etc for fabric dying

[grays]

ive used RIT liquid dye with hot water and salt in a spray bottle with a brush then a can of duplicolor spray dye to make it darker.

i went from tan to blk. did the same for the back deck

[lbreevesii]

I used duplicolor for grey>black and it came out ok, but it will wear, so you will want some good floormats.

If I did it again i'd go with SEM or something higher end.

[bmwstephen]

what have u used for stains? unless the stains were dye itself, they usually come off pretty easily with laundry detergent or any 303 fabric cleaner. the risk you run while dying the carpet is that if it is not prepped, applied, or sealed properly, all you will end up with black soles under your shoes

[135roundel]

ahh I had the carpet a few weeks ago, I soaked it with warm tap, then used simple green with the scrubbing brush I use for my bathroom floor. It started to get cold outside so i brought it in my basement after using the shop vac and let it dry
With a 318 i had a few months ago I went to stop and shop and rented a rug doctor, it did alright but not good enough. If i remember correctly the 318 had a different type of carpet though

[butters]

I'm looking to do the same with my 318 carpet this winter (or next month perhaps) and decided on Rit dye as well. I'd love to hear others chime in on durability. I'm pretty anal about the car though, and figure that floor mats should protect it well enough.

While on the subject - anyone know if it's a terrible idea to attempt in cold weather? I am tentatively planning to thoroughly soap, scrub, and pressure wash the carpet at a local DIY carwash. Outdoors, but the water supply is heated.

I'm not sure how well it will dry or how long that will take. I can leave it in my apartment, which is a very small space but heated as warm as I can bear, or the subterranean garage which is cooler (around 60 deg) but has alot more air space to soak up the moisture. Any thoughts on which is a better idea?

Once it does dry, I figure warm water + liquid Rit (black) in a spray bottle brushed in should do the trick. Again, with the cold weather, my concern is keeping the carpet warm enough and then getting it dry. Once it's dry I suppose another "rinse" is in order. Any tips appreciated. Haven't heard of salt mixed in before, what's the deal with that?

[Mako18]

I will be doing this soon using the "rit" method google searched this and seems like anything if you take your time and do it right it will come out nice.

[butters]

seems like every time I research this I come up more confused.

read success stories on other cars, but also some people saying that Rit works best with natural fibers (cotton) while the E30 carpet is polypropylene or definitely something non-natural. truth to that?

someone strongly recommended http://www.jacquardproducts.com/ so I sent an email inquiry. seems the struggle is that most of these soak-in dyes are for clothing etc. while the carpet is much larger and not subject to the same abuse. and of course non-natural. I really don't have much faith in the rattle-can products plus the consistency is going to be better by soaking. I'll report back if I hear from them.

[butters]

http://www.ritdye.com/dyeing-techniq...ing-techniques

this is the way to get it done with Rit. my main concern is keeping the dye hot enough. maybe carefully going over 1 area at a time with a heat gun after scrubbing in 1 spray bottle of boiling hot dye at a time? bath tub seems like the best option, I think I'll have to see how flexible the carpet is once it's out.

[nmlss2006]

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=150817&highlight=carpet+dye&page=2

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=153512&highlight=carpet+dye&page=3

Or you could do what I did with colorplus' products, but the cost almost exceeds new carpet from BMW.

[grays]

seems like every time I research this I come up more confused.

read success stories on other cars, but also some people saying that Rit works best with natural fibers (cotton) while the E30 carpet is polypropylene or definitely something non-natural. truth to that?

someone strongly recommended http://www.jacquardproducts.com/ so I sent an email inquiry. seems the struggle is that most of these soak-in dyes are for clothing etc. while the carpet is much larger and not subject to the same abuse. and of course non-natural. I really don't have much faith in the rattle-can products plus the consistency is going to be better by soaking. I'll report back if I hear from them.

the way i did mines came out good even took water to it to see if it bleeds out and it doesent.

also for non cotton it says to add vinegar

[butters]

the way i did mines came out good even took water to it to see if it bleeds out and it doesent.

also for non cotton it says to add vinegar

what is the salt for?

did you use vinegar? I wonder how the smell is, if it lingers. yikes.

[GT BMW E30]

for those who want to dry the carpet. fill up tank with gas and turn heatup you will have to remove seats of course. left rear section of the carpet over heat vents. i use a small srewdriver to lift rear carpet but keep edges sealed to contain heat or get a space heater and extension cord.
i am thinking of dying my carpet black but its blue. i do not want to start over investing in another interior.
rit dye sounds good but i am a worried about the dye running off. you would have to use a rug door or some type of carpet cleaner to asssure it. as for as the spray cans i hear that it needs to be water base so it does not come out hard. i thing kevin from creative option sells dye.