# "Dyeing" seats? (Cloth centers on Recaro Trophies)



## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

Hi,
I have a set of Recaro Trophy seats, with an non-matching back seat. I am putting in a set of all-black-leather door cards in my mk2, and I am looking to "dye" the centers of the trophies and the back seat (cloth centers as well) black until I have the seats reupholstered. (I'm into a motor project now so the interior will have to wait.) Just wondering if you guys have ever done anything similar. I am not sure what type of dye I should use, and the best means of getting everything as dark as possible (not not coming off on my clothing once the car goes back together)
Thanks
Justin http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## oopseyesharted (Mar 2, 2005)

*Re: "Dyeing" seats? (illi)*

please dont do that to a pair of trophies. get a pair of gti seats or something


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: "Dyeing" seats? (oopseyesharted)*

im having them fully reupholstered with perforated leather centers... when the time comes.... this is a "temporary fix" because id like everything inside to be black (i.e. matching)
thanks for your useless advice...








does anyone have any useful information regarding my question? 

_Modified by illi at 3:02 PM 4-26-2005_


_Modified by illi at 3:04 PM 4-26-2005_


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## oopseyesharted (Mar 2, 2005)

*Re: "Dyeing" seats? (illi)*

i was just trying to say that these seats are getting more and more rare and expensive. i wasnt trying to be a jerk.
sorry if i came off that way


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: "Dyeing" seats? (oopseyesharted)*

apology accepted.... http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
anyone ???







i have a day off tommorow and was hoping to maybe delve into this project


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## rdubya (Nov 24, 2003)

dont do it! Wait off for a bit, Ill buy the centers off you once you get them re-done.. keep me in mind


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## theweaksend (Aug 8, 2004)

Ive never dyed seats but I have dyed quite a few interior parts of my rabbit. I used soem interior dye spray I found at baxters auto parts. I think it was called THP or some 3 letters like that and it worked real well. It says its for carpet, plastics, vinyl etc


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (theweaksend)*

thanks for the tip... i have seen similar products out there... did it "stiffen" any fabrics that you useD? i just dont want to turn the centers of the seats "crispy" if you know what i mean


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## theweaksend (Aug 8, 2004)

yea i know what you mean. I used it on carpet and it was slightly crispy. Youre supposed to comb it throgh the carpet though and I didnt cause it would rip it up. If you used lots and lots of light coats I dont think it would get crispy


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (theweaksend)*

it was boring and rainy here in CT tonite so i went out and drove around and went to stores and bought a ton of crap... while i was out i thought about this project of mine, went to the "fabric store" and picked some concentrated black RIT dye... after talking to the old woman there i have a bit of a plan that i think will work but im too lazy to type it out right now...
but for those who were worried about me ruining the recaros, this back seat here is going to be my "test panel" ... so... dont worry boys and girls 
weaksend, i think if this idea doesnt work, im going to try exactly what you're saying about spraying light coats + combing it thruough...
or maybe a combination of my + yer idea








at any rate, im sure it will be kinda fun and a learning experience
















http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## theweaksend (Aug 8, 2004)

yea i thought about rit dye but i thought you had to put that stuff in water or it was liquid dye and i wouldnt know how you would get that on evenly or without putting too much on and getting it down into the foam...anyway tell me how it goes. what year of gti seats are those?


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (theweaksend)*

that back seat is out of an 86 if i remember correctly... 
yeah i am a bit worried about getting it into the foam but not overly worried cuz u cant see it anyways....


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (illi)*

hopefully i can get started on this project this week
went to BIG LOTS and picked up all this stuff for like less than $25








will keep everybody posted on what happens


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## theweaksend (Aug 8, 2004)

so lets see it. you must have done it by now


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (theweaksend)*

ehehe had the day off.. so far itlooks real good... but havent shampood the excess dye out yet... ill get some pics up tomm or somethin... i can tell one thing already though,... if this seat comes out good, the trophies will come out even better since the center is all one thickness it goes on a lot smoother and more uniform when the ?pile? is all the fine stuff-- in the middle of the test seat it has those ridges, and they get harder to dye uniformly 


_Modified by illi at 11:31 PM 5-11-2005_


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## joeymachine (Dec 1, 2004)

*Re: "Dyeing" seats? (illi)*

WHERE did you get all black leather door cards? for a MK2??


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: "Dyeing" seats? (joeymachine)*

from a friend of mine, they came out of a 86 gti... a lot of 86-88 gti's came with em stock


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## Deuce34 (Sep 16, 2003)

lets see pictures!


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (Deuce34)*

doh! sorry guys... im headin in the garage in a few... and will snap a few and put em up... apparently my carpet shampooer is broken so i gotta bring the seat over to a friends and see what happens... 
will keep you guys posted ... i have a feeling a lot of the dye is going to run, but after about 3 "sessions" they should be pretty good looking... if thats the case, im confident the recaro trophy fabric will dye even better than this seat...


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (illi)*

well heres how they look so far... was a little pist cuz when i pulled off all the masking tape apparently a lot of it "melted" on to the seat (from leavin the seat in the sun while i went out all day)


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## jsgti (Feb 29, 2004)

I've used RIT dye on several occasions, and my experience is that whatever it is on, when dry, it will not run or fade (this includes skin).... I've done curtains, couch cushions, and the seat covers to an '88 Yugo GVX (don't ask), nothing ever bleeded, even sitting in the yugo with wet bathing suits.


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (jsgti)*

well that is good news to hear... i got my buddies' parents' industrial looking carpet shampooer and will be shampooing the excess dye out today... will keep u guys posted on my findings .... i also picked up some spray "fabric paint" in case i need to use it to touch the seat up or darken it more if the dye fades... im gonna try not to use it at all costs though http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (illi)*

most of the dye washed out


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## VR6_Fahrer (Apr 29, 2005)

*Re: (illi)*

have you thought of bleaching the "to be dyed" section? maybe that would let the dye adhere to the fabric better? just a random though


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## jsgti (Feb 29, 2004)

*Re: (illi)*

Did you wash the covers in warm water to "set" the dye?


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## reeo (Jul 22, 2002)

*Re: (jsgti)*


_Quote, originally posted by *jsgti* »_Did you wash the covers in warm water to "set" the dye?

yea, thats when it washed out... maybe i should have done it before the dye dried?


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## reeo (Jul 22, 2002)

*Re: (VR6_Fahrer)*


_Quote, originally posted by *VR6_Fahrer* »_have you thought of bleaching the "to be dyed" section? maybe that would let the dye adhere to the fabric better? just a random though 

not a bad thought--- maybe ill try it... after all its just a test seat...


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## reeo (Jul 22, 2002)

*Re: (reeo)*

oops looks like im signed in under my little brother


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## jsgti (Feb 29, 2004)

*Re: (reeo)*

IIRC, with RIT, you must dye the fabric in warm water, so it sets into the fibers. My friend and I shampooed his Yugo, and the factory color came out with the grime. It looked terrinble, so we removed all the covers and threw them in the washer, on a warm setting, with 2 jars black rit dye. They came out dark grey the first time, so we repeated the process again. Voila, a Yugo with jet black seats


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (jsgti)*

werd-- i dont know how to take the seat covers off..


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (illi)*

well they're done and they look good... just a lil crispy on the "upstroke" if u will... but the "downstroke" is soft as stock... im gonna shampoo them and then use conditioner (like fer yer hair) --- maybe just use some pert plus and make it a one step approach... run it thru the carpet shampooer tho and i think they will soften up more... 
end result was-- use fabric/vinyl paint rather than try to dye (altho maybe if i had "set" the dye like someone had said, that method may have worked better"
overall i give the seats a 7.5-8/10, 10 being you couldnt tell they werent from the factory like that
pics wil be up in a few... gotta take a shower


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (illi)*

Well, here it is: the finished product...


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## jsgti (Feb 29, 2004)

*Re: (illi)*

Looks good http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Bwinn (Jun 12, 2004)

looks sick


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## GTIGuy01 (Apr 19, 2001)

*Re: (Bwinn)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Bwinn* »_looks sick


is that sick=good or sick=bad...
here's a http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (GTIGuy01)*

sick = good here in CT








i got your IM man--- so far no problems, but the car isnt done yet so I havent actually driven around in the seats yet, so I cant tell you for sure although I dont forsee any problems with bleeding (fading maybe over a summer season but only time will tell)


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## webthread (Mar 25, 2004)

*Re: (illi)*


_Quote, originally posted by *illi* »_
end result was-- use fabric/vinyl paint rather than try to dye (altho maybe if i had "set" the dye like someone had said, that method may have worked better"


After reading this thread, I tried doing this myself. I actually used TWO packages of rit dye because I have the all grey fabric recaros and I was going for a more drastic color change. 
I followed the instructions exactly as stated, HOT water and all, and EVERYTHING rinsed out on the first rinse. _It's not even slightly darker_.
I'm thinking maybe because it is car interior, it is designed to resist stains, perhaps treated with a stainmaster coating of some sort?


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (webthread)*

yeah im not sure whats up with that either ... i mean, it definitely got a lot darker over the 2nd coat that i did, but the first coat seemed to sink into the fabric of the trophies and did darken it somewhat noticeably ( i sprayed fabric paint over the 2nd coat (lightly) to fill in the "splotches")
hmm i wonder if its something like a "scotchguard" like you said, or maybe the actual material is some different type of material...
whats up with your sig? http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## webthread (Mar 25, 2004)

*Re: (illi)*

I was looking for the easy way out, but after much begging, my wife is going to try to sew some seat covers based on the pattern of the old recaros. I already have them all apart down to the foam anyway, the only thing left to do is undo all the seams. 

_Quote, originally posted by *illi* »_
whats up with your sig? http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

I make/sell custom gauge panels, I made a panel for someone that wanted to install a MKII speedo cluster and switches in their MKI dash. I can do easy ones too. I don't want to hijack your thread, but let me know if you want to see some pics.
http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## Mk2enthusiast (Oct 14, 2001)

*Re: (webthread)*

thats awesome man... let me know how the seat covers works out... make sure she saves the templates cuz maybe i can hook her up with some work some time too...
yeah post some pics cuz i am currently finishing up the rest of my interior on my mk2 and i need to put my gauges somewhere ... havent come up with a plan for my dash yet...
by the way this is illi, im currently at my buddys house and too lazy to sign in under my name (We're about to bounce to the bar...)


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## jsgti (Feb 29, 2004)

Now that I think about this, the Yugo seats I dyed (with success) with the RIT dye were probably made out of some cheap textile. After all, the reason they got dyed was the factory color came out with a Bissel cleaner.
Any natural fiber is easily dyed. Synthetics, like most seat covers are, I guess don't like to set the dye into the fiber.


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## illi (Mar 25, 2001)

*Re: (Mk2enthusiast)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Mk2enthusiast* »_thats awesome man... let me know how the seat covers works out... make sure she saves the templates cuz maybe i can hook her up with some work some time too...
yeah post some pics cuz i am currently finishing up the rest of my interior on my mk2 and i need to put my gauges somewhere ... havent come up with a plan for my dash yet...
by the way this is illi, im currently at my buddys house and too lazy to sign in under my name (We're about to bounce to the bar...)


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## oopseyesharted (Mar 2, 2005)

*Re: (illi)*

i dyed a set of camaro seats and i though i was in the clear...they were awesome.
I let them sit for a week on my porch too.
I installed them and the first time i sat in them they turn me all dark blue......lol


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## JamMasterJay83 (Oct 9, 2003)

*Re: (oopseyesharted)*

Nowa told me about this and i was like NO!! but they came out pretty damn good i like alot man its suttin different props bro


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