Fun With Dupli-Color Vinyl & Fabric

[rhett325i]

So I recently acquired some tan houndstooth door panels, and had a problem. The panels are pearl-beige, and my interior is natur. So I thought I would see if there was a "cheap and easy" way to fix this.
In all of my searching, i could only find people who used vinyl dyes to convert their door panels from some other color to black, or repaint interior pieces that were already black. I did, however, find that a lot of people have good things to say about the Dupli-Color brand. Unlike SEM, you can get it at a lot of local parts stores.
Anyway, Dupli-Color makes 2 different "tan" vinyl dyes.
[1] Medium Beige HVP113
[2] Desert Sand HVP108
This is what the can looks like:

I picked up a can of each and went nuts on a spare natur panel I had lying around:
[Left: Medium Beige] [Middle: typical dirty faded Natur] [Right: Desert Sand]

So it turns out that the Meduim Beige is a pretty damn close match. The Desert sand looks kinda like E30Trash's Mayo wheels. The above photo was taken after the panel sat overnight. Here is a close-up of the Medium Beige area:

I then got some painter's tape to mask off the cloth portions, and started on the rear panels. I cleaned them with some simple green gave them 3 light coats.
One panel masked off before cleaning:

One done, one to go:

Closeup of the end result:

This last photo was taken just after spraying. I think it will lighten a bit overnight. Installed pics + front panels to come.

[az3579]

Nice. Looks like an easy way to TLC some door cards.

[m5zeichman]

I really like that pattern on the insert.

[Sammy7]

Damn, that's nice and almost exactly what I'm trying for. Where'd you get the cloth?

[midduke]

Looks really good man. Nice job.

[rhett325i]

Damn, that's nice and almost exactly what I'm trying for. Where'd you get the cloth?

The cloth came with the panels. This pattern is pretty rare.

[BMWonly]

You can do amazing things with vinyl spray. I did the centers of the front seats in my 2002, and it held up very well over the 3 years of ownership. They were all black before:
Dieter

[RADI0ACTIV3M4N]

What did you use for your 2002? Duplicolor? I can't imagine any kind of spray lasting long through wear.

[Edev]

What did you use for your 2002? Duplicolor? I can't imagine any kind of spray lasting long through wear.

Why would you have water in the cabin of your car

[610EURO]

Why would you have water in the cabin of your car

where do you see water ? and my DD has been in water up to the roof .. literally

[mastermatty]

hey that looks pretty good, always wanted to do a two tone black/tan door card with the black in the middle section

[rhett325i]

I got the rear panels installed today, and I can say that I am pretty happy with how they look. They aren't a "perfect" match, but close enough for the $12 that I spent on the dye. I am also not a professional photographer, and the lighting is a bit wierd. My rear seat is also pretty faded. Anyway, you guys be the judge:
Here is a pic of each side:


In this pic you can see the difference in color pretty well. The front panels will match the rear very soon.

[BMWonly]

What did you use for your 2002? Duplicolor? I can't imagine any kind of spray lasting long through wear.

Pretty sure it was "SEM" flexible coating. I cleaned the seats with soapy water, dried them and then sprayed many thin layers.
I used the car as my DD and drove about 25K miles in 3 years. I was very surprised that the paint did not wear. Of course it all depends on your weight, size and shape of your behind, I guess ...

Dieter
http://www.vinylprosem.com/page/1285420 and
http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/semccaero.aspx
sells it, but I got mine at a local automotive paint shop.

[davey101]

woah! those seats, what style of recaros are those?

and im sure itll fade and match a bit more over time. really digging the houndstooth

[rhett325i]

woah! those seats, what style of recaros are those?

and im sure itll fade and match a bit more over time. really digging the houndstooth

Thanks man, the Recaros were originally taken from a Corrado, and recovered. They also happen to be the same style that was optional on the Euro E30 M3.

[rhett325i]

I got one of the front panels sprayed and installed. The passenger one needs a little repair before it can be installed.

[pennpen]

thats a funky steering wheel lol nice though man

[Sammy7]

Keeping the arm rest black?