Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

[Gary Wilkerson]

I met a guy with a really nice C2 at the local cruise night. The car was originally saddle interior but someone over the years dyed the dash pads black and installed new door panels, carpet, etc.
Is there anyway to remove the black from the dashpads?
Thought I'd through it out there!

Gary

[Terry F.]

Re: Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

I have used extremely hot water (cranked up the water heater in the house)and was able to slowly peal the dye off. It was a very slow process.

I would suggest you fiend try some laqure thinner and try wiping it off. You want to remove as much of the dye without softening the vinyl. It may leave some dye in the grain. After he is done, he will have to redye it the original color. Panels must be removed to do this nicely.

If he searches high and low, he may be able to find some original panels to replace them with.

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

Gary,

-------Many years ago I watched Mike H (a freqent poster here) take some mild paint stripper and take the dye right off a couple of dash pads. I dont want to say what brand as I would probably be wrong. I would think it would be the water soluable kind, maybe?
-------Hopefully Mike will see this post quickly and help a bit more. It really worked slick!!!.........Bill S

[Justin N.]

Re: Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

Gary,
I have used and find Jasco to be my favorite. It even comes in rattle cans. Most Do-It centers and Home Depots have this brand. It is water soluble. I'd leave it on only a few seconds(10-15), then clean off with damp rag or water bottle to check progress. Good luck!

Justin #41362

[Chuck S.]

Re: Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

Gary, the bottom line is...you won't know for sure until you try it.

My gut is telling me that trying to remove essentially black paint from light-colored, grained vinyl is going to yield a less-than-perfect result. I expect you will have enough impossible-to-remove black residue left in the embossed grain to make them look dull and dirty. Another potential problem is that any solvents strong enough to take off the black, may also fade the original color in the dashpads, leaving them a little lighter than other correct color interior parts.

If you are prepared to live with that imperfect result, and/or dye the dash pads back to saddle again, it could be worth a try. If your objective is to have a saddle interior again, it would certainly be worth trying to remove the black before spinging for replacements. If you are not happy with the result, you can always get some replacements and ebay'em the old ones.

[Gary Wilkerson]

Re: Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

Thanks, I got his number we're going to hook up and do some work on my 66. I'll see if he's willing to try some of your suggestions.

Thanks all!

Gary

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

Chuck,

-------While you would think that what you say is correct, quite the opposite was true. The pads Mike stripped were saddle underneath as well and came out of the whole ordeal as good as new. They even seemed a bit more supple. Everyone in the shop was impressed. The black came out of the embossed grain and, honestly, I remember that those dashpads could have gone in any top flight car! My fading memory says that a tooth-brush may have been part of this whole process.
--------Obviously a trial and error process should be exercised when attacking this problem.........Bill S

[Tony Alison]

Re: Can a upholstery "dye job" be removed?

You might want to try brake fluid, it will remove paint and it is mild. I've seen people use it on boats to remove clear coat on metalflake gelcoats to refinish.