[ds968]

I had an appointment to have the tops of the door panels re-dyed ( slight discoloration where the classic grey in our cars tends to take on a brownish shade in a few spots.. ) and after dropping the car off in the morning I learned two hours later that the "dye guru" just called in sick, so I had to reschedule the job for next week. Although there are about 10 or 12 professionals working at this shop, and any one of the other guys probably could have done the work, the owner wanted only the best specialist they had to touch my car, so he suggested we wait until next week, if that'd be ok with me. However, I digress... I've had a few other things done there, my 944 leather seats reupholstered, the bolster on the 968 driver seat repaired, etc. and the results have been nothing short of perfection - showroom quality look and feel. Incidentally, this is the shop of choice for the local Porsche dealer and to which they refer all their customers so there are always Carreras, Boxsters, etc in the shop for refurb or custom interior work. They also work on collectors / concours cars so one gets an eyefull of beautiful, rare vehicles - 50s Chevys, Vettes, 60s Mustangs, Vettes, Camaros, all in absolute cherry condition... I digress again [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img] [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] , but I needed to preface this to put things in the right perspective and underscore the experience: I pulled in the shop, got out of the car and within a minute nearly all the guys working on other cars at the time walked over to check it out. These folks are surrounded by beautiful cars every single day of their life so you'd think they're not easily impressed by anything anymore, yet everyone of them admired the car and had something nice to say about it. One guy simply shook his head and said : "you know, they just don't make them this beautiful anymore - great car !" and walked away. As much as I know and am reminded of this every time I look at my car, and as many compliments I get on it at gas stations, or parking lots, etc.. the simplicity of that statement from someone in that line of work, just made my day !

968 RULES !

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[Ryan]

I had the tops of my panels reupholstered for like $99.00 each. New vinyl is better than a dye job. Have you considered it? How much is a dye job?

My problem was the same as yours, but my vinyl was also starting to degrade.

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[ds968]

I'll have to check with them on Tuesday and see what a re-vinyl job may cost. Money is not a big factor here, just the concern that reupholstering almost never leaves the same shrink-tight finish as the factory, so you know something was done to it. On the other hand, may be I should consider leather for that portion; since I rest my arm there most of the time it might feel even better resting it on some top notch hide [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/huh.gif[/img]

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[hot968]

I have the same problem on my car. The top of the door panel is all brown and very ugly. The man at my repair shop said it is a chemical reaction from the rubber on the window. He could only try to dye it but I didn't like that he had never done it before. I wanted to replace the panel but haven't found one in better condition then what I have. Would love to hear how you make out with this repair wether it is dyed or repaired with new. Thanks

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[SILVY968]

I have had some experience with "dye". I had heat warped "A" pillars as my PO was in Utah. I could only find used dark blue but my interior is black. An upholstery shop suggested SEM product. I used it with EXCELLENT results and would recommend it to anyone.
Here is the link to their color chart.
http://www.msitrt.com/SEMchart.htm
They make spray and brush style dye.
The results are fast, the method of application easy and the results excellent. The dye that I used does have a sheen, so if you are looking for a flat finish be aware.
Brian

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[flash]

i had a couple of pieces shot on the white car like this - they look great, but..............

upside - cheap, quick, easy

upside - you can redo it very easily

downside - it is paint - it has to be treated like paint, NOT like vinyl - no chemicals

downside - it is paint - it scratches like paint - it stains like paint

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[SILVY968]

All true.
My pillars are not touched as a door piece would be, but it may be a solution for other people and other parts.

Brian

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[ds968]

ok, it's done. top of the door panels were re-dyed and it looks absolutely perfect. just a slight more texture to the touch now, but that's expected. not cheap - the owner charged me $ 225 ( as opposed to the initial $ 350 estimate ) as a courtesy discount because they had to rescehdule my first appt, but still far less expensive than refurbishing with new vinyl which requires a few more hours of separating the tops from the rest of the panels, then molding and resewing the pieces back on, yada, yada .. and at $ 100/ hr labor rate it adds up pretty quickly.

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[xrad]

ds968: post some before and after pics...

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[ds968]

<!--quoteo(post=67691:date=Feb 24 2009, 05:38 PM:name=xrad)-->QUOTE (xrad @ Feb 24 2009, 05:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->ds968: post some before and after pics...<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


I would, but I did not take any before pics...

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[biotechee]

As the young kids say, this thread is useless without pics!!!! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad.gif[/img]
[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

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[968Syncro]

<!--quoteo(post=67480:date=Feb 20 2009, 07:02 PM:name=SILVY968)-->QUOTE (SILVY968 @ Feb 20 2009, 07:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I have had some experience with "dye". I had heat warped "A" pillars as my PO was in Utah. I could only find used dark blue but my interior is black. An upholstery shop suggested SEM product. I used it with EXCELLENT results and would recommend it to anyone.
Here is the link to their color chart.
http://www.msitrt.com/SEMchart.htm
They make spray and brush style dye.
The results are fast, the method of application easy and the results excellent. The dye that I used does have a sheen, so if you are looking for a flat finish be aware.
Brian<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Brian, (and all)

Thanks for this thread, my car has the same problem with browning of the grey panels.

On the link above for SEMchart it shows many different grays, but I didn't see one labeled "classic gray" which is the name for the gray in our cars. So it looks like a hit or miss on that one, but it sounds like you bought black so that was probably an easy match.

For some months I had saved this product as a dye (http://www.leatherworldtech.com/ProductInf...=Classic%20Grey).

Flash, thanks for the clarification on how these products work, that they are really a form of paint. I was always wondering how a "dye" might penetrate a vinyl plastic, didn't see realistic to have a dye that soaks in.

I have the browning on the door tops, but also my dashboard is faded. Car was in Texas for many years, maybe it was in the sun a lot.

Roland

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[flash]

i know that i've heard people say that the brush on type is a dye, but as you say, you can't dye vinyl - whichever it is, it really doesn't matter though, since it looks great when it's done -

as long as you keep that in mind that it is just subject to the same things, and has the same limitations that any paint would, on the right parts, it's just fine - it has been holding up well for the last year on the parts i had done on the white car - there are some marks on a couple of the panels, but they don't look bad enough yet to redo again

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[SILVY968]

<!--quoteo(post=67717:date=Feb 25 2009, 07:59 AM:name=968Syncro)-->QUOTE (968Syncro @ Feb 25 2009, 07:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Brian, (and all)

Thanks for this thread, my car has the same problem with browning of the grey panels.

On the link above for SEMchart it shows many different grays, but I didn't see one labeled "classic gray" which is the name for the gray in our cars. So it looks like a hit or miss on that one, but it sounds like you bought black so that was probably an easy match.

For some months I had saved this product as a dye (http://www.leatherworldtech.com/ProductInf...=Classic%20Grey).

Flash, thanks for the clarification on how these products work, that they are really a form of paint. I was always wondering how a "dye" might penetrate a vinyl plastic, didn't see realistic to have a dye that soaks in.

I have the browning on the door tops, but also my dashboard is faded. Car was in Texas for many years, maybe it was in the sun a lot.

Roland<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Roland,

Maybe a grey that it a bit darker might look good if you do the dash and both door top panels. Hell, it's so easy that you might consider coating all the grey with a fresh coat of SEM grey of your choice.
Brian

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