Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Nothing beats a good dye-job!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Nothing beats a good dye-job!

    OK, this might be a close second!

    A few months back I posted a thread about how the OEM seat that Suzuki still sells is not at all the color of the original. The went from that light whitey-grey to almost a battleship grey.

    As well, they changed the texture of the seat from a suede-like material to a smooth vinyl.

    Bummer if you were looking for an original look. to make things worse the OEM grab strap they sell IS indeed the original color.

    You can see this here:



    I took the new seat and strap to my seat expert here in Winnipeg and asked him if he could give the new strap with the original color a dye-job to match the new seat.

    You tell me how he did:


    I then had a brainstorm and asked him if he could clean up and re-dye the old seat & strap back to the original light grey.

    It was quite a tall order when you see how dingy and ugly my seat was:


    Well, I think he did a pretty good job:


    If I'd known how nice a job it would turn out to be I probably would not have shelled out almost $550 for a new seat and strap.

    My guy said it was a lot of work as he has to smooth out the rough material with a variety of sanding blocks and then using over 10 coats of dye. He said the dye he used will not run of be affected by water and there is little likelihood of any "wear-thru". He also said the masking off of the strap hardware the dark front section of the old seat added to the job.

    His name is Lyle and he has a small cone man shop called Instant Vinyl Repair. He has done some great work for me in repairing cracks and splits in vinyl seats and his dye skills are awesome too s these pics will attest.

    Wayne
    Last edited by Guest; 03-09-2014, 05:46 PM.

    #2
    excellent job by your dye man!

    Comment


      #3
      You'll notice the "ass-gripper" grooves at the rear have worn out but the finished product is still really nice. Thanks!

      Comment


        #4
        Very nice, too bad the dye won't work on tears and rusty pans.
        http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...tatesMap-1.jpg

        Life is too short to ride an L.

        Comment


          #5
          The sun UV will fade that dye- I'm a leather worker and have learned you have to use the appropriate leather for out door projects. Those are the leather that comes factory tanned.
          My Tandy rep here in Louisville has 38 years in leather work and wouldn't even sell me the dye to try it- for inside a car- if it gets wet from rain or worse sweat- you have it on your pants. For warned.

          Comment


            #6
            Well, it wasn't really dye. It's a vinyl paint. Guaranteed not to run, fade or wear thru.

            W

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by 300kph View Post
              Well, it wasn't really dye. It's a vinyl paint. Guaranteed not to run, fade or wear thru.

              W
              I figured it had to be paint, but didn't know if your seat was leather- the vinyl paint is pretty durable- as is the leather paint.

              Comment

              Working...
              X