My dash won't dye.............

[Anonymous]

I am attempting to colour my dash in black, but have run into a rather large problem. I have purchased some Halfords black vinyl dye (the one that says that it bonds with the plastic to alter its colour), however it doesn?t appear to be working correctly for me. I have tried the spray on a test piece ? the underside of the lower shelf. I cleaned it thoroughly with warm water and washing up liquid, then applied 3 coats of the spray leaving 15 minute intervals between each coat (as directed on the can). I have then waited for 24 hours, but the paint doesn?t appear to have bonded with the plastic correctly as it just peels off, leaving the original colour on the plastic.

The only thing that I can think of that might have affected the bonding process is that a few weeks ago I applied some ?autoglym? interior polish, which gives the plastic a protective coating. This was done before I ever thought about changing the colour to black, could this be the factor that is stopping the dye from working ? if so, can anyone suggest how I can get around this?

Can anyone help me, or tell me where I am going wrong?
SY ? did you have any problems like this when you tried to spray your dash?

Pickle

[Anonymous]

Sounds like that could be your problem, I had a similar problem when spraying my gte spoiler. The bloke I bought it off had put half a ton of polish on it and I couldn;t get anything to stick to it.

In the end I just lightly sanded it down and took the top coat of platic off. it worked fine then.

:D:D 2.0l 8v. It actually works !!!! :D:D

[Anonymous]

If only I hadn't polished it before hand, will get some sand paper and try that out, but don't really want to end up with a dash with loads of tiny scratches on it. Can anyone else can think of another way to get the polish off without sanding?

[Anonymous]

u using any primer cause i know foliatec do sum, its clear stuff my mate used it on his mini dash cause it was brown and he sprayed it black worked fine. Try lightly sandin wiv 1000grade or sumin with warm soapy water then prime, spray.

[Anonymous]

I didn't use a primer when I did it (on the can it didn't say anything about priming it first, so didn't get any).

Think I will pop back down to Halfords and find out if they can tell help me out with it. Will quiz him about putting primer on first.

Do you think that you can sand down the soft (main dash) section, as it isn't solid plastic?

Why don't things ever go right :(

Any more help would be grately appreciated.

Pickle

[Anonymous]

Alright then, I went to Halfords to see what they could suggest and they said similar to your advice "pukka-novasr" so I have got some primer and wet and dry paper. They also suggested using "cellulose thinners" before priming the plastic, however I have just noticed that on the side of the tin it says "Do not use on plastics" !! Does anyone know if the thinners part is necessary and if it will harm the plastic dash?

Pickle

[Anonymous]

it will probaly melt it if u leave it on there too long id leave the thinners bit out.

[Anonymous]

If you leave it on the plastic too long, there is a chance it could "melt" it. Best thing to do is use some diluted meths or white spirit.

Ben :)

cheese@novaload.org.uk

[Anonymous]

use the green scourer your mum uses for the kitchen this will bring it off and not scratch the surface i use em for panel repair work saves a lot of effort

[Anonymous]

check out this link it is for sale in this country you just got to find it this is the brand the pro's use and dont tell you about


http://www.motorhead.net/cgi-bin/viewproduct.exe?1012615&pdetail.htm

[Anonymous]

the whole thing sounds well dodgy

if u use primer then it wont be flexible like the dye so it will still peel and crack off!

Micky@novaload.net :)

[Anonymous]

When i painted mine, i jus rubbed it all down with thiners, then painted it with pvc bumper paint, cos its flexible stuff. Thiners wont damage the dash as long as u jus scrub it on & then wipe it off.

[Anonymous]

look i bouht thr halfords stuff, i used it with no primer and no laquer and its fine, do not sand the dash either there is no need, the halfords stuff is dye, as in penetrates and re-colours if you sand this will show up when completed, if you prime the dye wont dye the dash it will sit ontop of the primer and flake off when you touch it, just clean it relly well first and you cant go wrong, i gave it a really good scrub with fairy to remove all grease thebn i wiped it down with thinners.

[Anonymous]

So you don't recommend using a plastic primer first? This is turning very confusing, lots of people are saying different things........ Mark D - I will try your advice and see how I get on.
Has anyone else done/had difficulty trying to dye their dash?

Just one question, will the dye work differently on the dash as it would to the lower shelves, or the center console? Just wondering because the dash is soft, but the other bits are hard plastic.

Cheers for all your help
Pickle

[Anonymous]

Sy - When rub it down with thinners, do you just need to wipe it off with a dry cloth? Just wanted to check that I could get the thinners off before the plastic starts to melt......

Pickle

[Anonymous]

yeah just a quick wipe over to remove any shit that gets on betwwen cleaning and spraying. the dye does work. do not use it on the lower shelves or console. either spray or trim. ive trimmed mine black with a bank of switches on polished ally. mmmm nice

[Anonymous]

I bet that your console looks wicked with black trim and alliminium bits.......

I am currently testing the dye on the underneath of one of the shelves. If it didn't work correctly on the shelf then I wouldn't like to apply it to the main dash in case of the same problem. Are saying that the dye will not work correctly on the shelves anyway?

I think that I might get some dark grey and black trimming on the console and shelves then, would look trick.

[Anonymous]

the dye doesnt work on the shelves as it cant penetrate it it flakes of. do the shelves with normal paint and primer. the vinyl dash works with the halfords stuff really well just make sure that you give the dash a really good clean before you do it. i mean relly good keep doin it and doin it till you can feel how clean it is. (e.g. not all slimey from cockpit shine) im not botherin with the shelves cod they take up to much room. i trimmed the sides of the center console with acoustic carpet left over from my boot build. and then attached a piece of ally over the top. round the gear leaver etc. ill be putting a guide on my website. www.novaheaven.com when its up and running at the mo most of it is under construction. check it out

[Anonymous]

ive seen marks dash and it looks fine to me

Micky@novaload.net :)

[Anonymous]

I have just checked my dash, and there is a fuse box cover (at least I think it is) on the right hand side of the dash (by the light switch). The cover is made from the hard plastic, same as the center console. This would look pretty s**t if it is left grey with a sexy black dash. How would you go about making that black, so that it will not flake?

Pickle

[Anonymous]

plastic primer then balck paint.

as with all spraying preparation is the key

[Anonymous]

Cheers for all the help lads. Think that I am going to use Saturday to do the whole job. If all goes well, will have a black dash by Monday next week......... ;) Will let you all know how I get on with the Halfords dye.

Pickle

[Anonymous]

u gotta buy special primer its clear stuff from foliatec its shit hot as i said b4 my mate used it then sprayed some other stuff over the dye to protect it ask halfords about it. looks like my mtes dash is black never tell its bin sprayed also its very durable.

[Anonymous]

i used halford stuff on my dash - no probs at all on any of it...

Pics at
http://Photos.yahoo.com/PhilJM2002

[Anonymous]

Nice looking Nova Phil ;)