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Project: Dyeing dove grey interior to imola red & black

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#1 ·
So lately, I have been toying with the idea of changing my interior color from dove grey to Black and Imola Red combination. I was trying to decide between the cinnamon and imola but with my car being TIAG, I do not think cinnamon would work out. I know this will be a long process and I have gathered information from reading other members' threads about dyeing their interiors to different colors. I spoke with Khristie from leatherique and tried to get as much information about dyeing the interior and making sure that the dye colors that they are about to send me will match the OEM BMW color since I read somewhere about this guy who was going to do an imola red dye but then decided to go with cinnamon instead since he was told that the red dye that he wanted did not have enough red pigments due to goverment EPA restriction stuff. I asked Khristie about that and she told me that what they meant was that they could not match the deep red interiors that some other cars have but luckily for us, they have the exact BMW OEM Imola red color. So long story short, I decided to go ahead and do this dreadful project. It will take time and I will try my best to be as detailed as possible updating you guys.


I purchased the KIT #4 (48 oz of dye, 32 oz Rejuvinator Oil, 32 oz Prestine Clean and 32 oz Prepping Agent) and 1/2 oz of Crack Filler with the Imola Red Custom Color)
and also a quart of BMW OEM Black Matt finish for the plastic pieces etc.

Acrylic brushes from a hobby store...
Air brush kit and a small compressor from home depot...



I plan to start taking out the door panels and front/rear seats this saturday and start prepping them.

WISH ME LUCK!
 
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#45 ·
Thanks Steve!:thumbsup:

Looks great to me keep it up , seems like your doing everything right:hi:
thanks!

Brian,

Thanks for the short video you sent to me on my iPhone! Awesome way to start my day!!! Man your door panels look awesome!!!! :drool::drool::drool::drool:

You've done an phenominal job so far! I'm going to do everything I can to make it up there on Saturday to help you bro!

I've got to see this for myself!!! :D
Sounds good Charlie! Thanks!

looking good
:thumbsup:
 
#43 · (Edited)
Brian,

Thanks for the short video you sent to me on my iPhone! Awesome way to start my day!!! Man your door panels look awesome!!!! :drool::drool::drool::drool:

You've done an phenominal job so far! I'm going to do everything I can to make it up there on Saturday to help you bro!

I've got to see this for myself!!! :D
 
#46 ·
Updates:

I tried putting together one front door panel and one rear panel last night. I was also able to mask out the rear back rests to prepare it for the prep agent before it gets sprayed today. I did the final coats for the rear bolster seats too. I plan to sand the rear seat down with 1500-2000 grit before doing the final coat to it tonight. So far, everything is looking good. I still have yet to find time to work on the front seats but I am trying to do a systematic approach to finish it starting from the rear interior, then the dash area the finally the front seats. I also made a little video trying to show the true colors/condition of the pieces that are done.

SOME PIECES PUT TOGETHER
















MASKED OUT REAR BACK RESTS









AND A SMALL VIDEO CLIP

IMOLA RED DYED PANELS - YouTube
 
#47 ·
This is epic man, great work. I really want to do this so out of curiousity I have a handful of questions (and probably more to come later):
- What is the exact prep and dye process you used?
- How much of the dye that you bought did you actually end up using?
- Did the sprayer work better than a brush?

Thanks in advance!
 
#56 · (Edited)
:thumbsup: Thanks Charlie! Thought you would want to see how I do things for your future project!

Very nice job, Fanatic! Question for you, is the red more like in the pictures or in the video? I have noticed that in the pictures, the red looks more like a cinnamon and in the video, more like a burgundy--both look amazing.

I wanted the cinnamon interior, but I could not find an M3 with it, so I settled for an all black interior. If I decide to dye mine, I will follow every step you have taken so far.

Thank you!
The red is exactly the OEM IMOLA color. It is kinda difficult to show you guys photos because I work on this project after I get home from work which is already night time. I will take photos during the day time on the weekend before I put them in the car so that you can see the true color of the pieces.
 
#55 ·
Very nice job, Fanatic! Question for you, is the red more like in the pictures or in the video? I have noticed that in the pictures, the red looks more like a cinnamon and in the video, more like a burgundy--both look amazing.

I wanted the cinnamon interior, but I could not find an M3 with it, so I settled for an all black interior. If I decide to dye mine, I will follow every step you have taken so far.

Thank you!
 
#57 ·
Updates: I was able to finally finish the rear lower seat. Sanded it down lightly with 2000 grit to take out the tiny over sprays. Once it was sanded, it is perfect now... Texture is like OEM just like the way I had it! I was also able to prep the rear back rests and hit them with 1 coat of dye. The rear head rests were also sprayed with the final coat of the dye and should be good to go after I sand it down with 2000 grit by friday. I will be staying at work late tonight due to a lot of deadlines so I will not be able to work on it. I will continue working Friday and Saturday!

REAR SEAT DONE!
















SCOTH BRITE AND PREP AGENT USED ON THE REAR BACK RESTS



STARTED ON THE PIPINGS






1 COAT APPLIED TO THE REAR BACK RESTS










 
#60 ·
I have to admit when I read the title of this thread I clicked just to watch the train wreck...instead I'm completely impressed with the preparation, thoroughness and attention to details of this project, and most of all with the size of your enormous cojones for even attempting this. The results so far truly blow me away.

Having said that, I don't really care for the imola red and black interior. But that is neither here nor there as it's a personal preference.

 
#61 ·
Thank you sir! I knew that even before I even started this project, a lot of people will tell me that it will not work or go with the OEM instead of doing this. I also would have to admit that I got scared because of those comments but I told myself that I should be ready to buy an IMOLA OEM interior if ever I do mess this up. I made sure that I researched properly and looked at some threads that other members did in different forums. I tried to get the techniques/steps they used that worked and discarded the ones that they did and turned out bad. In most of the threads that I have read, the ones that turned out bad and started peeling/scuffing were the ones that were done quickly with not enough preparation. So with this project, I gave myself a month to work on everything just to make sure that it will be done right. Again, I am happy to share this info with everyone in the forum and I am so far, impressed on how this product works when done with the proper steps. :thumbsup:
 
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#62 ·
JUST TO CLARIFY WHAT TO DO AFTER ALL THE PIECES ARE INSTALLED:

I just spoke to the Leatherique people and they told me that after I'm done dyeing the pieces, all I have to do is apply a wax that has a high carnuba content. After a 1 or 1.5 years, they told me to apply the rejuvenator and pristine clean to it again just for maintenance. But for now, they said pristine clean should do the job whenever I want to clean it.
 
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