Mileage: 88,493
A good portion of the interior panels in my car needed to be replaced. Due to the age, sun, and wear the plastic started to get chalky, flaky, and crumbly. There is pretty much no fix once the plastic starts to deteriorate and you have to replace the panels. I have been accumulating the panels I have needed over the last couple of years, so the only thing I needed to do was dye them. In order to keep reproduction part costs low, most reproduction parts are only offered in one color. Black. So if you have any other interior color, you either need to find a good quality original panel or dye the reproduction ones. I did a TON of research on what materials and methods to use to properly dye plastic panels. The bulk of the information I got, once again, came from the Trans Am Forum I belong to, 78ta.com, and can be read HERE. The below list of parts is what I have to dye for the interior of my car. I also listed the price and supplier I got the part from in case anyone was interested.
LH Interior Sail Panel – $59.96 – Classic Industries
RH Interior Sail Panel – Original Part, dyeing for color match
LH Interior Lower Rear Quarter Trim – $135.19 – Classic Industries
RH Interior Lower Rear Quarter Trim – $114.39 – Classic Industries
LH Kick Panel – Original Part, dyeing because of faded color
T-Top Mounted Trim Panels (LH & RH) – $110.00 – F-Body Warehouse
Lower Front Seat Belt Bracket Covers – $42.00 – eBay, used part
Seat Belt Seat Retainers – Original Part, dyeing because of faded color
Coat Hooks – $16.45 – eBay, used part, dyeing for color match
LH T-Top Opening Molding – $39.00 – Ames Performance Engineering
RH T-Top Opening Molding – $39.00 – Ames Performance Engineering
Seat Back Panels – $65.00 – Private party sale, used part
All of the panels were thoroughly cleaned with a spray degreaser, wiped down with Acetone, and then wiped down with a clean cloth. I applied around five light, mist coats of the SEM brand Camel Tan dye (#15173) to everything. I went through about seven cans of color coat. I let all the items dry and them followed the color coat up with five light, mist coats of the SEM brand Low Luster Clear Coat (#13023). I went through about four cans of the clear coat. The SEM brand dye is AWESOME and super easy to use. You just have to take your time and try not to use it like a traditional spray paint. Many light coats is much better than a medium or thick one!
The only panels that I had trouble with were the LH and RH Interior Lower Rear Quarter Trim. It seemed no matter how I hung them or dyed them, I would always get overspray trapped into the area around the ashtray opening. The best technique I found to mostly eliminate this is by applying about 15 SUPER LIGHT coats of the dye to that area, so the overspray never got that bad and wouldn’t stick to the panel. Other than that one issue, I think my first experience with using dye on interior plastic panels went really well!
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