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Are you saying the dye aerosols offered in the UK just contain regular paint and nothing that's specifically for vinyl and plastics? You opted for SEM products, presumably these do differ and is the correct paint to use? I'm not looking for OEM colours, custom if anything.
Ye, even the stuff is the same in the U.S - any paint you get that sprays on will just be a coating that sits on the material, whereas a dye actually sinks into the material which is why it needs to go through the process of being bathed. You could probably find a place that does dyeing and drop the parts of... i don't know if they would do the plastics but the seats you could do. - the only thing with the seats is that they have a foam layer sewed into them so not sure how that would react.
Here are some comments i found about the Duplcolour Dye:
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showt ... hlight=dye
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I did my dash, center console, front seats, and carpet with the duplicolor dye and they came out amazing. It's been almost 2 months and i still haven't had any issues with anything scratching off. Only problem i have had is the carpet shows some wear near the gas pedal because my foot is always touching it, but for $20 i cant complain.
That's the thing... if it's wearing off on the carpet near the gas pedal... it's just a coating, the pigment of the material hasn't changed. Just to be clear though, those 'interior dye' paints are the ones to use for an interior makeover but i don't like it when marketing teams use the wrong wording.. a dye cannot scratch of because it's changed the pigment, the stuff you buy has just sunken barely into the top layer, which is why i would be uncomfortable using them for seats... for other parts though it's the stuff to use but just keep in mind that it's only a coating. The SEM stuff i used is in the same category as Duplicolour and VHT and it looks the part, did the dash too. However it was able to wipe it off with thinner (had a dry spot right in the middle of the dash, only noticed it last month - ran over with some cloth but ended up getting fibres caught in it, so ran over with some thinner and it soaked away too much, so ended up having to clean the whole part off with thinner. So, from first hand experience i know that it's just a coating. Also had a few small bits peel off on the edges on one of the panels where masking tape that had been left on too long, pulled up a few bits of coating as it was removed, revelaing the tan underneath).
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You mention NPD for sourcing parts, a cheaper supplier than F-Body Warehouse or Rick's Camaro's ?
Those places will carry them too from what i can remember, i'm not sure on the price differences but i've used NPD a few times and they are quick at shipping and also do the recipt in such a way that you don't end up paying customs on the shipping cost (bizzare why the government does this).
Hope that helps!
Cheers, Ray
Thanks for the info about the extra customs charge. I wasn't aware of that, have problems with additional duty and or excise on carriage as well then?
It's a shame about these supposed dye products not doing a proper job. I guess the only way to make sure an original or repro part is correctly coloured is to have it dipped professionally. However the Duplicolour seems to be working out well. You mentioned a little colour wear on the carpet,what did you use to re-colour it?
Sadly someone in the past has re coloured some of the plastic interior parts. I reckon all of this will need to be removed before any form of painting can commence? Also did you use a primer at all?