Dyeing dash material

I have a car, a Stratos, with the same dash material as on the Dino - "mouse fur." Over the years it's turned brownish, but so far still looks good to me - a patinated original. I don't think black would look good now, at its age. I've had the car 20 years. The cover on my Dino, which eems to have been garaged in the US most of its life, is darker; I believe it is also original an wll rurn brownish over time, specialy here in the tropics. I have no plans ever to re-dye it. If the material has no major stains or tears, still has its nap, I believe one should just let it age naturally. My opinion. Cheers.

 

Aerosol sued dye works well on mouse hair dashes

 

I had mine replaced almost 20 years ago. It faded and discolored, even though I kept it covered nearly all the time by a black felt cover I'd made for it.

Mine was redyed about 3 years ago. I was unhappy with the result immediately, and wish I had not done it. The texture of the fur was thickened. It's also not aging nicely. Replacing it is now on my to do list.

Many years ago. at an FCA Concours, one of the judges told me that ArmourAll would bring the original look of the original (not dyed) back. I didn't have the guts to try it: my garage is an Amourall free zone.

 

use the bumper treatment BACK TO BLACK

mouse hair is flocked vinyl.

 

Except for stainless steel exhaust manifolds, my Stratos is stock. It has a very different feel from the Dino.

Good luck, and I hope the suggestions work.

 

I used VHT black fabric dye in a spray can and was very happy with the results. Anything you try should be on a hidden area to be sure you are satisfied before commiting the whole dash.

 

I did it a long time ago and it still looks basically black. They usually fade to a tan color. The spray didn't seem to hurt the dash material at all so I suppose you could do it periodically as needed. The original stuff faded on contact with air. I had original material from FAF in Atlanta and recovered the dash back in '84. Kept the car in the garage 99% of the time and it still started to fade.

 

Suede dye worked for me.

http://joesshoeservice.com/products.cfm?sid=17676864C23659102115002G527941046N209Z247Z222Z94X42774611F351293&c=16

Here are the before and after photos

Pietro
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This is the only picture I have of the Stratos interior on this computer, You can see the fabric is somewhat brownish now.
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