DYEING CARPET LINER IN M CABIN

[Captain Jim]

Has anyone successfully dyed the carpet liner on their M? What process did you use and what dye?

Thanks in advance.

Fair winds

Jim

[raycarlson]

not sure what a carpet liner on an M is,apparently i don't have one,but anything can be dyed,check with a local carpet store.

[Divecoz]

OK.... I understand what you mean , when referring to Carpet Liner.. Its a light tan.. and to dye it your have to go darker.. Why do this?
It will make the boat seem / appear smaller inside and absorb more heat ( though marginally )

[NiceAft]

The dark color will not absorb heat if it is not in the sun. Good old Ben Franklin proved this over two hundred years ago. He place large squares of varying color fabrics in the snow. The dark colors absorbed the suns rays and melted the snow. The light colors, not so much. If your hatch is open, and the sun shines in, then a dark carpet will absorb, but no big deal. Your sole won't melt If there is no sunlight hitting the carpet, and it is just hot down there, then the carpet won't be any different in absorbing heat than the cushions, wood, etc.

I have black Sunbrella fabric covering my cushions in the cockpit, and the nature of the fabric allows the cushions not to get hot. Vinyl on the other hand will get hot enough for you to cook an egg

Will the material that the carpet is made from take a dye? I would think that whatever material they use in the carpet, it is made to repel liquid. Never looked into it, so it's just a guess.


Ray

[RobertB]

I am not an expert but I will wager 10 cents that the synthetic carpet will not accept a dye (a dye as defined as something that soaks into the material). You may be able to color with something packaged in a binder (as meets the definition of a stain). Then there is paint - before you have too much of a laugh, I had a classmate years ago spray paint the carpet in his 1971 Ford Mustang - it worked but I have no long term data.

Personally, I thing the risk is too great to mess with unless you are prepared to replace all the carpet if you do not get desirable results - as in a pigment/coating that comes off on people, clothes, etc.

[Russ]

Spray paint?

Seems like a messy project.

[RobertB]

Spray paint?

Seems like a messy project.

Changing the color on all the carpeting will be messy no matter how it is done

[mastreb]

I would consider applying a felt liner of the color you like on top of the existing carpet with a spray glue. The carpet is very thin and has no backing (we got a small roll of it from the factory around something or other) and it will just pull apart by hand, so there's no easy way to removing it. Felting over it would be very simple and have consistent, "no guessing" results with very little mess.

[seahouse]

Hey Jim!

I successfully sprayed the cloth seats and floor (synthetic fibre, likely 100%) sills of a car I had in the 80’s that had a black interior that had gone greyish (sun-fading through T-roof) in a few areas.

Made the interior look like new (to match the exterior) when I was done, and never had any of it rub off on clothing, even on white clothes on a long trip. You could not tell it had been done (no build-up, felt the same), and I believe I did it a second time a few years later. (That’s a car that I sold after driving it for 9 years, for the same price, to the penny, as I paid for it when it was 3 years old).

As I recall, it was labeled as a fabric and carpet paint. Similar, but not identical to, this product….

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4 ... ?locale=en

I believe I’ve seen Dupli-Color (actually it’s a certainty, judging by the spelling of “colour”) in the US, so it’s likely available there too. (We Canadians not only talk funny, we spell funny too).

Changing the colour, as you want to do, makes it a challenge of multiple coats and ventilation/respirator, but if you’re handy and motivated, I think this product is likely your best bet for success. (Outside of having it done professionally).

Maybe try it in a small section (like behind the head, or the back of the aft birth), first(?)

- Brian.