Headliner dye?

[‘Merica]

My 2013’s headliner and pillar trim are starting to show their age. The beige color looks somewhat dingy and shows every bit of dirt and picks up handprints very easily. There is some staining that I’m unable to remove which is beginning to trigger my OCD. My car has black carpet, grey seats, and the aforementioned beige pieces. Lately, I’ve been wondering how it would look if I ditched the beige for all black. I‘m thinking the two tone with the grey seats, door, and dash inserts would look pretty decent. Looking around the used parts market, it seems an all black headliner for a solid roof car is a unicorn.

That leads me to wonder about the feasibility of using some type of spray dye on the headliner and pillar trim. After tearing down the dash and door yesterday to replace the MCU bezel and rebuild a door handle, I’m fairly confident I could get all of pieces out for spraying. I’m not worried about the dye transferring to clothes or rubbing off.

Anyone have any experience with this method, or would it be better to have it recovered by an upholstery shop?

 

[SSedan]

Not on a Tesla but I have used SEM has products that work great on leather and vinyl, I even used it to change burgundy carpet on the side of a center console to tan.

Upholstery & Trim | Market | SEM Products.

A headliner is going to be challenging to mask everything else but I think it could be done.

How many miles are on the car? If the windshield is etched and pitted I might consider replacing it, in which case if you have the garage space you might have the glass shop pull and leave allowing you to pull the headliner. I know it sounds crazy but I think it is worth considering. Masking to do this in car overhead is going to be tough.
We often don't notice windshield getting worn out but they do, if you have ever had a higher mileage windshield broken it is stunning the improve a new one makes in night wet weather driving in particular.

I should say I haven't priced glass for an S. If it is $4-500 I would seriously consider springing for it, if it is $1200 I might not.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

I agree with SSedan. SEM makes decent interior painting products that will probably accomplish what you're looking to do. But like SSedan said, masking is going to be the real work.

 

[jelloslug]

I have used SEM product for years with superb results. They can be custom mixed also. With that said, you would be much better off just cleaning the fabric properly than trying to dye over the dirt. The dye is not going to stick to the dirt very well.

 

[SSedan]

I have used SEM product for years with superb results. They can be custom mixed also. With that said, you would be much better off just cleaning the fabric properly than trying to dye over the dirt. The dye is not going to stick to the dirt very well.

That is a good point that you need to thoroughly clean first.

 

[‘Merica]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Unfortunately, the staining is so bad in some places, no amount of scrubbing I’ve been able to do makes it look good anymore. I’ve jumped right into this project. All the trim is out of the car and I’ve sprayed two pieces - one with Rustoleum gloss, one with Duplicator flat. They are very close, but the gloss definitely looks darker and may be a better match for the black vinyl in the car. My plan is to paint all the trim prices individually, then mask the inside of the car with a lot of sheets and spray the headliner in place (well ventilated with a respirator!).

Pics so far:

 

[‘Merica]

Finished, and I’m so happy I tackled this one. All in all, it was about 10 hours of work between disassembly, painting, trial and error, and reassembly. I’m covered in paint speckles and ready for a beer!

I ended up coating everything with a base coat of duplicilor (no other brands available locally) flat black fabric dye for the initial color change. I followed up with a second coat of duplicolor gloss black on top to darken it up. I used 8 or 9 cans total. I think the darker headliner really enhances the contrast of the grey door inserts, and it looks cleaner.

I love projects like this because it forces you to learn how some of the systems work. Today I leaned how the seat belt buckles are constructed. Disassembling them was really the only way to get the B pillars apart for painting. Kind of intricate little buggers with the spring mechanisms on each side.

Pics - The first one has nothing to do with COVID-19

 

[JasontheBeaver]

Happy to see respiratory protection!
You're keeping everything open to accelerate the dissipation of the paint fume odors I assume.
Good job man!

 

[BrianS85]

Is the fabric still soft? Or does it feel a little crispy. That looks awesome btw.

 

[‘Merica]

It feels the same to me. The original had a rough texture to it - not the soft suede type.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

Is the fabric still soft? Or does it feel a little crispy. That looks awesome btw.

Great question!
This is the benefit of using a designated interior paint, it dries more flexible than regular paint.
Another detailer's trick is after the paint is dry, with a gloved hand or light brush, rub on it to break loose any particles and restore flexibility. If this flakes off too much paint and reveals the color beneath then you either didn't prep the surface properly, or just mist on another coat and repeat.

 

[‘Merica]

Here’s what I used.

 

[‘Merica]

Clearer pics of trim - this time with daylight!

 

[‘Merica]

Finished up this project with a swap of some 2018 visors. They look so good compared to the 2013 set I had!

 

[jobiggs24]

Looks awesome...great job...

 

[DCNSX]

So... I'm a big fan, at least in theory, of the lighter-colored headliners. (I'm a prospective Model S buyer - looking for grey or white interior -only). Do you feel the whole interior is darker now? or do you not notice it? Thanks for this thread, I will make sure any on-line seller sends me photos of the headliner before buying.

 

[‘Merica]

Oh, it definitely darkened up the interior, but that’s part of what I was after.

 

[jimtelsa]

how did you power the 2018 visors in your car?

 

[‘Merica]

There is an unused connector under the microphone grate between the visors. It has 12v and ground available. I ran wires from there to both sides and spliced directly into the visors. Works great!

 

[jobiggs24]

I tackled mine this weekend too thanks to your thread. I hated the tan and there were watermarks around the sunroof from previous owner...all better now Thanks for this thread