AcSchnitzer318is
11-04-2009, 01:39 AM
Well, kind of. The actual process of doing it is easy, albeit time consuming. I did mine in a day. I've heard of ppl doing this with the carpet in the car, but I prefer a more complete approach.
I've read about ppl doing this and was a bit skeptical, but I have a spare car with a spare carpet so I figured what the hell. Not much cash outlay @ about $20.
Needed:
3 cans DupliColor Vinyl & Fabric spray
Carpet brush
Spray Can top "gun" (saves your fingers from fatigue, trust me)
Process:
1. Pull carpet, you'll need to pull the center console front and back, seats, side sills, speaker grill things, gas pedal from bottom clips, round rubber thing in drivers footwell, and seat belt metal bar. Then cut around the HVAC stuff, shouldn't need to cut too much carpet. Like 3 cuts on each side all less than 6". After all that you can begin to wrestle the carpet out. Don't be shy... cuz it won't. Don't forget the little piece covering the rear seat bottom area.
2. With the carpet out pull it somewhere well ventilated. This stuff gives you a rowdy headache if done in an enclosed area. Ask me how I know. Then THOROUGHLY vacuum the entire carpet. Now take a dish soap and water mixture with a toothbrush and clean the heel pads and side kick pad on the drivers side. After clean, dry them. Then rub them down with rubbing alcohol. Let dry.
3. Now spray on 2 even coats of the paint. Spray in multiple directions. Don't over do the vinyl with spray or it will run/drip. It's a paint not a dye and will leave your carpet hard and crusty. This had me worried at first, more on that later.
4. After the other coats are dry, ~20 minutes, take the carpet brush and brush the carpet in the direction that let's the original color of your carpet show through. Now spray the last coat to cover the exposed original color.
5. If you had good coverage you should now be able to brush the carpet with your hand in any direction and not see the original color. If this is not true, put on more coats in the areas that need it. You can always go back and touch it up later once it's in the car if you find a spot later.
6. You should be happy with your new looking carpet now, but less than satisfied with the feel of it. Well kick off your shoes and get to walking on it. Seriously, spend 15 or 20 minutes walking, kneeling, or otherwise stamping the carpet. Brought mine back to 98% stock plushness.
7. Now as they say the installation is the reverse of removal... but slightly harder. Can be a BEAR to get the carpet back in place. Took me longer than removal for sure.
And here are the results... I did find some spots (with the help of the flash actually) that needed some touch ups. This is easy to do with the carpet in the car and since the paint dries in like 15min, it's not a big deal.
Before:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/3981/img2017w.jpg
After:
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1152/img2018.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5950/img2019z.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9808/img2020g.jpg
I was intentionally light on the areas under the seat... reason for the different color.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2245/img2021s.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3050/img2022w.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2502/img2023k.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9684/img2024s.jpg
Last one is because I'm a pic whore. ;) But for the cash outlay I think the results are ridiculously good. And the paint seems to be super durable as I was rolling, crawling, scraping, and otherwise roughing it up pretty good while reinstalling it and the rest of the interior. Questions, berating, and comments welcome.
I've read about ppl doing this and was a bit skeptical, but I have a spare car with a spare carpet so I figured what the hell. Not much cash outlay @ about $20.
Needed:
3 cans DupliColor Vinyl & Fabric spray
Carpet brush
Spray Can top "gun" (saves your fingers from fatigue, trust me)
Process:
1. Pull carpet, you'll need to pull the center console front and back, seats, side sills, speaker grill things, gas pedal from bottom clips, round rubber thing in drivers footwell, and seat belt metal bar. Then cut around the HVAC stuff, shouldn't need to cut too much carpet. Like 3 cuts on each side all less than 6". After all that you can begin to wrestle the carpet out. Don't be shy... cuz it won't. Don't forget the little piece covering the rear seat bottom area.
2. With the carpet out pull it somewhere well ventilated. This stuff gives you a rowdy headache if done in an enclosed area. Ask me how I know. Then THOROUGHLY vacuum the entire carpet. Now take a dish soap and water mixture with a toothbrush and clean the heel pads and side kick pad on the drivers side. After clean, dry them. Then rub them down with rubbing alcohol. Let dry.
3. Now spray on 2 even coats of the paint. Spray in multiple directions. Don't over do the vinyl with spray or it will run/drip. It's a paint not a dye and will leave your carpet hard and crusty. This had me worried at first, more on that later.
4. After the other coats are dry, ~20 minutes, take the carpet brush and brush the carpet in the direction that let's the original color of your carpet show through. Now spray the last coat to cover the exposed original color.
5. If you had good coverage you should now be able to brush the carpet with your hand in any direction and not see the original color. If this is not true, put on more coats in the areas that need it. You can always go back and touch it up later once it's in the car if you find a spot later.
6. You should be happy with your new looking carpet now, but less than satisfied with the feel of it. Well kick off your shoes and get to walking on it. Seriously, spend 15 or 20 minutes walking, kneeling, or otherwise stamping the carpet. Brought mine back to 98% stock plushness.
7. Now as they say the installation is the reverse of removal... but slightly harder. Can be a BEAR to get the carpet back in place. Took me longer than removal for sure.
And here are the results... I did find some spots (with the help of the flash actually) that needed some touch ups. This is easy to do with the carpet in the car and since the paint dries in like 15min, it's not a big deal.
Before:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/3981/img2017w.jpg
After:
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1152/img2018.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5950/img2019z.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9808/img2020g.jpg
I was intentionally light on the areas under the seat... reason for the different color.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2245/img2021s.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3050/img2022w.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/2502/img2023k.jpg
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/9684/img2024s.jpg
Last one is because I'm a pic whore. ;) But for the cash outlay I think the results are ridiculously good. And the paint seems to be super durable as I was rolling, crawling, scraping, and otherwise roughing it up pretty good while reinstalling it and the rest of the interior. Questions, berating, and comments welcome.