I had for some time been driving
with the top down without using my soft top boot cover (I guess everyone does
it on those short rides from the office to one´s home) and have only last
week noticed that the black interior had faded considerably. The interior cloth
of the top (Still the factory original) was in excellent condition, but the
interior had a faded strip (where the boot folds down and exposes the front
10cm of the interior to the sun) as well as various other parts of the interior
due to parking in the sunshine I guess.
I went to a local shop that sells fabrics and fabric dyes, and bought myself
a sachet of Dylon Cloth Dye (this is British Stuff, of atrocious smell when
being mixed but of excellent quality) in Ebony Black colour. After reading the
instructions, I mixed the dye with a teaspoonful of table salt in a mug with
hot water, and stirred it well, until the salt and powder dye had completely
dissolved. (I intentionally skipped the part of the instructions that advises
to further dilute the mixture in a pot with more water, as I was not soak-dyeing
the soft top, but applying the dye directly to the soft top as this was installed
on the car. Not diluting also means dyeing quicker, making less applications
and giving the soft top a deeper, richer, black colour.) I then allowed the
solution to cool down a bit (do not allow to cool down completely, just enough
not to burn your hands)
Before applying the dye, I wet a lint free cloth, and cafefully wiped the interior
of the soft top to remove any stains (or dust - believe me there´s lots
of it on the interior of the soft top) and to moisten it for the dye.
I then took a pair of surgical gloves (a must if you don´t want to have
blue hands way into the year 2030) and a clean, lint- free cloth which I carefully
dipped into the dye and applied the dye to the soft top interior. I ensured
adequate coverage of all surfaces, paying attention not to drip the dye anywhere
on the interior (owners with tan interior beware! - this thing looks thin enough,
but is guaranteed to stain leather/cloth irreversibly). Where the dye inevitably
contacts metal surfaces (the soft top latches, parcel deck trim) wipe clean
with a wet cloth before it dries up. Pay extra good care on the front part of
the softtop, especially the first 10-15cm that are more prone to fading, to
ensure that the dying is even in all parts of the top.
After I finished, I did not rinse the interior of the soft top clean as the
instructions on the dye sachet suggested, since the soft top never comes in
contact with clothes or any other surface and thus I gathered that there is
no danger of any colour run. I left the top to dry naturally (do not use any
heat sources to dry the top) and in about 3 hours, it was totally dry.
The top now has a deep and rich black colour, and looks brand new, and having
done the mod a week ago, i have still not noted any downsides to it.
Hope this is good help to any fellow Miata maniac who just got his top a bit
messed up.
Needless to say, I cannot accept responsibility for anyone burning/dying his
hands, ruining his/her softtop or inflicting any other damage to himself or
any other person/property alive or dead.
Phivos Hadjigeorgiou
CYPRUS
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13 March, 2002 |