E30 Zone

afternoon folks,

over the winter i will be looking into dying a black leather sports interior either cardinal red or oxblood red (whichever is the darker, can never remember )

thing is i can't seem to find a complete kit to use.

IIRC gliptone did a full kit but i can't find it.

anyone have any links to where i can buy a full kit from??

T.I.A

Bespoke leathering sell the kits. I'd advise against any thing other than black dye on a set of black seats though. The dye always starts to come off again at some stage.

Ive used Furniture clinic before its not dye but flexable leather paint and clear coat !

cheers guys corkie, got a link??

just found the furniture clinic kit,

looks like it's going to be oxblood & not cardinal red.

thing is which size kit would be (more than) enough to do two sports seats, rear seat/bench & the middle/centre of the F/R door cards???

1 litre of paint 1 litre leather prep half litre of clear coat should cover it !

corkie wrote:1 litre of paint 1 litre leather prep half litre of clear coat should cover it !

£125, not to bad then, quicker & cheaper than a retrim

steve_k wrote:

corkie wrote:1 litre of paint 1 litre leather prep half litre of clear coat should cover it !

£125, not to bad then, quicker & cheaper than a retrim

I'm buying the same kit in Monday. Hoping to start mine soon though... I've had to add a few extra fillers etc as my leather has cracks.. You also need a cross over glue if you want to paint the door cards and handles as they are plastic vinyl not leather.

As for colour you don't have to stick with their listed colours they can mix any colour you want. I'm going from tan/beige to either Cardinal red or coral red I popped over to the local main stealers to get some ideas on colours.

e30-unit-soldier wrote:

steve_k wrote:

corkie wrote:1 litre of paint 1 litre leather prep half litre of clear coat should cover it !

£125, not to bad then, quicker & cheaper than a retrim

I'm buying the same kit in Monday. Hoping to start mine soon though... I've had to add a few extra fillers etc as my leather has cracks.. You also need a cross over glue if you want to paint the door cards and handles as they are plastic vinyl not leather.

As for colour you don't have to stick with their listed colours they can mix any colour you want. I'm going from tan/beige to either Cardinal red or coral red I popped over to the local main stealers to get some ideas on colours.

thanks for the heads up

when i come to ordering i might ask them if they could do a slightly darker shade.

Yeah man that should be good!
Like any other paint job Spending good time on prep work is the key to a good long lasting finish!

Been looking into it for a while so really looking forward to getting on with it

This is done with gliptone liquid leather and another sealer

Any "before" pics?

Mitchellman wrote:

This is done with gliptone liquid leather and another sealer

now that looks good

Steve_k after reading this you got me 2 minded about the colour

So I've taken one for the team and I've ordered a sample of Cardinal red and imola red I'll put each of the paints on my headrests and post a pic up, that should make it easier to decide what colour to choose.

Furniture clinic have got Cardinal red it looks like brown on the screen though....

e30-unit-soldier wrote:Steve_k after reading this you got me 2 minded about the colour

So I've taken one for the team and I've ordered a sample of Cardinal red and imola red I'll put each of the paints on my headrests and post a pic up, that should make it easier to decide what colour to choose.

Furniture clinic have got Cardinal red it looks like brown on the screen though....

Looking forward to the results

LEFT CARDINAL RED RIGHT IMOLA RED

Both Bmw colours from furniture clinic. That's was 4 sponge coats with heat gun drying inbetween coats.

Cardinal is the better imo!

Always liked the Cardinal red but the imola red is growing on me.

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=454035


This thread will give you a better idea on imola red.

e30-unit-soldier wrote:http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=454035


This thread will give you a better idea on imola red.

imola is really really growing on me,

decisions decisions

steve_k wrote:

e30-unit-soldier wrote:http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=454035


This thread will give you a better idea on imola red.

imola is really really growing on me,

decisions decisions

My problem exactly!

That looks amazing but its a modern colour which would not look as authentic in a e30 as cardinal imo !

Imola looks better imo.

I've gone with imola

^^ Good choice, you won't regret it.

[quote="Fal_325i"]^^ Good choice, you won't regret it.[/quote


I hope so

I'd advise getting a foam roller for the dying, made it easier to get a even finish and turned out much better than i thought it would when i dyed my horseshoe cover! What colour car is it going in?

that imola red on black leather might look darker.

I'd vote cardinal. Imola is a bit bright. Bit garish on an e46 m3 if you've seen one in the flesh? I had one, for a week.

James134 wrote:I'd advise getting a foam roller for the dying, made it easier to get a even finish and turned out much better than i thought it would when i dyed my horseshoe cover! What colour car is it going in?

Is this dyed Cardinal?

My car is white not sure what colour Steve's car is... (Sorry for the post hijack Steve)

Just the horseshoe and front cards have been dyed, the rest is original as far as i can tell, just need to find some speaker covers and rear cards in better shape as mine are a bit of a faded mess.

Cardinal is quite hard to photograph as it always comes out looking a bit brighter than it really is, in reality it is a darker terracotta red-brown.
If you want a brighter red id go for crimson red, which was an option on later e30s i think.

Personally I'd keep it standard or if you want to tart up a tired interior (is yours a bit worn and tired looking Steve?) then go for a black and keep it as factory. But if the council in you has to dye, then yeah as above either Cardinal or Crimson. Cardinal is like a blood clot (terracotta is a good descrition) whereas Crimson is a brighter red (almost a hint of pink which will compliment your alter-ego weekend cross-dressing self)
Simon had Crimson in his black one (Crimson suits black far better) and I have Cardinal which I think looks better in a grey car.
What is wrong with keeping black?