[jsmith24]

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Well, my subject says it all. I am going to repaint my bike from the original "candy brown" to something like a metallic blue on silver, or the 84 styled grey on silver. I'd like to go with a black seat, but don't really want to try to find and then buy a black seat. So, is there any practical way to dye, stain, paint, or otherwise change the stock brown seat to black? Of course, I want it to be colorfast and not wear off on my trousers.

I may even have considered buying a seat, but mine is in excellent condition.

Jack

 

[Brojees]

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NO


But you could consider always wearing black trousers.

 

[Goldwinger1984]

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Most automotive paint stores can supply you with a paint/dye that you can use to change the color of your vinyl seat.

You would need to clean it first (scrub hard)with silicone polish remover, then wash it with a prewash chemical, then lightly scuff it with fine sandpaper 600-1000 grit before you spray it.

The trick to doing it right is to get the spray on just thick enough to cover the old color, otherwise it will crack in time. If the thickness is correct it will remain flexible and look like new for a long time.

I used to use a product called MarHyde by Dupont and an airbrushfor doing this, but, there are much better chemicals available today.

Vic

 

[Goldwinger1984]

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P.S. I should also mention that you'll be shocked at the prices of those chemicals since you can only buy them in minimum quantity containers. You might want to try around at different body shops to see what the would charge you to spray it.

Vic

 

[Silicon Sam]

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Is your seat the factory original? If so, they can be had for real cheap on ebay. I even may have one, I opted for a Travelcade Road Sofa, and will probably never put my original back on. And it's black too. It's in excellent shape, it had a sheepskin cover on for the longest time.

Raymond

 

[Malc Force]

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I bought a replacement seat for my GL1200 a couple of years ago from David Silvers in the UK, unknown to me at the time the seat was only available in Burgundy with it not stating the colour on their website i presumed it would be black:gunhead:Oh well it would have to do it was far cheaper than one from Honda, i used it for about 6 months like this then decided to paint it and the backrest and armrests black using an upholstery and dashboardpaint made by Humbrol,i cleaned the fabric with detergent and hot water, ensured that they were dry and brushed the paint onto the parts, the brush marks disappeared on drying and then later applied a second coat, the paint dries in no time at all just be sure to work in a well ventilated area, the colour is still OK after two years of moderate use and can always be re done if necessary just apply it in light coats, i believe that years ago it was available in quite a few colours and may still be today but my local shop only stocks it in black.

Malc.:waving::waving:

 

[RedWinger]

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[Black Bart]

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Company in Wales called Colourbond

produce a product called Formula 40, they can colour match to any colour. Will turn vynll or leather into any colour

Changed the seats in my 76 Trans Am from black to pale blue perfect factory finish.



BB

 

[AZWinger]

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Jack,

I bought some vinyl and leather paint/stain at Checker Auto for about $9.00 a can. I can't remember the exact name of the brand but it was by all the spray paints.

I re-painted allthe leather on the bike and it came out excellent! Even though my bike has been kept in the garage for the last 10 years (that I know of), the leather was becoming dull, faded and looking old and cracked. I think most of it was caused by the high temps down here.We always hit into the 100'sF in April and don't stop being in the 100's until October sometime. I ride the bike to work where it sits outside in the sun all day,but even in the garageit's out of the sun, butstill hotter than hell!

Anyway I painted it last spring and so far has held up very well to the sun and heat.

Bob

 

[GWEddie]

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Formula 40 used to be available in the States, not sure if it styill is. It does a great job on car seats, but is easily marked and removed by zips, buttons and so on.

 

[BRowan]

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A new seat cover is the best option. You will end up spraying the saddle several times and its a pain to keep it looking good.

 

[Kyle]

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Aie Vaie.....paint, chemicals, spray, with all this stuff you'll grow a third eye. They are not that hard to re-cover. Find your local upholstery guy. He will undo all the stitching on your old seat to make a pattern, (it becomes about six pieces) and you can pick whatever color you want, or even two tone it if you choose. Had mine done a couple of years ago and it cost me $25.00. If you are going to go this route, you may want to replace the old foam.

Kyle

KISS - Keep it simple Simon

 

[Goldwinger1984]

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Kyle, that's the best suggestion I've heard about this here so far.

I had the seat reupholstered on my 1100 Suzuki a couple years and it only cost $150. and that was two tone and resculptured with new foam. (See pic)

Vic

 

[englishted]

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Recovering is best. I've used spray before but always found it didn't last too well and I ended up buyiong more cans of spray, ie spending so much on spray that it was almost cheaper to recover instead.

 

[Black Bart]

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Hi Guys

found the site and the techno babble is worth a read, it really does what it says, mind you it should @ £60 a litre, color matched to your spec.

http://www.kolorbond.ltd.uk/otherproducts.htm

VINYLKOTE for softer plastics, vinyls and leather - VINNYLKOTE works in a unique and remarkable way. It penetrates the surface and bonds itself to the molecules changing the pigmentation. This means that, if correctly applied the VINYLKOTE will not crack peel or flake off. It is permanent and colourfast and because it is not simply a surface coating, even the grain of vinyl or leather is left intact and in perfect relief. Leather can be fed with hide foods afterwards and will retain its familiar "leather" smell.


thanks

BB

 

[Grouchomax]

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I used Vinylkote on a car dash once, changed it from brown to grey. Looked perfect but some of it flaked off after a year. I reckon it works much better on soft plastic like seats than on hard dash parts.

 

[Budegan]

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Vinylkoteis usedextensively by car dealers, for tarting up old car dashes and plastic door trims. Does a good job too and I would agree that it will probably work better on soft plastics.

 

[GWEddie]

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Budegan wrote:

Vinylkoteis usedextensively by car dealers, for tarting up old car dashes and plastic door trims. Does a good job too and I would agree that it will probably work better on soft plastics.

Similar story to the Formula 40. Great stuff for getting the original look back. It probably works better on the soft plastic because it sinks into the surface better.