SEM Vinyl Dye color for Parchment interior?

[Rob Edwards]

My '95 525iT's dash is sunburned in several places, and I can't stand looking at it any more. Soes anyone happen to know the interior color code for the standard tan (parchment) dash in a '95? Or better yet, which shade of SEM vinyl dye (http://www.perfectfit.com/product.asp?Product_Id=154517&d_Id=15342&l1=15979&l2=15342) is the best match for the OEM color?

Thanks for any advice!

[632 Regal]

hey Rob, if your interior is the same as mine the color is called Pergament (parchment) and these dye places know it is a common color so they claim it is a custom color mix (more $$$) and you will usually need to send a sample of your leather for them to 'color match' it. Hope your seats match the dash.

[Rob Edwards]

Well, I finally got around to trying to fix this today. The victim here is my daily driver 1995 BMW 525iT. The car has been living outside in SoCal for 6 years, and is outside all day too at work. Since I started having kids, the ability to properly detail it went away..... So the dash is pretty badly sunburned:

https://webfiles.uci.edu/redwards/public/dash%20before%20pass%20side%20outside.jpg

The car is otherwise in good shape and I will be selling it eventually, so it has become my practice pad for cosmetic repair.

I wrote to SEM a while back and got their catalog and requested some color chips and literature on vinyl repair. There are two shades of tan vinyl in my car, but they had a match for the dash (SEM Classic Coat BMW neutral #17343). I bought SEM soap, SEM vinyl prep and the paint from http://www.vinylpro.com/home

So- the protocol (Hint: It's all in the prep!):

1. Disassemble all grilles, covers, etc that will come loose.

2. Wash the hell out of the dash with Dawn and water using a sponge with a green scotchbrite pad to scour all the old Armour All/etc out of the vinyl. I did three or 4 passes with fresh rinse water each time.

3. Clean the dash again with SEM soap and a clean sponge, then rinse and dry with lint-free towels.

4. Tape off everything you don't want to spray:

https://webfiles.uci.edu/redwards/public/dash%20all%20masked%20off.jpg

5. Clean the dash with SEM vinyl prep, work it in with a lint free rag and then rinse off with water once more, then dry. (I blew it off with compressed air to be sure). The instructions say to ensure that water sheets on the surface without beading at all, that way you know you've gotten all the old oil/silicone/dressings out of the vinyl.

6. The nozzle on the paint can be turned horizontal or vertical- I used vertical.

7. In the shade (ambient temp about 75oF) I sprayed 4 mist coats from 6-8" away, letting each dry for about 10 minutes. The whole thing used maybe 60% of one can.

8. Let cure for an hour or two, then unmask and reassemble. The instructions on the can say to avoid abrading the painted surface for 24 hours.


Result:

https://webfiles.uci.edu/redwards/public/dash%20after%20all%20done%20from%20outside.jpg

https://webfiles.uci.edu/redwards/public/dash%20all%20done%20from%20outside%20%232.jpg

The finished product looks pretty good- the base of the instrument pod 'hump' is a little dark (leftover sunburn) because it's hard to spray there, but it's not too bad. I also managed to scratch the paint on the little frame around the VIN- otherwise it's hard to see that it's been painted. The color match is excellent- a tiny bit lighter, but it feathered nicely at the edges of where I painted. Someone remind me to followup in a few weeks/months to see how it's holding up.

Total time was ~4 hours - 3 hours diassembling/washing/taping, and 1 hour to paint (on and off).

Perhaps this'll inspire anyone with vinyl interior bits that are intact but faded.

[repenttokyo]

impressive.