Restoring faded to purple speaker grilles ( gtv )

[pkr]

Any advice on restoring my GTV speaker and third stop light cover grilles to black from the current sun bleached purple?

I did see one thread where someone said they'd sprayed them - but that seems a little extreme.

My thoughts so far :

Option 1 ( preferred ) would be to dye them back to black. Maybe Kiwi liquid shoe polish/scratch stuff? Or hand dye Dylon VELVET BLACK - DYLON ? Anything else?

Option 2 ( definitely not preferred! ) : Buy speaker cloth and recover. This is not preferred as it looks like a fair amount of hassle getting the cloth properly stretched over the plastic and gluing it to the narrow edge.

[Freds GTV 2001]

I just replaced my stop light cover with a second hand one from a wrecker. It was still Dark Blue and unfaded. Cost me $20 (10GBP) although my speaker covers are sun faded and are a light grey. Havent figured out how to correct it. Dye seems a good idea. I was thinking of spray painting it also. Would probably be the best bet by taking the speaker cover off and just spray paint it black.

[springbok]

A pic would help.

If it is a plastic cover that is removable then have you tried one of the trim dressing products which are spoken about extensively on this forum? e.g. Aerospace 303. I don't see why it would not be any less effective than on any other plastic or rubber trim. It is particularly good for UV damaged areas

A product I recently purchased is Chemical Guys Fade to Black. This is an aerosol spray and is great for treating the honeycomb grill below the front bumper which is always a baitch to dress.

If you remove the speaker grill, clean it up well and give it a couple of coats I'm sure the change will be dramatic.

[pkr]

Originally Posted by Freds GTV 2001

Dye seems a good idea. I was thinking of spray painting it also. Would probably be the best bet by taking the speaker cover off and just spray paint it black.

I was thinking dye ( either shoe polish or dylon ) because it'll be absorbed by the fabric and won't change the texture or impede the tunes I figure that spray paint would only sit on the surface of the fabric.

What I may do is to try the dye first and if that isn't satisfactory, I'll resign myself to buying some speaker fabric off eBay e.g. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Speaker-...item1c122287b6 and recovering them although as I said earlier, I'd prefer not to go that way. There's probably enough fabric in that auction to re-do all speakers as well as the stop light.

[pkr]

Originally Posted by springbok

A pic would help.

If it is a plastic cover...

It's actually fabric ( just like home hi fi speakers ) on a rigid plastic base. Over the years the fabric has turned a fetching shade of purple Unfortunately, photos aren't really possible at the moment as the car away being resprayed and the rear speaker covers are still in it. Front speaker covers I have, but they are still black!

[Freds GTV 2001]

Originally Posted by pkr

I was thinking dye ( either shoe polish or dylon ) because it'll be absorbed by the fabric and won't change the texture or impede the tunes

WOW ! thats really thinking it through

[springbok]

Originally Posted by pkr

It's actually fabric ( just like home hi fi speakers ) on a rigid plastic base. Over the years the fabric has turned a fetching shade of purple Unfortunately, photos aren't really possible at the moment as the car away being resprayed and the rear speaker covers are still in it. Front speaker covers I have, but they are still black!

Ok, sorry I misundferstood the problem.

[zulu]

D'uh! Should I admit that I didn't realise that they used to be black!
I have the dark blue/I guess more purple ones on my parcel shelf. I had just assumed that they were that colour because the car is blue. Always thought it looked a bit odd

If it's as suggested, and does look on initial inspection hi-fi type speaker material, I have some lying around somewhere that I used for a project a while ago. Might see if I can adapt the plastic trim to remove and replace the blue stuff at some point

there is a 3rd option........

Matt black spray paint from halfords....

I know it sounds weird but it worked really well and looked like it was new....

total cost - £1.99

Time taken - 2 hours

[cossa]

I tried hand dying mine using the Dylon stuff but it didn't take. The speaker cover material came out the same colour as it went in. Apparently you need a different type of dye for the material used in the speaker covers.

[pkr]

Originally Posted by cossa

I tried hand dying mine using the Dylon stuff but it didn't take. The speaker cover material came out the same colour as it went in. Apparently you need a different type of dye for the material used in the speaker covers.

Interesting. Thanks for that, that is very useful info.

I think I'll have to go with buying some material and recovering.

Thanks again.

[Freds GTV 2001]

That Dylon stuff wont die anything - doesnt matter wat you put throught it !

[mrburtonsir]

Anyone with a tan leather interior considered colour coding?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BEIGE-SPEAKER-...#ht_1411wt_911

[Mitch916]

Originally Posted by mrburtonsir

Anyone with a tan leather interior considered colour coding?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BEIGE-SPEAKER-...#ht_1411wt_911

Yes but I think that colour is wrong. I may go for the tights option as I am told (by daughter!) that I can get the exact match colour.

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-...ht-fabric.html (Restoring faded to purple/blue rear speaker & brake light fabric)

[taller_mike]

I just brushed mine over with black boot polish, works a treat and took five minutes, although I did manage to snap off one of the clips on the tail light cover (where's me superglue!).

[CSR dog]

i used a pair of tights, use the 100 denier (thickness of mesh) take the old stuff of and just slide the legs over the plastic. cost me a POUND and took 15 minutes and looks superb.

[groovylee]

me too but, they are starting to come unstuck on a few edges, so i am thinking about trying something a little different, i will post pics when i do

[Ralf S.]

Any ladies on here willing to donate their laddered fishnets?


Ralf S.

[groovylee]

i have a pair in red.....

[Ralf S.]

Hmm.. might work on a red car..

Ralf S.