Tip of the Day: RIT dye

**goodasnew** · 12-04-2012, 07:32 PM

for those of you who clean cars professionally, such as myself, one thing you might use occasionally is carpet and fabric dyes. now the aerosol cans of various brands tend to get the job done but they are not very cheap ($7-12 a can). I learned years ago that you can buy a box of the powdered RIT dye, most people use it for tie-dyeing, and mix it with water to make LOTS of dye for less than $3. on their website they sell many different colors, similar to the aerosol dyes. browns, greys, blues, reds, and obviously black is easy to match or at least make look a whole lot better. so, when you cant get the carpet cleaned as well as you would like just spray a bit over the top and it all blends in . also, occasionally we get vehicles in that have had bleach spilled on the floor and you can really work miracles with the RIT on those jobs. just a thought.

**Vegas Transplant** · 12-04-2012, 09:45 PM

Thanks for posting. Dye jobs are out of the question for me.
One steps, upsells, and maintenance are what I'm chasing.
I'm certain that many are interested in your before and after dye jobs pics if possible.

Happy detailing...

**MarkD51** · 12-05-2012, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by goodasnew

for those of you who clean cars professionally, such as myself, one thing you might use occasionally is carpet and fabric dyes. now the aerosol cans of various brands tend to get the job done but they are not very cheap ($7-12 a can). I learned years ago that you can buy a box of the powdered RIT dye, most people use it for tie-dyeing, and mix it with water to make LOTS of dye for less than $3. on their website they sell many different colors, similar to the aerosol dyes. browns, greys, blues, reds, and obviously black is easy to match or at least make look a whole lot better. so, when you cant get the carpet cleaned as well as you would like just spray a bit over the top and it all blends in . also, occasionally we get vehicles in that have had bleach spilled on the floor and you can really work miracles with the RIT on those jobs. just a thought.

Many years ago, I used to do business with a Wax Factory on 38th Place near Ashland Ave in Chicago called Nu Look.

Of the too numerous to list products they manufactured, one was a combination Carpet Dye and Shampoo Product. They made it in a variety of colors.

At the time, I owned a 1968 SS396 Camaro, Lemans Blue, with Black and Houndstooth Interior.
While the person I bought the car from said the Carpet was recently replaced, otherwise all original interior, the Carpet, and the Seat Belts were both a bit faded.

I discussed the issue with the owner of Nu Look, and he right then and there mixed me a qt bottle of the product. What was in it, I have no idea, and I did not get to see what went into this product? All I know, was the qt bottle was quite hot.

He assured me no bleeding, that it was permanent, and told me how to use it.

Out of some aprehension I only did the carpeting first. Apply with a damp sponge wearing rubber gloves, let dry, vacuum. There was no bleed, so I did proceed to do the Seat Belts, avoiding the stitched on White Seatbelt Tags. Both the Belts, and the Carpets had a like new look, not dulled, or chaulky looking at all.

Now whether this product was simply a Rit Dye, added to a Carpet-Upholstery Shampoo Mixture I honestly cannot say?

This might be interesting to further investigate, if there are products-dyes that are of an industrial grade, that would not have a tendency to ever bleed-come off?
Mark

**goodasnew** · 12-05-2012, 11:47 AM

rit dye works well for most jobs but yes of course you need to be able to get it to dry for a good long time cause you sure dont want to track it into the house or on any other fabric. dont know if it is industrial grade but it gets the job done when nothing else will and for much less $$$. and sorry, I dont have any pictures of befores and afters with the dye. I will remember to do that next time though. although, for some reason, it wont let me upload any picture on here, I cant even change my avatar cause it keeps coming back with an "error" response. dont know what thats about.

**flamed03vert** · 12-05-2012, 11:47 AM

My ex brother and law showed me this trick with an old Bronco with a royal blue interior he had. The vinyl and plastics were in good shape but the carpet was faded out and dirty. He used something like a bit of laundry detergent liquid, RIT dye and a scrub brush. He scrubbed the carpets down and blotted the excess water out. I supppose this would be the trick for flipping vehicles as thats what he was doing with the Bronco

**goodasnew** · 12-05-2012, 11:55 AM

yeah it is certainly more of a dealer trick just to move the vehicle, which is what my lot does more than anything else, but as a last resort for a detail customer that knows there is no other option to get the carpet back looking good, you dont really have a choice but to dye it. and it usually works well enough, again, as a last resort short of replacing the carpet for a few hundred bucks.

**Vegas Transplant** · 12-05-2012, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by goodasnew

rit dye works well for most jobs but yes of course you need to be able to get it to dry for a good long time cause you sure dont want to track it into the house or on any other fabric. dont know if it is industrial grade but it gets the job done when nothing else will and for much less $$$. and sorry, I dont have any pictures of befores and afters with the dye. I will remember to do that next time though. although, for some reason, it wont let me upload any picture on here, I cant even change my avatar cause it keeps coming back with an "error" response. dont know what thats about.

Avatar has to be around 150x150. Use the link to change size of photo,
Web Resizer - Crop & Resize Images Free Online - Optimize images for websites and email ,

then simply copy and paste the resized avatar.

**Twister** · 12-05-2012, 05:32 PM

Did you know I'd you mix some in a pot with boiling water you can die some plastic parts with that Rit dye also?

It can't be a huge part because the pot would need to be big enough to hold the part but small parts work great.

**goodasnew** · 12-05-2012, 07:20 PM

did not ever try that but I do that like to know for future reference . thanks

**flamed03vert** · 12-05-2012, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by Twister

Did you know I'd you mix some in a pot with boiling water you can die some plastic parts with that Rit dye also?

It can't be a huge part because the pot would need to be big enough to hold the part but small parts work great.

Someone was an R/C car hobbiest from the sound of that