One of the things we talked about in our training session was the pH levels of the cleaners that I’ve been using and what it’s actually doing to the leather and the dyes and compounds as well. What I’m talking about here is the cleaners I use and the prepping solution I use to get all that grunge and goo off the seats prior to doing my repairs and throughout the repair process are really high alkaline solutions, and I mean really high, in fact the Litmus paper I used to test my cleaners turned super dark and bright, basically showing me that the cleaners are at the highest level on the pH scale. Your pH scale will run from 0-14, 0 being acidic, 14 being alkaline, and 7 being at a neutral state, which is really where you want to be. Leather should be around 7.4 at its natural state. Have you cleaned your seats before with an all purpose cleaner and when your done they feel kinda gooey and sticky like? Well that is the cleaners basically eating right through the top layer of dye and into the leather. But in most cases to get them clean and prepped to do a repair it’s almost inevitable that we use these cleaners. But again, we have to realize that what we put on leather will stay in the leather! By putting a high pH level cleaner on leather will put the leather at an imbalance state which will damage the leather. Leather is still a natural breathing skin and has to stay at a neutral state or it starts to break down, crack or even rot and crumble. So what do you do? Well I think I have the solution to the problem. After doing some testing with the Litmus papers and our cleaners we jumped on the internet to see what chemicals would lower the pH levels and keep our leather at a neutral state and believe it or not it’s the most simplest thing in the world. Something that you probably have in your kitchen already… Vinegar! Vinegar has a pH level of around 2, an acid. Which if you know your chemistry, when you mix an acid with an alkaline they cancel each other out and bring you to a neutral state. So we took a quart spray bottle and put about 6oz. of vinegar in and then filled the rest up with water. We then cleaned the a leather seat like we always did with the cleaners, tested the seat with the Litmus paper and got a reading of of course off the chart. We then sprayed the seat down with the Vinegar and water solution and wiped it down, then tested it again and the level dropped dramatically down to a reading of 7.6. Showing me that it worked, it really worked! I’m also here to tell you, you will feel an immediate difference in the feel of the leather too. No more gooey feeling! By doing this process I really think this will improve our repairs, from compounds working better, to our dyes adhering better as well. When you leave a high alkaline level like that in the leather under your dyes and repair compounds, to me your just asking for a problem. So now after every time I clean or prep in any way I neutralize after with a light mist of vinegar and water, it takes me just a second to do and that way I know I’m bringing the leather back to its natural state and if anything it’s bringing the prepping solutions back down to a level that won’t damage my dyes and compounds.

Another little trick we came up with and this was really kinda of a duh moment for me. I have been telling you all to use a fabric adhesive coated under patch on leather for holes. Well I’m here to change that, and in a big way too. What I’m talking about is something that Mark was shown in his research and training prior to coming to me. A tech had shown him where he was using thin leather as an under patch. What he had done was gone to a resale shop and bought an old leather coat for like five bucks and cut it up. Then used the leather from the coat as an under patch material. Mark was also shown how strong of a bond you will get by using leather on leather. The guy took two strips of this leather, rough side to rough side and glued them together with leather repair adhesive, set it aside for a bit to dry, then came back to and Mark said you couldn’t pull the bond apart. Of course we had to try it here, so off to leather store I went. I bought a small thin hide and also bought a scrap bag of leather which had a little thicker pieces of leather. My thinking on the thicker pieces paid off too and I’ll explain that in a minute. We took two pieces of the leather I bought and did the same test and I’m here to say you won’t break the bond, try this at home it will amaze you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier. I’ve tried this on a few repairs now and it really makes a huge difference in the bond in the repairs. I’ve used both the thick and the thin leather now and I kinda prefer the thicker leather though. The thin leather seems to bunch up and really doesn’t make for a good under patch on most of the automotive leather I’ve worked on so far. Now you don’t want something to thick that it will show through when you do your repair but thick enough it will slide nicely under the leather where the hole is. I would look for a suede or rough leather, but really any type of leather will do as long as you glue rough to rough. This little tip here I think will make a huge difference in your leather hole repairs.

One other thing we talked about, and this is one that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now and wondering why there hasn’t been more teaching on this and that is conditioning the leather prior to dyeing. I have always wanted to find a way to condition and replenish the oils back into the leather as part of my process of repairing, resurfacing and restoring a leather seat. While Mark was in training with IICRC program, Pam Villagomez his instructor, had taught him a way to replenish the oils back into the leather by using something called Fat Liquor. What this is, is a leather softener. It coats the fibers of the leather making them more flexible which in turn makes the leather more supple and soft. I called Pam and talked with her about this and she reassured me that this is something we really need to be doing. It can be done before and after dying. So I have some coming to me and I’ll let you know how things turn out.

Well I really think these leather repair tips are going to pay off for you techs out there. So lets review a bit, neutralize your cleaners with a vinegar and water solution, use leather not cloth as an under patch when doing any hole repairs on leather, and replenish the oils back into the leather prior to dying. That ought to do it, I’ll let you all know how the conditioning before you dye works.

If you have anything to add to this please shoot me a comment. We’re all out there trying to make the best of it and any help is good help.

Talk to ya soon,
Mike Warren – The Interior Guy
Automotive Interior Professional

Well today I wanted to give you guys a little tip on getting a grain pattern into you next leather or vinyl repair using the “Wet Grain Method“. This little trick can be used with just about any air dry or heat cured compound on leather or vinyl and really could probably be used on plastic but never really tried it yet.

This process has saved me a couple of times and has enhanced some of my repairs and made them basically disappear. It’s kinda a last resort to getting it right.

After your repair is mended, smooth, and level take your compound and lay a thin to medium coat over the area needing to be grained. Next step requires a product from Viper Products called Wet Grain Slicker. What this does is puts a slick coating over your grain pad so that when you press the grain pad into the wet compound it won’t stick. Now what you’ll do is take a drop or two of the Slicker and place it on the grain side of your pad, rub it around so that the whole pad is covered, you don’t want it really wet just slick you may have to wipe a little off with a paper towel. Next lay your pad carefully over the compound and press it firmly with your palm. Be careful not to move the pad when you press or you will lose the effect. This part is kinda tricky, remove the pad slowly and carefully so not to mess up the grain. Once you’ve removed the pad take your heat gun and cure the compound, if it’s leather make sure to cure slowly with low heat. Sand lightly but to much you remove your grain, just enough to remove some of the high spots left from removing the pad. There you go, a grain pattern.

I use this on leather quite a bit with Viper’s Leather Extreme fill. I’ll use my finger to smooth the compound around the area I want a grain into and at times it may take a couple of attempts to achieve the look I want, but it’s been a life saver for sure.

Sometimes you’ll have to lay a coat of dye over the area to see if it blends or if another attempt is needed. Just remember to clean thoroughly between sanding and seal the area before your dye with a swipe of Grip Base on a wet paper towel.

This trick of the Wet Grain Method does take a little practice to get it right, but when you master it it can save you from a not so perfect job. Always keep your repairs level and as small as possible to achieve optimum results.

Well I hope this helps in your next Automotive Interior Repair job on leather and vinyl and fell free to leave a comment for me on this and let me know how it works out for you.

Talk to ya soon,

Mike Warren – The Interior Guy

A couple of ones caught my eye, both of which have to do with leather wrapped steering wheels. One of which is the recovering of a leather steering wheel. I have looked high and low for someone do this, and do it right. Cesar makes it look easy, and wow talk about some nice work, he is so meticulous in his work. Every stitch is perfect and with different design patterns too, which I thought was quite unique. He also shows how to use different type of materials to wrap them with like ostrich or even alligator. If your looking to for multi color or a design, he does that too.

Call me fan I guess but I love to see someone take pride in what they work and take the time to make the outcome look perfect. His user name on YouTube is CECHAFLO by the way

The other video that caught my eye was on restitching a leather steering wheel. He does this with a small piece of leather and wraps a small pole so you can really see what how do this process from start to finish, just in a smaller scale… great stuff! Every once in a while as an upholstery repair professional I have come across a few leather steering wheels that I’ve had to restitch due to some accidental cutting of the tread that holds the leather around the wheel. It was nice to see I had had at least done it right.

Well anyways here’s one of Cesar Chavez’s videos on how to do a basic cross-stitch on  a leather steering wheel. Enjoy guys and let me know what you think. And to those of you with a need for a steering wheel to be redone don’t hesitate to get a hold of Cesar, he really does do amazing work.

UPDATE:

looks like Cesar has taken the video I was going to show you on cross – stitching a leather steering wheel down for now. He contacted me yesterday through an email and said he was working on a complete series of videos for sale soon that will give you a better look at how to do these great techniques. When that happens you will be able to get those great videos right here! So until then here’s another great video he made on Leather Recovering. Enjoy

Talk to ya soon,

Mike – The Interior Guy
Automotive Interior Professional

Getting a vinyl or leather repair level and smooth can be tricky with the different foams and backing materials. By using an iron can better your chance of getting that repair level and smooth without bulging or pushing in the vinyl which can happen with doing your repairs with a heat gun and pressing your grain pad with your hand to achieve your grain.

Now one thing to remember when doing repairs on leather and on vinyl is the difference in the Heat applied.

Low Heat for Leather ONLY!

Never use a high heat on a piece of leather or you will pucker and harden it, basically ruining the piece. I try to never go over 300 degrees on any leather repair. Most all your leather repair compounds that are heat cured will cure out at 250 degrees. So no high heat on leather!

Vinyl on the other hand can handle in some cases, and I say this sparingly because it depends on the type, a lot more heat. Some seat vinyl you can usually get by with heat as high as 500+ degrees where as some door panel vinyl low heat only 300 and below.  This vinyl is thinner and is sometimes backed with a foam instead of a fabric and high heat will make a small hole really big really quick giving you an even bigger hole to repair. You almost treat the thinner vinyls as you would leather.

Determination is vital though, you can usually tell by feel and sight. The fabric backed vinyl is usually thicker and used on seats and some door panels where as  the foam backed vinyl is thinner feeling almost a plastic feel to it used mostly on door panels, console lids, and some dashes.

Most high heat vinyl repair compounds cure out at 350-400 degrees. One compound that is pretty much the standard is Vinyl Hyde. It’s been around for years, although through the years some have improved on it’s formula and have come up with some really great compounds.

Now the iron I use is a small hobby iron, it’s actually an iron designed for shrink wrapping small hobby aircraft, but it works great for vinyl and leather repairs. It has a temperature range from 100 to 400 degrees, which is perfect for curing all vinyl and leather compounds.  It’s small enough to get into where I need it but not to small I’m there all day trying to cure out my compounds on a large repair. I’ve seen those little bitty round irons and really to me there just a waist of time for a professional, I guess in some small repairs they could work but if your serious about doing real vinyl and leather repairs then you really need a good iron to do your repairs correctly.

When doing an iron repair your going to need some supplies to make a good permanent repair.

What I mean is, compound and your iron won’t always work for every repair.

If it’s a really small area with no chance for stress then maybe but with most repairs there will be stress and by adding a couple of components to your larger stress prone areas can mean the difference between a permanent repair and a repair that is just well substandard.

The two components that I’m talking about here are your under patch material and a product called mini mesh. The under patch may not always be used due to the fact that not all cracks in vinyl go all the way through. But your mini mesh will really help in making your repair last. What this stuff is, is an extremely thin fiberglass mesh that gives your repairs a stronger hold and eliminates the weak spots in the vinyl or leather your repairing. When doing an all the way through cut or crack in leather and vinyl the under patch and over patch will sandwich the area giving you a repair that will close to disappear and will be almost impenetrable.

The under patch material I use is actually a heat activated glue back canvas type cloth that I cut to fit a 1/4″ larger then the repair area. I then insert it upside down in the underside of the repair so that the adhesive is facing up to glue the area together, giving you the bond from underneath.

Other supplies that you will need to help in the process is a pair of small scissors, needle nose tweezers, a pallet knife, a chilling block, Teflon mat, a matching grain pad, and your matching water based dye mixed to perfection in your favorite spray gun.

The first thing to do is to clean and prep the area thoroughly with your prepping solution and a scotch brite pad, this will remove any contaminants and scuff the area for dye. If sanding of the area is needed then do that now. Remembering to clean again after wards, the cleaner the better when doing any type of repair.

I next do one thing that gives you a great bond for your dye during the process of the repair and that is I wipe a layer of Grip Base primer over the area. This is a water based adhesion promoter that gives the dyes and compounds something a bit more to stick to. On leather it will seal the leather helping with oil migration. I will also use this throughout my repair process if I sand the area or with leather repair when I add air dry compounds. Grip Base primer is a must when doing any repair with water based dyes.

If your working with a tear all the way through insert a piece of your under patch material with your needle nose tweezers making sure it’s in contact with all the area under the split at least a 1/4″ all the way around. Once in place using your pallet knife or even your finger spread a liberal amount of vinyl or leather repair compound over the area and even under between the under patch and the leather or vinyl.

Next you’ll take your Teflon mat and lay it over the area. This is used to heat the area making it nice and smooth while not letting the compound stick to your iron while heating.

Just lightly lay the iron over the area, you can slide it around during the curing process to make sure all the compound gets totally cured out. In some of the larger areas moving the iron around with a little more pressure will also help to smooth the area out.

Once your cured don’t just rip the mat off, let it cool a bit or even use your chill block or even a wet towel. If your not cool you’ll peel the compound up too, not so much with the mat as with your grain pad but getting in the habit of using your chill bar will save you some big headaches.

Your next step is adding your mini mesh. With this you will cut a rounded shape of mesh at least a 1/4″ to a 1/2″ larger then the repair area. Spread a thin layer of compound over the repair then lay the mini mesh directly over the uncured compound.  Take your pallet knife and slide it over the mesh smoothing it right in with the compound. The smoother the better, clean the edges up with you finger if needed.

Take your Teflon mat and lay it over the area and repeat the curing process, this will create your impenetrable repair.

At this time I will spray a dry coat of dye over the area to see where I’m at in my repair and also to sandwich my dye into my repair. Remember your working in thin layers.

Now it’s time to put the grain back into the repair to finish it off.

With your pallet knife spread a thin layer of compound over the area, then take your matching grain pad and carefully lay it over the area. With your iron, pressing a little harder, cure the area out.  Now sliding your iron around doesn’t really work with the grain pads as easily as the Teflon mat so watch out cause the pad could move so pick up the iron to move it around if needed.

Chill the pad with your chill bar. This part is very important, if not cool the pad WILL stick and peel your compound right up, so chill before you peel.

Once chilled, peel off the pad slowly and see where your at. Sometimes I’ll sand the area slightly to remove some of the rough areas. I’ll then clean and spray some more dye over the area to again see where my repair is. This process may need to be repeated to achieve the results you want.

At times I will also combine my iron repair with my heat gun to finish the repair off.  The iron at times will give you a little more pronounced grain and just doesn’t get things as smooth and well just doesn’t always finish it like I like it so I’ll lay another thin layer of compound over the area and cure and grain the last coat with my heat gun. This all depends on the type of vinyl I’m working with too.

Lastly I’ll lay a couple of more layers of dye then topcoat with an appropriate sheen of topcoat.

One other thing to keep in mind when doing the iron repair on Leather. Use a combination of low heat compounds to start the repair but finish it off with your air dry compounds. This minimizes the heat being used on the leather which can dry it out more then needed.

When done your repair should look great and hold for years to come.

Always keep in mind your temperature when working with leather and take your time like with all repairs, patience is money.

Well I hope this helps you out on your next vinyl or leather repair with an iron and please don’t hesitate to leave me a comment or drop me and email anytime.

Talk to ya soon,

Mike – The Interior Guy

Believe it or not I myself just really caught on to this just here recently. I have always wiped areas with my hand but not the way I’m about to tell you.

The “Wipe and Spray technique” is a technique that has improved my final result in my leather repairs immensely and will yours too, I promise.

All I do is in addition to my paint gun is to add a moist paper towel to the process of dyeing the seat. Now what I do with this paper towel will save you some time and money.

When your seat is clean, prepped, repaired and ready for your Grip Base Primer or your Sticky Primer, take that paper towel and fold it into a small manageable square, wet it with a little water, and add a liberal amount of your Grip Base to the towel.

Now wipe the seat face with the primer, adding a little more as you go. Dry the primer slightly leaving it slightly tacky.

Then with your color matched leather dye, spray it on a small section of the upper part of the seat, without drying it, wipe the dye into the seat with the same wet paper towel you used to prime with.

You will notice the dye with penetrate down into the grain of the leather and fill in all those little voids, cracks and crevices that the spray just really didn’t get to. Keep going moving from top to bottom and out.

Dry the seat again and then lay another thin coat of dye with your spray gun over the seat. Some areas may take a little more dye if a repair has been done or the creases need a little more color.

Dry everything thoroughly and step back and take a look, at his point your seat should look new… not only have you made the seat look more natural by wiping your first coat but look inside your cup of your paint gun…you’ve used probably used a 1/3 less dye then you used the last time by just using spray alone.

By wiping your leather dyes in helps the dyes to penetrate into those creases and pores of the leather seat giving you a more natural look and more durability by using less dye. I have in some cases been able to make lets say 2 front seats to a Chevy Tahoe look brand new with as little as 1oz. of dye and this is with repairs and some pretty ugly looking seats to begin with.

The key to this technique is getting your seats as clean as possible and prepped properly. Covering dirt is not restoring a leather seat! If you want your dyes to peel off then dye over a dirty seat…

I always topcoat my seats when I’m done with a low gloss clear coat mixed with a dab of slip additive to give the seat a softer feel and a little more of a barrier to wear .

After all is dry the last step in my process is wiping the seat down with a good leather conditioner. I have 2 to recommend, Viper Products Leather Conditioner of course and Lexol Leather Conditioner an industry leader. Both of which are water based conditioners and can be used prior to dye. Which is another thing I’ve been needing to talk about but another time on that one.

Everyone thanks for hanging out with me and let me know how this technique helps you with your next automotive leather repair and restoration. Leather repair and dying is a craft and something that isn’t learned over night, in fact I’m still learning, that’s what makes this business so much fun! Try this technique on your next leather restoration job and let me know what you think.

Things have been going really good though and I have to say I am really confident that Bob will do just fine when he returns to South Dakota. He has really improved on every aspect in this business over the past 2 weeks, but I also have to say one thing and this really isn’t a brag, but it has been how he has been trained and the products we use. When I started I didn’t have half of what he has gotten or the products that we have in today’s market. I had to basically learn most of what I know today by trial and error, reading on the internet, asking a ton of questions of my suppliers, and the products I had were well let’s say not anywhere near what I use today.

These past few days I have basically stood by and watched while he has done the repairs. I’ve only stepped in when he has really needed it, but really he has done the repairs. He has done an amazing job and I am really proud to call him “my” trainee. Yes there are a few things yet he still has to learn but a lot of that will come with experience and practice. This is something that doesn’t come over night, it takes practice and time.

We have covered a lot of what he will come across in the repair world from leather repairs and vinyl repairs to carpet dyeing and cloth repair, granted there will be things I know he will come across that I haven’t taught him but with the limited time we have had I just can’t show him every little thing. But with the things we have covered I have confidence in him that he will do just fine. He really has the drive and the ability to figure things out on his own, which is something that is needed in this business to survive.

I would like to invite you to my Automotive Interior Repair Training program if your serious about starting a new career and making a new life for yourself. Just drop me an email with your phone number and I’ll be sure to give you a call about the details.

Talk to ya soon,

Mike “TIG”

Today he really got his feet wet and did his first vinyl repair and did great. He’s still a little green but that’s expected, he’s never done this before. This week we’re really going to work on his techniques and really get in there and do the work, and I do mean do it too. I’m basically just there for support this week because he’s the one who’s going to be doing the repairs.

Last week I think he was getting a little worried about things and he thought I wasn’t going to let him do the work. But that’s what my training program is all about is teaching the correct way of doing things and also hands on. The first week I just wanted to get him familiar with the products on how and when to use them, the steps of doing the repairs, and how to mix the dyes including colors and adding the different additives to make the dyes work properly. I just wanted to make sure he was going to be able to do the work before I just let him go. This week is all about getting in there and doing repairs so when he gets back home he will feel comfortable with the repairs and not have any problems with just getting in there and doing them.

Last Friday we did a couple of jobs that were really good teaching tools. One was a Dodge Durango that we had a steering wheel repair, the front leather seats needed reconditioned and it also had a few cigarette burns in the carpet which we hadn’t worked on yet. This was also a good one for the wear lines that occur on the edge of the seat. Believe it or not the passenger seat was worse then the drivers. The wear had almost gone all the way through so we repaired it with Viper’s Deep Crack Compound which is a high performance low heat compound designed to not shrink when heated and is also sandable, a big plus when doing leather repairs.

The next job we headed to on Friday was an 1981 Chevy Corvette. A little jewel of a car that just needed a little TLC, and we were there to give it. This was a good one to show him what happens to a steering wheel when the foam under the leather breaks down. I wasn’t able to make the steering wheel look as good as I wanted to because the the deteriorated foam but I got it really close. We also dyed the carpet and dyed a few miscellaneous plastic pieces around the inside that the original dye had worn off. Both of which we hadn’t worked on yet. When we got done the customer was really happy with the outcome, unfortunately I wasn’t completely satisfied but sometimes that happens when your as anal as I am.

Today, in spite of the heat, we got a lot done. Like I said before Bob did most of the work with me watching over his shoulder. There were a couple of jobs I had to take over but mostly he did it, including mixing the dyes to match to doing the repairs from start to finish.

I really have confidence in him that he will really succeed when he gets home. He’s done his research, listened well, and has taken to the Automotive Interior Restoration like a champ!

Well I’ll write more tomorrow on what’s going on with my Automotive Interior Restoration Training, but now I need to go out and pay some attention to a paint gun that is in dyer need of a cleaning.

If your looking for a new career or needing to improve your skills in the Automotive Interior Repair business then make sure you look me up.

Talk to ya soon…Mike “TIG”

But with that said, we have had a really good time, my trainee Bob is really catching on like a natural. Like I’ve said before he’s not afraid to ask questions which is great and has even given me some great ideas in some of my repairs. It’s actually been nice having someone there to talk with and swap ideas considering I’ve always been by myself.

Today I gave him a little more hands on training. The first few days I wanted to make sure he knew what products worked where and what they all did. I also have been working with him on color matching, which is one of the biggest priorities in this business. Even if your repair looks good, if your color doesn’t match then the whole job looks bad. I had him mixing colors today and even applying the dyes. He’s still pretty green with the paint gun, but this is something that definitely takes a lot of practice, I stress to him on almost every job about “gun control”. What I mean by this is knowing how to apply the dye to the exact area your wanting to without getting the dye all over the car or on pieces that don’t need to be dyed.

We’ve also had some really good examples the past 2 days of substandard work. Yesterday we had a cigarette burn in a Dodge Neon that had been done by someone else and it was a burn hole all the way through the fabric into the foam. The burn hole was filled with glue and then flock was applied over, but what was wrong with this is the glue had settled and basically what was left was a colored crater. What should have been done instead was the hole should had been filled first with batting then the glue and then the flock. What the batting helps to do is to keep the repair flush with no settling, which is what you want.

The next vehicle was a Chevy Impala. Now this one really surprised me, not really sure what this person was thinking when they did this repair, but I guess it’s either the wrong kind of training or someone trying to make a quick buck. This one had scratches in both the lean back and the lean back bolster and they had filled the scratches with what had looked like a water based filler then applied a solvent based paint over the top, which not only didn’t match, but the solvent based paint had reacted to with the water based filler and spider cracked all over. It took me longer to remove the gooped up gobbed up mess then it would have taken me to do it in the first place. Once I got the stuff off I was able to see what they were trying to repair and it really surprised me that they hadn’t even tried to sand the scratches out but instead just filled over them. Which had probably been another reason for the spider web looking cracks, just way to much compound. All this person had to do was to sand the scratches out as much as they could and fill with minimal amount of filler then dye with a water based leather dye, not a solvent based, this would have made their repair look, feel, and last a whole lot longer. But that’s what happens in this industry more then not… pretty sad

Well tomorrow is gonna be another busy day of repairs, we have 4 different lots to go to and I’m really looking forward to showing him more ways to make these car’s look like new with guaranteed repairs.

If your looking to either better yourself in this industry or would like to learn the craft of Automotive Interior Restoration from a professional with over a decade of experience then don’t hesitate to contact me, I would love to have you as my trainee.

Lately I’ve been getting calls and emails from people wanting to know how to mix a color, what colors do what, and what colors they need to have with them.

As far as color matching, I match all my dyes by eye, meaning I use no formula, no mixing chart, just knowledge of colors and what they can do.  So if your looking for a formula for how I mix my colors your looking in the wrong place.

What I’m going to do is give you the basics of colors and what colors will do when mixed together. The rest is up to you to learn and take mental note of how to achieve the color your looking for. I learned something from an Art teacher of mine in High School, she said that art is a learned behavior, yes one has to have talent, but the techniques of painting, drawing, and color mixing are learned. If you were to stop drawing at say 12 years old and never picked up a pencil to draw again until you were 30, you would draw like a 12 year old, it’s a learned behavior.

So with that said, lets get onto some learning…

Primary Colors

There are 3 colors that are the Primary Colors, Red, Blue, and Yellow and all colors vary from just these 3 colors in either hues or shade.  A hue is a variance in any one color and a shade is the intensity of a color.

Secondary Colors

These are colors that come from mixing 2 primary colors together. For example if you mix Red + Blue = Purple, Yellow + Blue = Green, Red + Yellow = Orange. So Purple, Green, and Orange are your secondary colors.

Complementary Colors

This is something I use a lot when mixing my colors. The reason for this is if I go to far with one color I use it’s compliment to counteract or cancel out that color. If you don’t have a color wheel then here’s a great tool that will help, it’s called the “Color Triangle” .  Draw a triangle, put one of each of the primary colors at the corners and one of each of the secondary colors on each side in mixing order. Now with the colors in place pick a color… lets say Red, when you look directly across the triangle what do you see, Green, that’s Red’s complimentary color, same goes for a color wheel. They call it a compliment because when you put the two together they make the other seem more intense or vibrant. When a color your mixing is lets say too yellow, add it’s compliment which is purple to cancel the yellow out.

Tertiary Colors

Tertiary Colors are your browns and grays. These are the colors that we deal with mostly in today’s vehicles. They’re created by mixing either all three primary colors or a primary and secondary color (secondary colors of course being made from two primaries). By varying the proportions of the colors you’re mixing, you create the different tertiary colors.

Black and White

Black and white are colors you would think would be part of the primary colors or even the secondary colors but they leave them out due to the fact that you they can’t be mixed by using the other colors. Most artist’s don’t even use black or white but in the automotive world it’s used more then none. When adding white you will loose intensity in the color and when adding black the color will mud. I do use a lot of white and black to lighten or darken a colors but  I will have to add a little more color for intensity, if not the color will have a milky look to it. I call this “milking the color”. You’ll notice this in your tans mostly, you’ll get the shade right but the color has a white look to it, if you add little more color to it you should keep the shade but loose the milky look.

We have an unlimited pallet of colors to choose from, yes you could sit down with the 3 primary colors with black and white and get the colors you desire, but we have choices of pre-mixed colors that will get you there a little quicker. Here’s an example of some of the colors I carry on board with me that I use to mix the automotive interior colors. You’ll notice I use a red and a yellow oxide, these are hues of yellow and red with a brown shade added. Most of the colors used in today’s auto’s are a hues and shades of brown, even your gray’s.

Main Colors -

• Black
• White
• Dark Brown
• Yellow Oxide
• Red Oxide

3 Primary Colors -

• Red
• Blue
• Yellow

Secondary Color -

• Green
• Violet

Metallics

• Silver
• Gold

Now I don’t usually carry an orange, the reason for this is that almost every color I am mixing is a shade of brown or gray which IS a hue of orange and the yellow and red oxides work better for this.

One hint on mixing your leather dyes. Keep a selection of pigments to go along with your premixed dyes. I mix all my dyes in two ounce jars, which is plenty of dye for just about any job your doing. I’ll mix about 1 and 3/4 of an ounce of my premixed dyes and get the color as close as I can get it, then to finalize the color off I’ll use my pigments to get me there quicker. You kinda have to experiment a little with this, the pigments will get you there really quick so very small amounts. I use this when I get a color say a little dark and I’m running out of room in the jar, I’ll grab the white pigment to lighten it up or a color pigment to intensify the color instead of using my premixed which could cause me to have to mix more then I would need. Theres no need to waste dye, dye is money.

By the way, I have some people asking about keeping your dyes and some that have said they just dump the excess when their done. I keep all my dyes and use them over and over. I do this by not mixing to many different colors, what I mean by this is I will have around 10 jars of grays and 10 jars of browns with a few reds and blues and just tweek them for each individual job. I also use a crosslinker which enables me to keep my dyes up to six weeks before they start to gel up, which by that time I’ve already used it on something else by just tinting it to match. Why throw away usable dye, that’s money your pouring down the drain!

Color matching is something you just have to play with. Start with your basics like is it dark or light?  If its dark start with a dark brown or a black, if it’s a light color then start with white or the lighter color in the mix as your main color and tint from there.  Your blues and reds you’ll start with the primary color and tint from there by adding in small amounts, and I do mean small, it doesn’t take much to make red into pink.

One thing you might try is to go to your nearest upholstery shop and get some scrap peices of the most recent colors and take them home and just sit down and mix. Just play with the colors and see what they do. Remember its a learned behavior and you have to learn what each color will do before you can mix your colors to match.

Well guys I hope this answered some of your questions on mixing your colors to match.  It’s something that takes practice, patience, and knowledge just like anything in the automotive interior repair business. I gave you some knowledge so let’s give it some practice and be patient, it took me some time to pick it up too.

Talk to you soon,

Mike “TIG”

p.s. don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter!

Plastic is one component that makes up most of the inside of a vehicle and can be one of most difficult to repair and paint. That is if you don’t replace the piece first. To be really honest when it comes to some of the plastic trim pieces, door panels, and kick panels its cheaper to replace the pieces then to repair them. But I do mean some, there are many instances where a little heat in the right spot or some dye applied to the surface can hide or repair an imperfection and save from replacement and that’s what I’m here today to talk about repairing and painting those cosmetic repairs on plastic interior panels.

Let’s say we have a scratch down the door panel and it’s deep enough to feel with your finger nail. This type of cosmetic repair can be fixed with a heat gun, a matching grain pad, dye, and some finesse. The finesse is a big thing too. You can make a bad thing a really bad thing really quick if your not careful.

When heating plastic to repair a scratch you have to melt it to almost the liquid stage and press your grain pad into the plastic very gently but firmly to achieve the right effect. If you press to hard you will make a dent in the panel and not enough you won’t get the grain imprint in the plastic like you want and you won’t melt the scratch together either. You melt the plastic like I said almost to the liquid stage.

First things first don’t sand the fuzzy’s off or try to sand the scratch down prior to melting, use the plastic that’s there to melt back into the scratch where it came from.

I will usually heat and press a few times, basically melting a little at a time. It also helps to cool the plastic with a chill bar after a couple of attempts so not to stretch or dent the plastic. Learned that one the hard way on a rear quarter of an Expedition. When there is nothing behind the plastic to support your melt then the plastic will push in if you don’t take your time and cool things down between attempts.

Cooling also helps to set the imprint so when you go to remove the shinny spot, which I’ll talk about in a minute. you won’t distort or even loose your grain because the plastic is still to warm.

When you press the grain into plastic try to remember not to use your thumb if you can, use the grain pad laid in your palm, this will help also to cut down on denting the plastic panel. I have a little rubber squeegee I use at times to lay on the back of the grain pad to give me a level surface to press on.

Now once you have melted the scratch back into the plastic you’ll be left with a shinny spot in the plastic where you have melted it. To get rid of this take a scotch brite pad and scuff lightly over the area, not to much or you’ll distort your fix. Once you have scuffed the area a little extra and the area’s around it, it will need to be cleaned thoroughly before dye is applied.

Painting plastic is just that applying a coat of paint over the top, some think you can actually “DYE” plastic. Well unless you have a way to penetrate the surface of the plastic then your only painting the surface and I don’t know of any penetrating paint for plastic. But just out of habit you’ll hear me say dyeing plastic too here and there.

So… you have to get the plastic as oil and dirt free as you can or the paint won’t stick, period.  When your prepping plastic use only a fine grade sand paper or a scotch brite pad to scuff the surface. If you use anything heavier in grit then you will see the sand marks or scuff marks guaranteed. I use my special prepping solution for all my prepping but I have used wax and grease remover and lacquer thinner but be very careful with lacquer thinner and plastic, if you let it set to long it will melt the plastic or even distort the grain so really wax and grease remover or my prepping solution is all that is needed. If that’s not handy then dish soap and warm water.

Applying your paint can be done by either spraying or wiping it on. I usually spray everything except for my primer. I use a wet paper towel to apply my sticky primer or grip base, whichever you may use with your water based paint. Always apply a primer or adhesion promoter prior to painting plastic. It will make your repair last a lot longer I promise.

If all was done right your scratch should disappear right before your eyes when the dye is applied.

Now as part of repairing plastic you may come across a piece that is broken slightly and an actual plastic repair can be done to save a piece without replacement. This is accomplished by what you call a plastic welder. Some of you guys probably already have one and use one on a daily basis to repair bumpers and such.  This is one tool that is a must when repairing a broken piece of plastic. Super glue won’t hold and epoxies can be a mess and probably won’t hold either and that’s where a plastic welder comes in. It does exactly what you think it welds the plastic back together by melting new and existing plastic into the crack.

I’ve used mine a few times and have had great success.

Now like I said before mending a cracked piece of plastic needs to be cost effective. If the piece can be replaced for cheaper then you can fix it for, then replace it, don’t spend all afternoon fixing a crack in a piece of plastic that someone could have bought at a junk yard or new for cheaper. Heck there have been times when I still get the job because a replacement part needs to match, so I paint it to match. A lot more cost effective.

One other thing not all plastic pieces can be repaired and look right, it’s just the nature of the repair. Your not going to make every plastic repair look absolutely prefect. Sometimes it’s the grain pattern in the plastic or just the plastic itself. If you can hide it well then go with it but if it just looks as bad as it did when you started you probably need to replace the piece.