4serioferio

Hey so I decided to do a "review" on the process of dying interior carpet using RIT dye. I already took a few pictures during, so I thought I might as well share in case anyone was interested. If you wanna skip the reading just scroll down and theres pics.

This is not going to be a full DIY walkthrough but I might as well describe the process.

All thats truly needed is RIT dye (available at Walmart for about $3 per bottle) and a large enough tub or plastic container.

I HIGHLY recommend: gloves, a tarp or plastic sheet.

Basically the process is pretty simple. Remove carpet (search it if you don't know how). Clean carpet (THOROUGHLY, with a pressure washer) Follow RIT dye directions on mix of H20 (warm-hot) and Dye and stuff carpet in. Now I used 4 bottles of dye and that was JUST enough water/dye mix (by directions) to fit the carpet in completely.

I left mine in for about 4 hours and it turned out quite BLACK. As you'll see below.

During the 4 hours I turned the carpet every half hour or so. Necessary? I couldn't tell you.

Here is my disgusting carpet before:




Thats after powerwashing and hours of scrubbing stains btw ^

And a little bit of the process....





(those are rocks wrapped in Seran wrap to keep the carpet sunk)

and VOILA:








I apologize for the final two pictures. It was 4 AM at the time of completion. I can add more pictures with full interior in better lighting if desired. There looks to be discoloration in the third to last photo but there is not. It was the result of either lighting or from vacuuming the carpet fibers. The carpet is quite homogeneously colored.

Hopefully this post cleared up any skepticism on the process because it is really quite simple and obviously effective. I saw a ton of negative feedback about RIT on other forums where people were asking about dying carpet and its simply incorrect.

Word to the wise. Let the carpet dry for 1-2 days or so. Hanging in the sun is the most effective. If you try to install in while its still wet you are asking for trouble.

YOU ARE WORKING WITH DYE. So it should be OBVIOUS that you should be cautious. Try to do everything outside or in a garage.

thenext

Good write up! Prolly last a great deal longer than that spray on stuff eh?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Now scotchgard and UV protect it.

motegicivic

Just for curiousity, does the color rub off? Say you took a damp cloth and rubbed it?

DSMAddicted

Very clean work man, I can tell you're as meticulous as I am when working on your car.

Looks like the final result was worth it, good job and thanks for sharing the process.

cvcrcr99

Looks good! Keep us updated on how it holds up over time!

4serioferio

It should hopefully last longer than any spray on color. I will test rubbing it with a damp cloth to see what happens. As for scotchguard, I should have thought about that before putting the carpet in... but I wonder if it would cause the carpet to become crispy? UV protection I don't think I'll need; I live in WA and get like 40 days of strong sunlight if that.

Thank you DSMAddicted I definitely tried to do my best work.

4serioferio

Thank you. I'll plan on at least a week and end of summer update. I have high hopes for its longevity.

SQ is the SQUAD

looks wonderful. i did the spray job on my integra carpet. smelled like paint for weeks and cam out crappy. going to do my accord wagon carper this wekeend, i am doing it your way.

how warm was the water you used?

90IntegraGS1.8L

i did this with my last civic's carpet, it didnt turn out as dark as yours but i only used 3 bottles of Dye.

D Griff

Looks great, I might do this to my Civic if I keep it! I've also done the spray "fabric paint" stuff, and it kinda sucks. It looked pretty good at first, but took a ton of cans ($$$), felt weird and prickly for quite some time, and now looks faded (it's on my seats though, not the floor carpet). Nice work/review!

Kohen

looks good!

Wrona

i wonder has it faded at all yet

FPR

Man this stuff fades like a bii**h. Your shoes will be black after awhile. lol

SQ is the SQUAD

well hopefully i get some weathertech floor mats that i dont have to worry about that.

Zack...

how do you dispose of the left over dye? i've been wanting to do this too.

D Griff

Is this true? How's it holding up?

I used to use RIT dye for my jeans when I was a bus boy at Outback back in high school. They had to be very dark and they would fade, I didn't want to buy new ones. After a time the dye would fade (probably 20 washes...).

Any updates?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Forget RIT. This stuff dye plastics, wood and even stains metal if you leave it on long enough. Ask me how I know.
http://www.jacquardproducts.com/

D Griff

How do you know haha?

I'm interested in doing this, but only if I'm fairly certain that it will look good and last many years, otherwise it's just a huge waste of time.

If these dyes are excellent, which one should be used for carpet/upholstry? I'm not sure if it's cotton, synthetic, etc.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

My wife dyes fabric. Sometimes I help. There are two utensils that she uses to stir the dye once heated to a boil and manipulate the fabrics she puts into the dye. One is a big wooden spoon and the the other is a set of hard plastic tongs. They are both black as pitch now. The color does not wash out either. Some of the water that splashed up onto the range hood has now stained the hood permanently because she didn't wipe it off immediately.

The fabrics that she has dyed have not lost their vibrancy after repeated washings like the RIT ones did.

I have a pillar pod that I'm going to attempt to dye with the next batch of black that she mixes up.

D Griff

SOunds pretty good as my RIT sure as hell faded like I mentioned before. Thanks for the info!

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

If you have a Joanns near you they sell this stuff.

Linked

i've RIT'd my carpet and floor mats in my eg coupe black, the carpet holds it's color because it hardly gets touch if you have floor mats

my passenger floor mat on the other hand ... shows some small signs of the RIT fading

FPR

Itll last if you use some mats, but if not your gonna have to keep dying it. Id rather just put thick spray paint and clear coat the **** out of it. lol

NY_2_OC

When you say "this stuff" that link shows a bunch of little dye bottles. Do they sell in a larger quantity, like the RIT size bottle? Any type in particular? If i do buy those little bottles, I'll need a $hit load lol.

I just power washed my grey carpet and wanna do black, I was thinking of letting it sit in RIT dye for 3-4 days, but if the stuff you recommend will last longer and the price is similar I will go that route....by the way, have you done your carpet with this?

I have a Joannes close to my home.

Thanks