Sun faded Beck tonneau cover

Just wondering if anyone has re-dyed their cloth tonneau cover or come up with another simpler solution.

My Beck is silver blue with a dark blue interior. No sun fading anywhere but the tonneau.
The underside is the original, rich dark blue which would contrast nicely with the lighter silver blue paint. But the tonneau has really faded and looks like and old rag. The material is still good, it hasn't weakened at all, just looks worn out.

I was planning on taking it down to my local upholsterer and having him use the old tonneau as a template for a new one with better fade resistant material.

I have used Sem products in the past for redoing worn out leather seats. It's a 2 part process. First wiping on a cleaner which opens the pours of the leather, then spraying on a top coat color matched to your leather. The seats look new when your finished and the product is surprisingly durable but it's for LEATHER. I was wondering if anyone knew of a similar product for CLOTH.

Thanks!

Nolan just did this. He lives in south Florida, lots of sun I think he has a dark blue leather that he needed to get redone. You out there Nolan?

No first-hand experience here but I have heard good things about this company:
http://www.leatherique.com/motor_car_project_pictures/canvas_top_dye/

Also, same site: http://www.leatherique.com/oem-color-samples/porsche.html
Send them an e-mail with your specifics re: material, colors etc...

Hey Marty, I had a vinyl cover made for the engine cover (remember I have a SAS mid-engine car and the engine cover is behind the seats) because the carpet covering it faded. The leather and top are still in good shape as I keep the car in the garage. I am planning to have the seats redone though because the leather dye is wearing through. I'm looking at having a perforated center piece put in the seats to help make them a bit cooler looking and sitting on.

Mine is black and less than a year old and already pretty faded. I would be interested to find out the durability of a secondary treatment.

I just ordered the dye from the company that S Slater linked in his reply (THANKS!!!)

I'll be sure and post before and after pics, cost, and step by step instructions.

Thanks again.

Jake-Did you happen to call/e-mail them with your particular "problem"? They seem to be pretty customer oriented based on the web-site. Real glad this helped! SS

I called and they were very helpful. Ordered one 32oz bottle of dark blue dye. I'll probably spray it on the cover.

I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Thank you for the link!!!

You're welcome. I also did a "search" here, key word "leatherique", and found a few older related threads; scroll down to the link that Angela (Steve Paint-It-Black Lane) posted and go there for article on restoring leather seats using another Leatherique product. Quite a nice job!
https://www.speedsterowners.com/forum/readmsg.asp?t=19228

Just finished this project!! SUPER EASY....Clean Tonneau cover with a nylon brush and Dawn dishwashing liquid and let completely dry.
Pour dye into a plastic bucket, wet a clean cloth with warm water and wring it out. Fold damp cloth so all edges are IN leaving a "powder puff" (that's what the maker of the product called it) Dip cloth into dye while wearing rubber gloves and apply in a circular motion over Tonneau. Dries evenly and can be re-applied for a darker shade. I had no trouble with areas that were less faded not matching the faded parts. Looks GREAT. I ordered the 32oz bottle of DYE....WAY TOO MUCH. Get the smaller bottle, it's plenty...I also touched up the bolsters on my seats and they look NEW!!!

Before and after pics.

http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn148/petemfa/?action=view¤t=Porsche006.jpg

http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn148/petemfa/?action=view¤t=Porsche009.jpg

Your "after" photo looks excellent-looks "brand new", right out-of-the-box! Great job.

Thanks again Scott for providing the link to leatherique.

Looks like a winner; again, super job!!!
SS

WOW! That looks great!

Nice match, Jake. Looks so good!

Bob

Really great looking restoration!

Now that is something. I'd never imagine it would all come out even. Next question: how long will this last?

That will be interesting to see....BUT....Based on the amount of dye I have left over I could re-apply this stuff every year for the next decade!!!

I forgot to mention the cost.....

$45

Do the bank guards look at you funny when you enter a bank with blue dye on both hands?

I should try that!!!

Believe it or not this stuff is water based! It comes off your skin with soap and water, but once it dries on cloth it won't run. Amazing stuff!

With most production automotive paints now water based, it seems like a proven technology.

Looks great,good job there. Looks better,faded,it looked "purple",much better in blue!
I bought Warren Whites Beck,and it has the exact same color combo,and my top is fading as well.
Do you think it would be possible to dye a convertible top while it is actually still attached to the car?? Or would it have too much liquid from the dye that it would run down onto the interior upholstery? Does it have to be applied very heavy?

Thomas, with a Beck you cannot remove the top from the car. I just replaced my original top with a Stayfast, and it's not a job for the timid. Just carefully tape and you should be good to go.

By the way, Warren's car - now yours - is a VERY sweet ride. Congrats!

You could EASILY dye the top with it on the car. You really don't use that much dye and it's thick so it's never dripping.

I did my cover OFF the car but I went right over the snaps and edge trim on the cover because they were blue and the dye didn't effect either. I would just unsnap the back of your top where it attaches to the body and tape some plastic under it (over the body) Even if you do get some dye on the paint, it's water based so a clean damp cloth cleans it off no problem. I got a little on my cars paint and it wiped off completely leaving no trace.

The dye is thick like maple syrup so it really doesn't drip much. I was amazed at how easily it spreads over the cloth. As you proceed, the application cloth gets completely saturated and a little of this dye goes a long way. It never completely saturated the top to where it was dripping through.

Just take your time.

If you really want to go nuts just cover your interior with a plastic drop cloth and go for it.

Just so you know....I washed my cover with DAWN dishwashing liquid (that's what leatherique recomends) and really rinsed it good. Then I took the cover inside (OUT OF THE SUN!) and just let it air dry. I think having the cloth material at room temp is vital to getting a good result.

Wash your top with DAWN, rinse it until the water runs clear, then don't touch it...Let it completely air dry in the garage and start wiping on the dye.

One last tip:

I used a micro fiber cleaning towel made by CLEANRIGHT to apply the dye (a local store here carries them but I'm sure a google search will find them for you). These towels left NOTHING on the cover..no lint, nothing...and they absorbed the dye very evenly. One towel did the entire job along with a damp backup.

These towels are light blue in color. I would seriously order a pack of these before I did this project...They cost $10 for a 12 pack and didn't leave a spec of anything on the cover while I applied the dye. If you use a terry cloth towel it could leave a lot of lint on your cover and possibly effect the final result.

It really is an EASY project...Your top will look brand new in about 15 minutes. The best part??? After I put the newly dyed cover on my car I was able to go back with the cover ON the car and hit a couple of spots that I wanted to even up. It worked like charm and the end result is a perfect color match and what looks like a new $300 cover.

When you order the dye be sure and tell them it's for a canvas top...The color I ordered was called Porsche Dark Blue and it matched my unfaded convertible top perfectly. (the previous owner NEVER drove the car with the top up) I ordered the 16oz bottle and used MAYBE 3 oz's and that's doing 2 complete applications.
I still have over 3/4's of a bottle. For an entire convertible top I'd order the 16oz bottle and have plenty left over for touch ups...It will also perfectly match your blue seats! Wipe it on and immediately wipe it off with a dry towel and BAM... instant new seats!!