So getting frustrated with my carb situation I decided to do somthing that wouldnt drive me up the wall.

My truck has low miles and is good shape but spending its life in the desert sun has taken its toll on the interior. Since new carpet isnt in the budget right now I decided Id try to make my hashed carpet look better. It has thin spots and a couple of holes and its faded like 13 colors so its not like it could look any worse. I snapped some pics so anyone else who wants to try it can see.

I pulled the front seat and snapped a pic of what I was starting with.


It was faded badly and colors were blotchy at best. I decided I was gonna use fabric paint to make it at least one color. I want to do black carpet when I eventually can buy it so black paint was what I went with.

You can see here the huge differences in the color where the sun was able to hit vs under the seat.


Im not by any means saying this is the "right way" to do this. But I needed to do it on the cheap so...I brushed and vacumed the rug about 3 times to make sure I had it as clean as I could get it. I removed the carpet as one piece and shook it out. I brushed and vacumed it again.


I laid it out flat and vacumed it once more. I started painting it just like youd paint anything else. The paint went on easy and my sun bleached carpet ate up the color.



Try to get it from all diffrent directions so as to evenly coat all the nooks and crannies

One mistake I made was not having enough paint ahead of time. I ran out after two cans. Two of my local Autozones didnt have anymore black so I had to order more. Should be here in a few days.

So I did what I could and Ill just finish the rest when I recover the seat.


This is what I was greeted to upon pulling up the carpet. This truck has never been painted a second time. Gotta love the dry desert.



after some cleaning


This was as much as I could do. I concentrated on the areas outside the seat. It still needs a few coats. But it looks waaaaaay better then it did.



One thing Im unsure of is durability. Im gonna get some black floor mats so I can avoid most of the mud sand etc. My carpet was already dried out and stiff. So Im not sure how it will affect carpet that hasnt been fried like mine. Mine will take a total of 3-4 cans to be fully covered. But you may need less or more depending on your carpets condition.

 

yes it seems to be one extreme or the other like you said dessert sun is hard on interior,rubber,plastic ect up in alberta this stuff is usualy pretty good but the salt gets to the metal and its hard to find a good rust free body fadeing isnt usualy a problem here but but that floor looks great for the age??

 

Since you had the carpet out I would of changed to vinyl floor mat from LMC or DC, IMO. The paint may break down the carpet faster and even make it brittle.

Or you could of used "rit"? material dye sold at Walmart ect.... used to make ty-dye shirts and the like, but its cheap.

Best of luck on it.

 

Did you use carpet or vinyl paint?

 

it said it was for both vinyl and carpet

 

Ok, worried me a bit. I would also brush the carpet in between coats to get the nap up and help with an even coverage. Looks like it will be a good improvement.

 

Is the odor going to be a problem?

Josh

 

Those are about a hundred bucks....about as much as carpet....which like I said is not in the works right now...

 

This stuff stink outta the can...but I let it dry for about an hr or so before I put it back in...no problem w a smell.

 

WOW I can't get over those FLOORS! You guys out west have it made!