Re: [Chrysler300] J interior dye

I am assuming Gary is talking about new leather kits for the J. There clearly are more than five Js out there that need new leather, if the owners can afford it (not a trivial expense!). The question I have is can Gary’s leather guy create a leather dye for refinishing original leather that still is in good shape, such as the back seats of many Js that got little or no use? And a true leather dye rather than an aerosol paint designed for vinyl? I will say the the interior vinyl windlace I got from Gary for my J was a pretty good match in color and I was pleased.

Re. the carpet the J (and 1963 Sport, Newport and New Yorker with claret red interior) originally had a copper- red “tuxedo” style loop carpet with black thread highlights as Gary no doubt knows. ACC currently offers an orange-red Tuxedo which is not a real close match to the original J carpet IMHO but is the only suitable tuxedo style made today. We have approached ACC in the past and they have indicated they won’t make that style in a molded form for 1963 Chryslers, which makes no sense since they offer other colors in molded form. And they wouldn’t have the side carpet panels for the console or front seat backs ready made of course We do really need a carpet “kit” solution for the J, or perhaps an entire interior “kit.” This is the lowest production letter car and unlike many Fs, Gs etc. most of the 110 or so still out there need restoration.

Carl B

the J guy

From: Robert Hayen

Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:14 PM

To: Robert Hayen ; C Bilter ; kboonstra@xxxxxxxxxxxx ; Jslayton@xxxxxxxxxx

Cc: chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] J interior dye

300 group .....

i just talked to gary on the j seat problem .

the first problem is getting sms to do the vinyl .

then a peice of vinyl is sent to gary's leather guy for a sample .

garys has done this before and his leather guy came very very close to matching the color.

if there is five interiors out there to be done gary and i will get on this . gary can deal with doug at sms better than anybody . so he has to be the one to deal with sms .....

then there is the problem with carpet . acc is the only supplier for carpet, gary would be willing to call them to see if they are interested in doing the carpet .

so if there is any interest in this let me know.....

on another note . the sill plate dies [60 -64 ] were shipped to a machine shop for stamping so those will be coming soon .

the second batch of heal plates are coming soon too....

a batch of 57 -59 sill plates are in the mail as we speak. so they will be back in stock.

also 57- 59 sill plates dodge and plymouth and desoto can be had if there is any interest..

bob hayen 406- 752- 5152

----- Original Message -----

From: Robert Hayen

To: C Bilter ; kboonstra@xxxxxxxxxxxx ; Jslayton@xxxxxxxxxx

Cc: chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 7:53 PM

Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] J interior dye

bob hayen here in kalispell, montana

if my memory serves me right, gary did a set of j seats a number of years back . i just left a message on his phone to call me back on this problem . i think he has some kind of a formula on paper or in his head for this crazy color . i will chime in when i hear from him ..

bob hayen

----- Original Message -----

From: mailto:cbilter@xxxxxxxxx [Chrysler300]

To: kboonstra@xxxxxxxxxxxx ; Jslayton@xxxxxxxxxx

Cc: chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 6:53 PM

Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] J interior dye

The issue here is trying to match the very difficult to properly replicate claret red metallic leather of the 300J. To the eye it appears to be a copper-red metallic color with a silver hue. It doesn’t surprise me that black is in the mix, but I don’t know why that can’t be mixed with red pigment. The issue in the USA, as I have been told, is the current bureaucratic BS imposed on companies by the EPA which has effectively outlawed the proper red pigments. At least that is the story I got from Leatherique (a major and well respected supplier of custom matched leather dye). Leatherique was unable to match my unfaded original J interior sample with legal pigments, and they didn’t return the sample either. For a non-metallic red, such as the darker red/brown on the upper door panels of the J, they have no problem matching that. They could probably approximate the overall color hue of the claret red in a non-metallic format, but it would require a complete redying of the interior including the door panels and dash vinyl as it would not match the original color. My understanding is that it has always been a difficult color to replicate exactly, even when more pigments were available. Ever wonder why most Js have their original leather seats, no matter how torn up they are? This is why. The few that have been redone, including the front seats in my own J, are not perfect. Mine are very close, but were done 13 years ago, when pigments were plentiful. And still, some dye tends come off even with mild cleaners. Nothing seems to reproduce the quality and color palate of the original factory material.

Hence Johnnie’s quest to source a match from outside the States, which seems a dead end as well.

We (Jamie Hyde of the reproduction committee in particular) have been working with SMS on a solution, but that involves new leather not a dye. And with SMS’s “lightening fast” response times, we may all be centenarians before we see a product.

Any help would be appreciated by those who are trying to restore a J.

300Jly,

Carl B

From: mailto:Chrysler300-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2015 4:47 PM

To: Jslayton@xxxxxxxxxx

Cc: chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] J interior dye

I missed the thread on this somehow, but it sounds like a problem I may have helpful information on. Is there a particular color of leather that you need to find a matching dye or coloring product for?

Keith Boonstra

-

On Tue, Mar 10, 2015 at 5:36 PM, Jslayton@xxxxxxxxxx [Chrysler300] <Chrysler300-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I heard back from the guy in Canada yesterday-----he told me that there was 2 different colors in the make up of the sample I sent-----in addition to the browns, reds, and so on for the reddish color --there is also a black----he can't combine the 2 colors so we can simply dye the seats, ect. ---so he said we might be able to use the reddish color, then apply the black with a sponge to get the right factory color-----it seems way to complicated to me----does this make any sense to anybody ?--I wonder how close the color would be without the black ?----Johnnie Slayton