Restoring Sun Faded Soft Bags

[Fubars]

One is the topside, the bag behind it is the underside.

Yuck...



I thought about spray painting them, but that probably wouldn't hold up with use. The flexing would make the paint crack and flake off in the long run. Anybody else able to fix this problem?

[mouthfulloflake]

I had explored this, my old tank bag is faded to a purple brownish hue from black.

I had planned to use this:

http://www.ritdye.com/


but found an identical ( and new) tank bag on local craigslist.

[josjor]

Here's the stuff: http://www.dmcolor.com/products/

You can find it at floral and craft stores. It is UV resistant, waterproof, and adheres to fabric superbly. I first ran into this stuff when I was a professional kite maker (yes, kite maker). There are still quite a few guys that decorate ripstop nylon kites with this stuff. Kite's sit out in the sun all day, get rained on, and the fabric stays soft even with the paint on them. I've got a few of my kites that have been flown for twenty years that I used this paint on.

And I also "restored" some old saddlebags of mine with it. I bought the bags used from a fellow inmate and they were sun faded just like you show. I vacuumed the dust off them and sprayed them with a couple light coats of Design Master in black. They looked great for the next two years that I owned them before I upgraded to some Wolfman bags.

Good stuff.

[kubiak]

i had good luck with aresol fabric spray paint from the automotive store. i did a pair of cloth bucket seats back in the 80s and it held up great.

[mouthfulloflake]

Very good to know, thanks JosJor.

looks to be available at fabric stores, sears, Kmart, and such for under $9 per can.

[FatBob]

I used THIS on a faded tank bag. Turned out pretty nice.

[bomber60015]

From experience, I'd be a bit more concerned about structural integrity than hue . . . . . often, when fabrics fade that way, they are also much less strong than they were before the UV exposure that caused the fading . . . .

Sadly, I do not know of a test thay might not destroy the material you are interested in saving ;-}

[Fubars]

Originally Posted by bomber60015

Sadly, I do not know of a test thay might not destroy the material you are interested in saving ;-}

I'll keep that in mind when I pack anything in these. There's a weight limit label specifying 5 lbs in each bag, so I know nothing heavy is going in them.

I bought some Kiwi leather dye today. Nice and cheap, and they stocked it in the local supermarket. Just gotta wash the bags before applying.

[kantuckid]

Tandy Leather= black dye

[Ohio_Danimal]

I have had great luck with Krylon Fusion spray paint, available anywhere. It's made to bond directly with plastics.

Make sure the bag has been freshly washed and dried. Don't overdue it, as black coats quickly of the the various shades of grey-to-purple black nylon turns with UV exposure.

quick and cheap

[OkieTom]

Duplicolor makes a fabric/vinyl spray paint that works extremely well, available at most auto parts stores. Spayed my grey rear seat black about a year ago and still looks great.

[H96669]

Originally Posted by OkieTom

Duplicolor makes a fabric/vinyl spray paint that works extremely well, available at most auto parts stores. Spayed my grey rear seat black about a year ago and still looks great.

They all do, just bought some PlastiKote brand and there are many others. Smells just like the dedicated dyeing products my cobbler/upholsterer friend uses in his shop for such jobs. Fumey....use in well ventilated areas.

All them seats, bags...etc... will require a good cleaning first to get rid of waxes and mostly sillycone products. The last will really F....up any dye job. They all recommend cleaning first with an Ammonia based cleaning product. Not sure yet if the Ammonia would dissolve/clean sillycones but I have other products I know will.