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My 56 has interior trim code 62, which means Light blue matelasse and dark blue doeskin.

The light blue has faded to a greenish color.

One would think tere would be a spray dye thaT COULD BE USED SIMPLY AND EASILY to dress it up and get nearer the original color with relatively little expense or effort.

I spent several hours on the internet and came up with a number of products that are apparently designed to paint over other colors so you can redo your vinyl upholstery.

I'm thinking a transparent product would make more sense--a dye to me, not a paint.

Or have I got the wrong end of the idea by something other than a handle?

Ideas? Realistic suggestions?

Hate to admit this but tried something similar many years ago with the same trim in my first Patrician. Turned out to be not one of my better ideas. Hopefully anyone else who might have tried had better luck. Spray can dyes were available out here at the time but not so much anymore because of the EPA and the air restrictions with solvents.

Two problems became evident when I tried. In my case, was trying to cover some water stains on the door panels and a sun faded spot on the back seat.

First and foremost, the stock blue colors I could find then were pretty much not a match to anything Packard offered. I thought I came close but it turned out darker and was very evident. There may be someone willing to custom match but I didn't try at the time. If you are able to go that route, fading will probably still be an issue to the point the entire car will have to be done. I wound up doing that to cover up the first mistake.

Second problem became evident with my spraying action. Unless the application is very consistent -- speed of movement, direction, and you name any other variable -- the results will not be uniform. Any significant variation will be apparent.

In any case, because the dye is transparent most likely any stains will still be visible unless the dye is on extremely heavy. Putting it on thick to cover a stain will just ruin the rich look of the fabric and cover the metal threads. Fortunately, I did not make that mistake and lived with the stains after all.

I did have very good luck in dying some original NOS fabric for a 54 Pacific. That was done with Rit dye and still looks great after several years. Bought a new very large galvanized garbage can & rigged up an electric water tank heater to heat the water. Difference was the material was bulk and not sewn into a seat cover yet. Not willing to do it again because you can't believe how much work maneuvering 15-20 yards of material is in trying to keep it consistent in the solution --let alone hanging it to dry without bunching it or getting it dirtied up.

Fifty some years ago I worked a short time with a car dealer where a coating was sprayed on the fabric or carpet of used cars to brighten them up for resale, this coating could be mixed to get a better matching color and sprayed much as you would paint. It looked good when finished and covered up thin spots in carpet and make seat and door panels look much newer, however I don't personally believe it was long lasting enough to do a lot more than get the car sold, sort of in the same category with the fellow that put new grooves in slick tires or the little motor and cable that was used to turn back the miles on the speedometer.

I did some fabric dying on my 1955 Clipper when I was rejuvenating the interior. I used leather dye and it seems to have done a decent enough job. I was trying to restore the color which had faded due to sun exposure, especially on the back of the rear seat cushion. The color matching was easy as it was black. It's all there in my project blog, "Adventures With a 1955 Clipper".

(o{}o)