Restoring Auto Upholstery

How do I repair auto upholstery?

Whether you’re getting your car ready to sell or just providing a needed facelift to removing stains and discolorations, restoring your car’s interior is a great place to start. It also doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, with ColorBond’s paint products, you can complete the job for a fraction of the cost of taking it to a professional.

Get the right paint

Avoid the frustration of trying to match a color to a photo of your interior. With our color selector, you can find the exact color that matches your vehicle. Simply provide your VIN# to the dealership and they will tell you the factory color. Then, use our selector to find the exact match. No guess work required!

Prep the area

Vacuum the entire interior of the vehicle to remove dust and debris. Shampoo and scrub the carpets. Clean and scrub stained plastic with household cleaners or our prep cleaner. When prepping the plastic and vinyl, be sure to pay attention to textured areas as they often build up the most debris. Apply our adhesion promoter to plastic to help the paint bond with the plastic.

If you have tears or rips in the upholstery, they must be repaired first before applying paint. Using an upholstery patch or needle and thread can provide a sufficient repair.

Apply paint

Pro Tip: Removing the area to be painted from the car makes work a lot easier. Apply a light coat of paint to surface with sprayer at a distance of 12 inches. Our paints bond in about 10 minutes.

Apply protectant

A coat of upholstery protectant is the perfect way to make sure your job is protected from the elements.

Materials needed:

• Mask
• Sprayer
• Vacuum
• Lint-free rags
• Prep cleaner, paint, and protectant from ColorBond