Console problem.

[stewardc]

I have a dark blue GTI console in my Rabbit Pickup. The plastic has gone mottled with lighter colored areas. Can these be dyed or painted?

[Square73]

There are a couple of options. One is to use a plastic paint like Krylon, Duplicolor, SEM and others. Another is to dye it. Hardest part will be finding a color that when dry, matches the original color. Some automotive paint suppliers that custom mix paint might be able to color match some for you. I've found that dyeing a part that has light and dark areas tend to end up with darker light and dark areas. Hard to get it to even out.

If it's DIY dyeing you want to try, here's a good description.

http://www.bmx-forum.com/t/183272/how-to-dye-your-plastic-parts-with-pics
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[veedubman72]

I have the exact setup you do (except I have the GTI bezel instead of the wood one). My dash was good so I had the center gauge console dyed because it was easy to take out the car and managed. The ashtray and the knee bar under the glove box never match exactly, so I had them color matched professionally at a body shop and painted since they were metal. Since replacement plastic pieces for Mk1s ONLY come in black, I found a guy who could dye my plastic pieces too. They turned out a little too bright blue, but we're perfecting the color for the next batch.

I prefer dyes over paint because paint inherently adds a layer and I don't know how good the current products are, but I've seen painted vinyl dashes where the paint has broken down and become really tacky and messy from over exposure in the sun.

Here's are some pics of my dyed plastic parts mainly for the seats. I'm showing the finger cup on the inside door handle just to show the before and after

[stewardc]

That looks like a nice product for sure. I've just found a guy here who uses a similar dye product and he assures me it will look as good as new. He also advised against paint due to adhesion problems. I'm going to give him a try.