Well, After checking out some websites with custom-molded carpet for our gen and realizing it was out of my price range, I called around to my junkyard.

Researching to find that NO 4th gen has black carpet or headliner....

I found this carpet in a 96 as well as two 5spd shifter trims.... I couldnt believe it. It was obviously aftermarket since the max had tan interior. I gutted the interior in about 30 min with a 14mm, 10mm and a phillips screwdriver. I was able to gut it so quick since I didnt care about any of the other interior pieces.

Total it was 10 14mm bolts (8 for seats/2 for seatbelts) 4 screws in the armrest and one 10mm bolt under the gas pedal.

The carpet was wet onone side from a broken window but I could tell it had not been there long...the rain was probably recent. Carpet smells decent and looks like it didnt see a lot of wear. I'm so happy!

 

I didnt have enough time to finish since I started this project at 3pm today so here are some pics of my car as it sits currently.

 

Interior: I plan on dying the headliner and all pillars black as well.

 

Stil needs a little more vacuum/resolve/shampooing.

 

looks fun. and by looks fun I mean it does NOT look fun.

 

Its a biaatttch believe me, but in the end it will be worth it to me. Plus I've been needing to re-wire my microvision/rear mount camera and dvd player.

 

It takes some work, but worth it in the end...
I got a graphite carpet. I've since done a black/graphite leather swap, so it all matched now
I also added some new sound deadening while the carpet was out. (2nd pic)


New Carpet

 

You make it look so easy...!


By the way, I want that penny. Or the bar-b-q chips.

 

Damn, you made that look too easy...That looks amazing by the way.

I think I might look into the sound deadening department as well....How much a difference can you notice in cab noise reduction?

 

nice find... they cheated on the install though. that will make it a lot easier. throw down some sound deadener while you're in there.

i want the silver change! pennie... pffft

 

damn, that actually did look so "EAZY"......nawwt.nice work though Pal.really wothed it i guess. whats the keypad looking thing for.?

 

Brings back memories of sound deadening my entire interior...

 

Hmmm, I didnt think it was that hard. A bit time consuming but I knocked it out in a day easily.
Should have just bought new carpet. Its not that expensive. Makes no sense to me to pull everrything out just to put in old carpet, even if it is a different color.

 

Its not exactly old....I mean, it looks like brand new, all the crap on it is mud from when I took it out at the yard and glass and fibers from the deadening material...lol

But seriously, those pictures don't do the carpet justice, my interior wil look sick with everything blacked out.

 

oh flava, btw, new molded carpet runs about 130 plus shipping....I got two 5 spd shifter trims and this carpet for $40....I think I did pretty well. The carpet will look like new once I have a decent day to put it in.

 

I'd like to see your dyed Headliner and pillars. I have a tan interior in my car and i truly hate it. It it looks nice dyed that would be cheaper than what i have in mind. Good job, but i think you should have thrown down at least a little sound deadening....it works wonders. I did my 3rd gen when i stripped it down..well worth it!

 

Go to rockauto.com and get carpet, it is only about 100 bucks IIRC. I plan on dieing my interior over the summer as well.

 

More than anything it's a bit time consuming but not that bad. i guess $40 wasn't to bad. I think I paid somewhere around 120 shipped for mine. You should also finish much faster since it's already pre-cut. All you'll have to do is lay it down......Nonetheless it will be worth it at the end.

 

What do you mean NO 4th gen has black carpet? Are you saying that because the black interior Maximas really have more of a gray carpet?

Can you show the dye job of the pillars/headliner? Do you have I30 pillars? What are you going to do about the un-dye-able plastic pieces in the ceiling?

 

Well, no 4th gen came with true black carpet from the factory.

 

Yes, you repeated my question quite clearly.

Are you saying that because black interior’ed Maximas came with more of a gray carpet than black?

 

Yeah, I meant that NO 4h gen from factory has straight black carpet, they are all grey color. This carpet I bought is dark black.

As for the headliner, I have not completed it yet since its been raining the last 2 days. I'm kind of screwed because my spring break is over already so I'm going to probably have to wait a week to drop it out and spray it.

I just have stock maxima pillars, they're grey. I think I'm going to use Krylon Fusion Plastic spray paint for the pillars and then lay down some clear on top. If I use Krylon Fusion, I don't think I'd have to use an adhesion promoter! As for the plastic pieces on the ceiling, (i.e. oh **** handles, dome light, etc.) I think I'm going to try to paint those as well.

 

MaxTank, where'd you buy your carpet from?

 

I got ya, thanks. Yeah, I always hated how the carpet is more gray than black. In fact, in some light, it looks purple! :barf: I have often thought about dying it. In fact, I did dye the 'carpet' inserts on the lower part of the doors in my '96, years ago. I just used store-bought Ritz dye. I haven't gotten around to doing my '99.

When you say 'spray it', what method/product do you use to dye the headliner? I just figured you'd mix up a bucket of Ritz and sponge it on. Shows how much I know, lol. So how do you 'spray' it?

Let us know how it comes out.

 

Yeah, stock carpet is nasty. I can't wait until everything is black.

That dye you used is called Rit. I have a pack of black at my house I never used, how well did that work for you? Was it had to work with?

Anyway, I've seen some write-ups on other sites using Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric Paint. It looks nice for headliners especially. Here's a picture of what the cans look like:



This seems to be a much easier way to dye it since its just aerosol and not messing with mixing up dye and the mess, etc.

 

Then the pillars will be sprayed with Krylon Fusion:

 

Yes, Rit, excuse me. I think it came out o.k. It went on pretty well. I just used a bucket and sponge. And it is even. But I wouldn't call it pitch, pitch black.

Mmm, I hope that Fusion works for you. I have never had much luck painting plastic. Your other choice would be to get I30 pillars from a junk yard so you can dye the fabric.

Good luck.

 

Although I've never used this stuff, I've heard good things about this fusion paint.

 

I've used Fusion paint on several projects, and have had great success painting plastics with it.

Cool project. In for the results.

 

I don't mind my carpet but have always been bothered by the pillars. Please update with finished pics! Nothing like squatting around in the interior with nothing inside LOL.

 

Looks good, +1 on more photos as you finish stuff up.

I want to find out how the fusion paint works out...

 

How did you keep the paint from feeling sticky?

 

You could replace the fabric on the headliner, or cover over it with some store bought material...
but that would only make sense if there was something wrong with the headliner.
My friend did his before (not a max, but still)

If it's just the color you want to change, then yea, dying would be the way to go.

 

haha. Yeah, It definately is a weird feeling walking around inside with nothing else in there.


I'm at college right now so I have not had anytime to continue working on my car. Hopefully this weekend I will get some good weather and be able to finish the inside and post some pics up for you guys.

 

man i hope that krylon works out for you. i never trust "the easy way".

 

I sprayed the headliner, rear shelf, and the whole trunk with the duplicolor fabric and vinyl paint. Every spec of dirt shows in the trunk now. The headliner and shelf look fine. It does rub off however. There is one spot where my sunvisor rubs on the headliner and its a lighter color.

 

We'll see...Sometimes the easier way is the best way.

 

Are you happy with the color? Although it rubs off with wear, I figure that my headliner wont see that much abuse to wear it off.

 

have any of you guys used that Vinyl color spay on the OEM floor mats? pics? I have the gray color carpet and one of my floor mats have a bleach stain on it and was thinking about dying it with sponge method till I heard about this spray.

 

lets see... which newbie revived this thread?

/looks

omg it was a senior member. lols.