Originally Posted by MrBaseball

Welcome to the DIY carpet conversion to black by me. If you have ever looked down at your ugly tan, grey, purple, or even faded black carpets and thought about replacing it with a new one, read on. You don't have to spend $500 on new oem molded carpet, you can dye your existing one yourself for less than $40! I'm sure you have heard the debate on how good dying your carpet works, if it comes off on your girlfriends skirt and how impossible it is. It really isnt hard and its durable if done right. I dyed the carpet on my old SC and more recently just converted my Supra's stained beige carpet to brand new black. So here goes, i hope this tutorial can help someone.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
55 gallon brute trash can with lid (maybe larger depending on the size of your carpet)
20 boxes of RIT powder fabric dye (available at walmart, next to the laundry detergent, several colors available)
1 lb of SALT (regular *** salt)
2 cans of Krylon Fusion Plastic paint (i used satin black) (available at Ace Hardware)
Latex Gloves
Dust mask
Hose
Carpet cleaning stuff (cleaner, scrubber, etc)
Broom stick (or long stick)

STEP 1: after you get the carpet out, clean it, you dont have to get it immaculate, just get the gum, dirt, grease, etc out. The black dye will cover most old stains.


STEP 2: Find an open area where the can can sit for a couple days, not near anything that you wouldn't want stained black. Test fit your carpet into the can, be sure it fits. Remove carpet. Dump all 20 packets of RIT powdered dye into the trash can, use gloves and the dust mask as this **** is funky. Fill up the can half way. Place carpet in the can FRONT floorboards first (so if you miss a spot its in the back). Slowly add the rest of the water while dumping in the SALT (salinating the solution helps the dye work). Use your broom stick to move the carpet around to get the perfect position. When the can is full and the carpet is mostly submerged, cram the top on the can which should push the rest of the carpet under the dye solution. Clean up the mess you made. LEAVE IT ALONE for at least 36 hours.






STEP 3: When your 36 hours is up, you can pop the top and pull the carpet out. This is the messy part, be sure to wear gloves. Take your hose and spray off the excess dye solution from the carpet. If there is a monsoon coming, leave it outside and let nature do it for you. Hose it off until there is no purple runoff. If the carpet isn't perfect don't worry, you can use the spray paint to touch it up later. Let it dry in the sun for as long as it takes. Mine took 2 days for the foam to dry propped up on some chairs in the backyard.



STEP 4: When the carpet is TOTALLY dry, run your hand over it to see if its rubbing off. If it is, you didn't hose it off well enough, go back to step 3. If your hand is clean, you can use the Krylon Fusion to touch up and even out the spots that dont look good as well as the plastic parts. NOTE: ONLY use Krylon Fusion for plastics as all other spray paints suck. Let the spray paint dry.



STEP 5: Reinstall the carpet and marvel at your genius and creativity. Take the extra money you saved and buy some nice new oem floormats or maybe some leatherseats.com seat covers. You new black carpet will stay beautiful for many years to come. Enjoy.