Interior color change.

[Drew Rocker]

I just got my Alpine white 135i back from having the lemon interior dyed black. The work was done by a guy named Lynn Gibner who does upholstery work for the local Ferrari and Jaguar dealerships. He was recommended by two friends soI'd seen his work and had confidence in him.

Lynn wasn't sure the dye would stick to hard plastic so the first step was to swap out the lemon seat side airbags and back controls with black. That was $1,400. and a day at Rasmussen BMW. The dye cost another $1,000. It probably should have been more. Lynn said it took a lot longer than he estimated. The seats and side panels came out and got airbrushed on a bench. It took extra time to stretch out all the seams to get at it all. It looks perfect.

The only glitch was that the seat extenders were closed before the dye fully dried and a few spots pulled apart when I opened them at the shop. Lynn touched them up while I waited.

I don't know how long it took. He had the car while I was gone for ten days. It rained the whole time so we left it in the shop an extra weekend to dry when I got back.

It may be the smartest money I ever spent. The car looked too benign to me. It bothered me every time I opened the door. Now it is severe which seems more in character with the car, especially with the gloss black interior trim, shadowline exterior trim, and tinted glass. More black and white mods planned till I complete the look. Hopefully I'll know when to stop.

[993 911]

Wow, looks good Drew. Happen to know if Lynn does other custom upholstery work like recovering dash boards, door panels, and headliners?

[BMW86]

Looks good. You should have looked into getting certain parts of the seat dyed black to give the piano black and white look, I've seen it on a Z4 and it looked sweet if done right.

[woodman650]

Originally Posted by Drew Rocker

It may be the smartest money I ever spent.

[Yvette]

i was told by someone at upholster, not wise to dye the whole seats.

[KingOfJericho]

Seats now look like they are covered in shoe shine... but if you're happy then that's all that matters.

[BlackjackMulligan]

You should have just traded with someone.....I'm absolutely certain someone with a black interior would love the Priority 1 option Lemon leather.....it's sweet.

But, as stated above, if you're happy that's all that matters.

[escobar929]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Seats now look like they are covered in shoe shine... but if you're happy then that's all that matters.

[Dave]

dam i would have traded and added cash for lemon!

[Yvette]

Originally Posted by comeback1

dam i would have traded and added cash for lemon!

you are hurting his feeling..... but

[dragon1761]

i like the white better.

[infinitekidM2C]

Did u see all the staining though?

[esses]

[Drew Rocker]

It's hard to hurt my feelings about esthetics. I'm an architect and know that people are all about arbitrary personal preferences.

I'm sure lemon would look good with another color. With Alpine white though it looked like nicotine. Yuck.

The finish on the black leather matches the factory exactly. The photo with the open door is overexposed which is why you can't see the lines on the car.

The worry is whether it will rub off. I'll let you know.

I'd like to have watched the work but don't spend that much time in the US. Next trip next week, I'm having the horizontal louvers on the lower grills painted white.

[Yvette]

how is the color holding????? any fading???

[Yvette]

Originally Posted by Drew Rocker

It's hard to hurt my feelings about esthetics. I'm an architect and know that people are all about arbitrary personal preferences.

I'm sure lemon would look good with another color. With Alpine white though it looked like nicotine. Yuck.

The finish on the black leather matches the factory exactly. The photo with the open door is overexposed which is why you can't see the lines on the car.

The worry is whether it will rub off. I'll let you know.

I'd like to have watched the work but don't spend that much time in the US. Next trip next week, I'm having the horizontal louvers on the lower grills painted white.

How is the color holding up?

[SlickShift]

Originally Posted by Drew Rocker

It may be the smartest money I ever spent.

This goes down as one of the dumbest things I've seen on this site. You could've traded the lemon to someone for their black and MADE money. Instead you spent $2400. Wow. On top of that, you wouldn't have had to worry about the dye rubbing off. And you probably hurt your car's resale value too. Unbelievable.

And just for the record, lemon is a much better color than boring black.

[Stig'sM3]

so can you now put armor-all on your seats?

[MrRoboto]

Originally Posted by SlickShift

This goes down as one of the dumbest things I've seen on this site. You could've traded the lemon to someone for their black and MADE money. Instead you spent $2400. Wow. On top of that, you wouldn't have had to worry about the dye rubbing off. And you probably hurt your car's resale value too. Unbelievable.

And just for the record, lemon is a much better color than boring black.

+1

I cant believe dying your interior parts was the solution you came up with.

PS. I guess no more white pants for you.

[rsjean]

Originally Posted by SlickShift

This goes down as one of the dumbest things I've seen on this site. You could've traded the lemon to someone for their black and MADE money. Instead you spent $2400. Wow. On top of that, you wouldn't have had to worry about the dye rubbing off. And you probably hurt your car's resale value too. Unbelievable.

And just for the record, lemon is a much better color than boring black.

Couldn't agree more - but hey I kinda like my Boston Black on Jet Black. I needed a change from the variations of tan on black I've done over and over again in the E30's and E46's.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

PS. I guess no more white pants for you.

As long as he's not a cast member of the Jersey Shore, I don't think he has to worry about that.

[adamaster]

looks good