Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

The white diamond stitched vinyl in the Compact Jr. is in great condition, however it's stained in some areas that cannot be cleaned. I also want to change the color. Looking at VHT vinyl dye; just too much petrochemicals


http://www.paintdocs.com/webmsds/webPDF.jsp?SITEID=VHT&prodno=ESP946000&doctype=MSDS&lang=E

Does anyone know of a more environmental method?

You may find that a difficult search; consider the source, you are trying to dye/adhere a color to an existing polymer/petrochemical source...organics probably will not fill the bill in this situation. Try 3M or Sherwin-Williams California compliant products...they will at least be 'less hazardous'!

Unfortunately those chemicals need to be in there. Vinyl Dye is a special kind of paint that is used to paint plastics. Unlike normal paint which puts a color coat on the surface vinyl dye 'seeps' into the plastic and colors it from within. That’s when the chemicals come in to do their job. This means that the surface detail of engravings/reliefs is not affected and the paint can not be scratched or peeled away. Vinyl dye does not adhere properly to some surfaces, tt needs some plastic to soak into and form a bond to the polymers there

Another company that makes vinyl paints and dyes is SEM.

http://www.semproducts.com

Sold in auto body jobber locations. Probably won't find it in any regular stores. Look for a place that sells supplies to an auto body shop.

Well, guess I'll have to bite the bullet on this. Maybe the chemist can figure out why an organic (black mildew) can stain it

Thanx for the SEM link, but no colors I like. One other outfit has one 'Rosewood' that I like but it's pricey. May have to mix my own.

Ageless:

I don't know if it will work or not; but, you might try a bit of white vinegar on those mildew stains. Also, Purex all colors bleach (the powdered one with no real bleach in it) may help as it has special enzymes in it.

If you've already tried these and really want to just cover it up, I don't think a stain would do that anyway. I suspect the mildew would just show right through. Special vinyl paints might work but they will probably eventually wear and scratch, showing the original vinyl color where the scratches happen.

IF it is White - then Acetone will take the stain out - and also any color as well! , that's why white works best with this method. Use sparingly on a small area