I was reading on removing the carpets, gotta remove the dash it seems.

I don't mind it being a PITA but I don't want to rip the dash out I know of some parts that' are broken and will break more.

Also to remove the dash, does the steering wheel have to come off? I was reading the FSM they don't mention removing it for removing dash :/

Also what would be good to bring my black carpet back to life? On the rear carpets I just power washed them (If I recall) from the other side, tons of black water coming out (found some dried up soy sauce too! I'd like to make the carpets alil better, just use standard carpet cleaners?

 

Yes, the steering wheel must be removed.

 

There is a GREAT write up in the Archives on how to remove your dash. If you are careful you should be able to remove it without breaking stuff.

 

A lot of people may try to dry rape me for suggesting this, but it's a known, proven technique for restoring carpets.

First, fully clean it, pressure wash, soak in dawn, wash again, let sun dry.

Then you want to use some dye. Black dye. Strong, black dye. It'll blacken your carpets like no tomorrow. You may want to research as to which dye to use, but it's definitely the only way to get it truly black again.

 

I don't know why anyone would take exception with that advice- certainly not to the point of sodomy- as it's well known that auto carpet, especially sections like our rear hatch, are prone to sun fading.
The only thing I'd watch out for is a color mismatch after dyeing.
If you revitalize the hatch floor mat, it's possible that the wheel well covers will look pallid in comparison.

 

At which point in time, I would suggest sanding, and respraying with some high quality plastic aerosol paint.

 

I believe Krylon Semi-flat black is a perfect match to the original black plastic parts.

 

In fact, you've just inspired me to remove my interior and dye/paint it black.

Now all I have to do is find the black headliner.

 

NO! Not Krylon!

Use This: http://www.duplicolor.com/products/vinyl.html

I use HVP106 Flat Black. It is a perfect and I do mean perfect match. It is permanent, doesn't cover any texture. I have sprayed my door panels, my cloth speaker covers, my Steering wheel airbag cover, my ashtray cover, the left A/C door vent and my Targa panel (Vert Baby!). Every time I remove a part to access something, it gets coated. The newly coated part looks identical in color and texture to the original finish, except it looks brand new. I clean the part with Simple Green and a bristle brush, rinse it well, clean it with alcohol, then spray it with 2-3 wet coats.

This is the fountain of youth for your vinyl parts. The stuff kicks ***.

 

Does anyone know of a paint that matches the S4 grey interior perfectly? I have a few vents and stuff that came out of a black interior S5 that I would like to match everything else.

 

Lets post our results

My black isnt faded much at all, the dash, plastics, etc are all dark dark black looking at the hatch carpet atm its pretty black too.

Where your feet go the black is like patched black, might just be tons of dirt in it I hope.

I want to get all my interior cleaned, get the last few broken parts replaced and then my interior would be perfecto

 

My grey interior is dull, and I'm positive it was ugly from the factory. I replaced the stock seats with black bucket seats (adjustable) and now I'm itching to refresh the rest. My carpet is moderately clean, there are just stains on it. The dash needs recoated, all in all, the interior is just trashed. I can't wait to get an S5 black interior in it.

 

You should try to redye the dash and paint the other plastics to black

 

I've used the same stuff to dye plastic computer parts to match the computer case. It's good stuff.

 

The parts I was referring to are the molded fuzzy carpet-like pieces, not the hard plastic panels.
I don't know how you revitalize these things.

 

You can remove the carpet without removing the dash if you just cut a slit down the "hump" of the transmission tunnel. Cut it under the dash, then slowly pull it down over the shifter hole while continuing the cut. Then reinstall by just laying the carpet down and folding the cut edges under the dash. Use a bit of adhesive to keep them from curling back.

 

Well do you guys think Mazda might break my interior plastics when fixing the belts? I havent gone yet becuase I wanna remove most of the interior so they dont f **** up, mines so perfect :'(

If they wont I guess I'll do what you said Aaron Cake, but I kinda wanted to remove the dash so I could clean the window really good (Cigarette tar is hard to remove )

 

If the windows are not tinted, then kerosene will remove cigarette film.