My front right passenger air vent had broken flaps and since I COMPLETELY disassembled my interior (aka headliner, interior trim, and rear seats) in order to fix my nightmare leaking sunroof last weekend, I thought this would be a great time to swap out the broken vent for a new one.

Well thank god I fixed that nightmare sunroof leak. (That was wayyyy more work than I expected ) So I went on eBay and ordered this junkyard passengerhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/111245927219?viewitemversion=&item=111245927219&view=all&tid=1146823194001&vxp=mtr


The vent I received was BROWN and not BLACK!!!



The vent is a very dark brown but it is clearly brown in the light and not black nor a faded black. It is clearly intentionally brown.
So my question to all is would it be possible for me to RIT dye this black?
I seriously do not feel like waiting weeks for snail mail or buying a new one. I let the seller know I was disappointed but haven't heard back yet.

Will RIT dye work at turning this dark brown vent black? I'd be willing to give it a shot.

 

I really don't think this plastic is porous enough for a Rit dye kit, but they make some very good spray paint for plastic now.

 

Matching black paint is harder than it seems, and does not guarantee long-term success (what if the paint starts fading or chipping?). I would just buy another vent. There must be plenty of those in junkyards...

Alternatively you could just glue together the broken piece and call it a day - same color, same everything, and its not like that piece is exposed to any amount of stress.

 

Well, the eBayer who sold me this was nice enough to issue me a full refund. So I just went ahead and purchased a black bezel.

I decided not to do any painting or dying because in the long term it will probably fade.