dredre08

iTrader: (2)

Hey guys, Im basically looking for the some methods from past experience on how to clean a set of cloth seats for my camaro... The seats are red and are cloth. They are in pretty good condition with no rips or anything but they are just so dirty...... Is there any methods any of you guys have used that left you with good results???.... PLEASE HELP GUYS.... I want to get them nice and clean this weekend......

I Attached some pics of the seats so you can get a idea of how dirty they are.......

l_dis_travlr

1. Assuming you don't want to go to the (considerable) effort of removing
the covers...
2. You've inspected them closely enough to determine that it is actually
dirt, as opposed to the knap being worn down.

That being said, the technique I've had pretty good luck with, is to soak
with a suitable fabric/upholstery cleaner (concentration per manufacturer's
instructions with VERY hot water), brush thoroughly, then suck dry w/ a
wet/dry shop vac, the stronger the better. Rinse, by repeating process
w/ plain hot water. You can get a small shop vac from Lowes, for about
the same price as renting a carpet/upholstery cleaner.

The key is solvent soak, brush, then vacuum dry. Repeat & rinse as
needed.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.


PS.
First, try on a small, less visible area, just for safety sake.

Starbug

I have seen seat upholstery cleaners in my local O'Reily's, NAPA, and Ace Hardware (automotive isle). Don't know how well they work, never tried them. But I have had luck with regular dish soap (Joy, Dawn, etc) and a sponge. I used yellow Joy because I figured the blue might tint my white. I picked a hot sunny day, took a bucket with hot soapy water, and scrubbed my seat really good. I wasn't worried about soaking the seat, it's got white on it that had become dingy and dirty over the years, so I figured the more the merrier to help loosen up all the grime. When done, I left the car open to air out in the heat of the day under direct sunlight to dry. It was still a bit damp the next day, so I left it open in the hot sun again. Seat turned out really nice.

Depending on what kind of fabric your seats are, you might be able to get away with a bristle brush. My seats are a woven fabric, so I had to use a sponge so that I wouldn't ruin the texture and make it fuzzy. If it's not a huge pain, you might also opt to remove your seat covers and throw them into the laundry machine? I don't know if they would shrink in warm water, so cold may be best (anybody know for sure?)... then hang to air dry or put into the dryer on No Heat and a dryer sheet for anti-static cling.

Brando5641

iTrader: (-1)

Use a pressure washer!! Pull the seats and spray them down. They will come out super clean.

Adrenaline1

iTrader: (1)

Those look worn, not just dirty imo. Dont power wash the seats, thats just stupid. The moisture will get trapped in there and cause mold/mildew.

zenish

i agree unless you can sit them in the sun a couple of days.but then again theres only foam rubber inside the seats.

80schild

iTrader: (5)

Bissell Little Green Clean Machine, you can get them at WalMart. Mine has been well worth the money.

Brando5641

iTrader: (-1)

How is that stupid? I have done it to a few sets of seats and yes they sat and baked in the sun for a few days. Try it some day and you will feel stupid for not trying it earlyer.

Adrenaline1

iTrader: (1)

Actually i avoid that problem all together and go with leather, so...

Maybe if i could control the weather and how much water the seats absorb, until then, pass...

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

That's actually LESS effort than the effort you expend trying to get out of the effort.

Not smart IMO: work twice as hard trying to avoid work.

All you have to do to get them off the seats, is undo the "hog rings"; very little effort IMO. Then, you can do whatever you want, to clean them; take em to the dry cleaners, put em in the washing machine, or whatever else floats your boat. And at the end they will be CLEAN: perfectly totally completely absolutely no questions asked CLEAN. Not, half-a$$ed. In addition to CLEAN, you then have the ability to Scotchgard them or whatever other industrial treatment you can find to use on them, to keep them looking like new.

All this of course, assuming that they're just "dirty", and not worn out too.

And of course, while you have the seats out, you can also take out the carpet and clean it; I find the pressure washer method HIGHLY effective on that. Just don't pressure wash it up real close. Even just hanging it up outside on a few pieces of coat hanger wire or something, and using carpet cleaner and the garden hose, can produce some AMAZING results.

QUICKCHICKEN

iTrader: (12)

i have yank my covers every few years and toss em in the wash and the results are great. i dont do it as much now as i have a daily.

hog rings and hog ring pliers can be had for cheap. i bought 1 box long ago and still havent ran out.

streetpro

jigga-clean foam stuff works good on seats,i bought a pair of camaro seats from a salvage yard, they had grease on the seats.spray it on it emulsifies the grease in about two mins,wipe off look like brand new.also works good on hands.I got it at advance auto parts.

micktroup2

I just bought a seat from the junkyard. I needed the seat bottom cover for my driver seat and the back for my passenger seat- both had rips. I disassembled the seats and removed the ripped seat covers by cutting the hog rings and just pulling them off- EASY.
I then did the same to the replacement seat- still easy.
I soaked the replacement covers in some fabric cleaner and started hosing them off. They were so filthy that it looked like I was flushing TOBACCO JUICE out of them- holy god!!!
I then ran them through the washing machine a couple of times(didn't tell my roommate what I was putting in the washer!) and they came out great.
Took about 10 minutes to hog ring them back on, plus the time to repair some of the seat foam and now the seats look a whole lot better. Not a hard job at all...

dredre08

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for all the input guys! I think I'll just try to take the covers off and wash them and see how it comes out, I think it's just dirt because I did some scrubing over the weekend and it looks like its trying to come out the dark spots are not nearly as dark.... I hope it works

K4KAK

I use compressed air. 80 to 90 psi. and strong solvent which evaporates quickly, used by dry cleaners... You work a small area at a time, but the results are really nice...spray your air a 90 degree angle to the seat which creates a very strong vacuum... Good luck