Dirty seat belts

[LINC400]

I have spent several weeks cleaning and shampooing the entire interior of the Mark IV. Everything looks great except for the seat belts. I have tried various rug and upholstery shampoos, various degreasers, window cleaner, vinegar, ammonia, brake cleaner, various laundry detergents, carb cleaner, etc. and nothing will remove the dirt from them. I do not feel like buying new ones, and probably couldn't find a color match anyway. They are a bizarre shade of aqua that nothing ever matches. Everything aqua is always more green. Unless you buy something blue, then it is too blue. Is there anything that will clean these?

[Guest Robin Coleman]

Best advice I have would be to remove the belts from the car and pressure wash them. I've done this with carpet often. Do not pressure wash anything that has foam in it...You will never dry it out.

[Shop Rat]

I have had luck with using baking soda alone, or adding it to a cleaner to get better results. I have beean able to get some pretty grubby things sparkling clean that way. It boosts the cleaning power of whatever you add it to. And it is not harsh on it's own.

[Larry Schramm]

I vote with Robin on how to clean both belts and carpet with a power washer. I usually take them out and scrub them with a detergent like tide and then power wash them clean. Carpet usually comes out like new except where worn.

[Guest De Soto Frank]

If you're fighting greasy spots, like when a belt gets pinched in the door latch, try Castrol Super-Clean or Purple Power, full-strength. Let soak, then rinse, and repeat.

Probably best to do this with the belts removed from the vehicle.

The tan belts on my '97 Jeep wagon are full of black smudges from getting tangled-up in the door / latch. :mad:

I would use the pressure washer very carefully... dry-rotted/ UV-deteriorated carpet , or other material can disintegrate before you know it....

[Ron Green]

I have cleaned and restored many dirty seatbelts, most recently the ones in my Citicar. They can be difficult as the threads are woven extremely tight which doesn't allow penetration when cleaning.

Remove them from the vehicle. What I do is mix a hot solution in a bucket consisting of 409 (or something similar, I use Korkay but is hard to find) and let them soak for a day or so (stirring occasionally), scrub with a brush, rinse and refill the solution in the bucket and do it all over again until no more dirty water. I also think that Lestoil might make a good cleaning solution as it penetrates, at least for the first bucket. I then allow them to soak in a bucket of clean water (start out with hot) for a day (do a few times also) until all the cleaning solution is out, then hang them on a clothes line to dry on a hopefully sunny day. Amazingly they dry fairly quick.

After completely dry I then dye them. You can take them to someone who specializes in this (someone that fixes bad spots in new & used car interiors) and if they are good they will be able to match your color. They will bellyache about the dye not sticking due to the tightness of the weave and probably not guarantee it however I have never had the dye / color rub off. You will need to tape up the seatbelt buckle as they typically won't take the time to do it right.

Good luck

[LINC400]

I'd rather not take the seat belts out of the car. The rear seat would have to be removed in order to do this, and the front belts go through several decorative plastic guides and covers that crack when you try to open them up. We just tried removing the seat belts from a junkyard Town Car (for another car) in order to get the seats, and all the guides and covers cracked to pieces. Since mine are not currently cracked, I'd like them to stay that way.

I have already scrubbed them with a brush with all above mentioned chemicals, and then used a suction shampooer on them all to no avail. I already tried Castrol and Purple Power and truck degreaser. They seem to have black and brownish yellow stains on them that will not come out. There were similar stains on the rest of the interior, but all that came out with either upholstery shampoo or Castrol and the suction shampooer. I have never heard of Korkay, but I guess I can try to look for that and try the baking soda and Lestoil also.

Since the interior is all original I do not really want to start redyeing things.

[keiser31]

You just might be able to get new belts from YEAR ONE, but then you would have to pull the old ones through the plastic items as you described, anyway.

[Jim Rohn]

I soak them in dishwashing soap and water, then agitate them and do it again

the power wash seems to work wonders but if they are stained of bleached, then the offending spot will not come out

I power washed my wife's belts in her 2004 by pulling them at the end and pulling them outside of the car to spray

[Guest dokks6t9]

Now, don't laugh, but I use Westley's Blech-white on just about everything thats dirty, including the house carpets!!!I know it's for whitewalls, but this stuff is great on anything fabric. I've used in on carpeting in the car, seat upholstery, anything I want clean...

[Larry Schramm]

I agree on Wesleys Blech-white. It works super on tires by spraying the total tire with the cleaner, waiting a few minutes and then spraying with a high pressure washer. Let the tires dry and finish off with some no-Touch tire spray.

[Dick380185]

I too have used Wesley's Bleche-White on just about everything. This stuff will clean when all other products will not. It's nasty-strong, so don't let it on too long.

[Guest dokks6t9]

I too have used Wesley's Bleche-White on just about everything. This stuff will clean when all other products will not. It's nasty-strong, so don't let it on too long.

Also the fumes/mist will get you gagging..