1939+/-cloth seat upol cleaning

[2carb40]

Looking to hear about actual results of anyones hands on efforts to effective clean the cloth upholstery of this era of seat upolstery. Thanx very much for sage experienced info!

[Skidplate]

I'm sure a lot of people cringe at this but I have had great success with pulling out the seats and taking it/them to the car wash. You have to be careful not to actually pull the trigger as the high pressure will possibly damage the material. But if you run the Soap Mode with no pressure and don't be stupid about it,  it actually cleans up pretty well.

 

Note: what most people don't know is that a car wash only works because it uses Softened Water. That's how it works. Why do you think a car wash cleans when a pressure washer doesn't? 
 

So wash your seat with the soap setting then rinse with the rinse setting. Duh. After that, take it home and park it on a couple saw horses. Direct a good strong fan on it for a day or so. Check for places that aren't drying. Redirect the fan and repeat. As it is drying you can gently brush the material to help with the loft too.
 

Also note: if the material is rotten and/or really fragile... disregard all of the above. 🫤 Good luck.

[2carb40]

Thanx so much! I bought a replacement seat becuz the seat in the '39 I bought has been covered with new cloth, but when I sat on it I realized it just had the new cloth put on over deteriorated padding and springs that were no longer even covered with the padding. Uncomfortable! Trying to get a usable seat bottom out of combing two somehow. Heard the cloth cover rather difficult to remove & replaced.

[EmTee]

I've had good luck with a solution of dish detergent and warm water applied with a terrycloth washcloth or towel (not too wet). Vacuum dry with an upholstery wand or shop vac.  Use a brush gently on stains or spots.  I'll typically do this three times, noting the color of the water collected by the vacuum.  Treat any remaining spots depending upon what caused the stain.  If the stain is old, however, it most likely won't come completely out, but the fabric will still look better than before.  Just go slowly and don't rub any harder than necessary to loosen the grime.  Sometimes letting the solution set for a few minutes before rubbing helps.

[2carb40]

Thanx 4 those tips!

[Larry Schramm]

Not on that old of vehicle, but I have taken the seats out and got a bucket of Tide and scrubbed the seats with a soft brush then used the garden hose to rinse all of the soap off the seats, from the top side only.  Let them sit out on the patio for several days in the summer until they were dry.

 

Depending on the age of the cloth, might want to check a hidden area before scrubbing the whole cushion.

[neil morse]

I've had good results with conventional carpet and upholstery cleaners like this one from Woolite

 

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