Seatbelts?

OCDinPDX

OCDinPDX

Paint Ph.D
My Santa Fe has light-colored gray seatbelts that have accumulated grit in the webbing from years of my grabbing it from the B post. Below that is what the untouched portion of the belt looks like.

I know it's impossible to get it back to new but I'd like to clean it up. I've tried cleaning it with water but I'm wary of using chemicals on that fabric for fear of weakening it. Any ideas?

IMG_5118.jpg


IMG_5120.jpg
 
Seat belts do not clean up easy. Even my vapor cleaner has a hard time with them. The only thing I have found to work is pressure washing them. You can use a dilluted APC without weakening the seatbelt. I doubt full strength APC would hurt it but full strength is not necessary. My pressure washer is only 1200 psi. so it won't hurt the belt with a fan nozzle. Believe it or not the best pressure washers to use for this task are the cheap ones that put out a low volume of water.

To get the whole seat belt you have to be a little creative. Some of you are gonna laugh but I use a piece of plywood to seperate the seat belt from the rest of the interior. You clamp the seat belt to it and a chamois at the bottom to catch the water as it runs down. Spray it with APC. Pressure clean to like new again. Flip the seatbelt and do the other side. Towel dry. You will have to do sections at a time.

That's my method.:redface:

Now that you bring this up I am wondering if the Tornador would be a good option. I was pretty dissapointed that my vapor cleaner wouldn't work.

Is there anybody out there that has tried the Tornador for this? (or any other machine for that matter)
 
I used my LGM on the ones in my truck...just to see how it worked and had decent results...I used a clamp to hold the belt in the open position and then a piece of wood to lay the belt on...then extracted it...they came out look good to me.

I will admit that they are hard to clean
 
Why not just pull it all the way out, route it outside of the car, close the door to hold it in place, isolate the buckle to be sure it doesn't hit the paint, and pressure wash them?
 
blk45 said:
Why not just pull it all the way out, route it outside of the car, close the door to hold it in place, isolate the buckle to be sure it doesn't hit the paint, and pressure wash them?
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That doesn't get the whole belt although I have done that in some cases. Plus the plywood will allow you to do that center belt in the back seat that won't reach outside the car. You would be surprised how many "mom taxis" have nasty seatbelts in the back seat.:yikes:
 
Mr. Clean said:
Have you tried one of the foaming cleaners like Blue Coral? I've had some successes.
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Foaming cleaners just aren't going to get dirty seatbelts clean. If they aren't that bad then you might be able to get away with it, but I bet if you pressure washed it you would see it get a lot cleaner.
 
Troy@DetailCity said:
Foaming cleaners just aren't going to get dirty seatbelts clean. If they aren't that bad then you might be able to get away with it, but I bet if you pressure washed it you would see it get a lot cleaner.
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I could be wrong, but as the pics from the OP renders on my screen, they don't look beyond anything that I've cleaned before. Lucky for me that I don't see that many belts that are that much dirtier, as I don't have a nice power washer.
 
:cool:You have found my KRYTONITE.Dirty seatbelts I've tried everything under tha Sun and never have been able to get them back like they are suppose to be. I don't know what material they are made of but they are a real Time Burner w/next to no results I will have to try Troy's method as barbarrack as it sounds.:rofl Fourtunately this is not something I encounter often.:cool: :dcrules
 
Mr. Clean said:
I could be wrong, but as the pics from the OP renders on my screen, they don't look beyond anything that I've cleaned before. Lucky for me that I don't see that many belts that are that much dirtier, as I don't have a nice power washer.
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I am all for the easiest way to do something and if the foam works then that's great. I'm just saying that I've never been able to do much to seat belts with any other method.

As far as pressure washers, it doesn't have to be a nice one. Even if I didn't detail cars I would own at least a cheap little pressure washer. They are great for so many different jobs around the house. I guess I just assume everyone has some sort of pressure washer at their disposal.

:cheers:
 
Troy@DetailCity said:
That doesn't get the whole belt although I have done that in some cases. Plus the plywood will allow you to do that center belt in the back seat that won't reach outside the car. You would be surprised how many "mom taxis" have nasty seatbelts in the back seat.:yikes:
Click to expand...

Good points Troy. I haven't done it, just thinking out loud.
 
Troy@DetailCity said:
That doesn't get the whole belt although I have done that in some cases. Plus the plywood will allow you to do that center belt in the back seat that won't reach outside the car. You would be surprised how many "mom taxis" have nasty seatbelts in the back seat.:yikes:
Click to expand...

blk45 said:
Good points Troy. I haven't done it, just thinking out loud.
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blk45...you may be on to something. See, it's not the whole belt that's nasty; it's just the part that is usually touched by me as I'm putting it on/taking it off and the part that has had numerous sodas spilled on it. I'm not a large guy and my weight has remained relatively constant over the years so the part that's exposed while driving has remained (almost) identical. The second photo in my original post is virgin material that only sees daylight when I take pictures of it. :gotcha: Your idea may actually work. I'll give it a whirl when I get home in May. Thanks a bunch, everybody.
 
Ace Hardware offers a good pressure washer for the price. At around $80 it can't be beat. Although we have on at my work and it gets beat every day and has been going strong for over 2 years.
 
I think the car is spitting out a solution of it's own. This morning the belt failed to retract properly after I took it off. This makes the third time it's done that and if it keeps up, I'll have to have the assembly replaced.
 
Troy@DetailCity said:
Seat belts do not clean up easy. Even my vapor cleaner has a hard time with them. The only thing I have found to work is pressure washing them. You can use a dilluted APC without weakening the seatbelt. I doubt full strength APC would hurt it but full strength is not necessary. My pressure washer is only 1200 psi. so it won't hurt the belt with a fan nozzle. Believe it or not the best pressure washers to use for this task are the cheap ones that put out a low volume of water.

To get the whole seat belt you have to be a little creative. Some of you are gonna laugh but I use a piece of plywood to seperate the seat belt from the rest of the interior. You clamp the seat belt to it and a chamois at the bottom to catch the water as it runs down. Spray it with APC. Pressure clean to like new again. Flip the seatbelt and do the other side. Towel dry. You will have to do sections at a time.

That's my method.:redface:

Now that you bring this up I am wondering if the Tornador would be a good option. I was pretty dissapointed that my vapor cleaner wouldn't work.

Is there anybody out there that has tried the Tornador for this? (or any other machine for that matter)
Click to expand...

I used this Method yesterday on a Funky Suburban,
:wow: That was easy and very effective. I now have a new tool in my Arsenal.....Plywood:rockon
 
Well, folks the weather here in Portland has turned for the better. I pulled the Santa Fe out into the driveway and unbolted the seatbelt from the base of the B-pillar and hit it with the pressure washer on the lowest pressure setting. The damn thing looks brand new!! At present it is extended to its greatest point and draped across the roof to dry. The superficial surface dirt didn't even put up a fight but a couple of coke stains appear intent on remaining which is fine with me. They're all on the reverse side of the webbing anyway.

Thanks for the great tip!
 
Another method I'll throw in that I've used with some success is to fold up a towel and place it behind the seatbelt then take ny extractor to it. Sometimes a pre treat with Woolite works pretty good then straight water through the extractor to remove the Woolite and crud.
 
Sounds good. So you used plywood?

This all prompts me to ask about reasonably priced yet reliable pressure washers. I've not read anything good about some of the lower end Karchers. In fact from things I've read, if you don't buy a unit with the higher end Honda engine and a "branded" pump (Cat or Comet) then you are just wasting money because replacement is on the near horizon. From what I see in my local area that means a minimum outlay of $500. Reasonable for some, but pricey for the use(s) I can think of.

What say you?
 
tuscarora dave said:
Ace Hardware offers a good pressure washer for the price. At around $80 it can't be beat. Although we have on at my work and it gets beat every day and has been going strong for over 2 years.
Click to expand...

Mr. Clean said:
Sounds good. So you used plywood?

This all prompts me to ask about reasonably priced yet reliable pressure washers. I've not read anything good about some of the lower end Karchers. In fact from things I've read, if you don't buy a unit with the higher end Honda engine and a "branded" pump (Cat or Comet) then you are just wasting money because replacement is on the near horizon. From what I see in my local area that means a minimum outlay of $500. Reasonable for some, but pricey for the use(s) I can think of.

What say you?
Click to expand...

A commercial pressure washer is going to perform better and last longer but you will pay for it.

If an $80 pressure washer will do what you need it to do for occasional use I would go with that. I payed $600 for mine and just replaced the pump after 3 years of constant use. If I were just using it for small jobs around the house I would rather replace the $80 dollar one every year or two than shell out the money for a commercial unit.
 
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