I cleaned my original set of black '68 deluxe seat belts using a bucket of REALLY HOT water and Dawn detergent. Let them soak for a day or so. Change water and put in fresh Dawn occasionally. It breaks down the grease and sweat and stuff- Rinse thoroughly and hang to dry. They came out looking like new. The parts are available for rebuilding the buckles- great photos on previous post about taking them apart. Randy
HA! Bill your disclaimer is spot on and reminded me of the first time I tackled a seatbelt restoration project years ago.........it's amazing what a one sided conversation can be carried on with an inanimate object...
Thanks to Bill and everyone else for this valuable information and the pictures. My wife actually stained her clothes due to the dirty seat belts. That's on top of me kicking her car out of the garage for the Buick (we have all been there). The last time she rode in the car she had to put a clean rag between her and the seat belt so that she wouldn't get dirt and grease on her. I may get thrown out of the house if I don't clean them, so I appreciate the information fellows! - Johnny
Question? The red seat belts in my convertible are faded from the sun. I've been thinking of soaking them in a bucket of Rit dye. Has anyone ever done this before?
I soak mine in Simple Green and use plastic bristle brush as necessary. Another important step is to be sure you rinse the belts with clean water thoroughly to remove all residual detergents.
I used laundry detergent in the kitchen sink and hot water on my black '69 Firebird seat belts. About a spoon full of detergent in just enough water to hold the whole set. Scrubbed them until the water looked very dirty, drained the water and repeated a few times until the water didn't instantly turn dirty when scrubbing them (or when putting in the detergent). Once the water stayed reasonably clean after the detergent was added I let them soak for a few hours, then spent some time rinsing them until no more soap bubbles would form and hung them to dry. They were stiff and dirty when I started and were pliable and pretty clean when done.
I took mine apart and my wife washed them in the washer with the car wash towels.. Worked like a champ.. Didn't use the dryer though..
