Hi everybody, I am looking for tips to clean my original upholstery. Does anybody have good experiences with a certain cleaner or a certain method? Also, are the clear plastic covers popular in the 50's still available? My front seat is already worn through in several spots and getting in and out of the car doesn't help those areas either. Thanks, Chris
Are you cleaning cloth or vinyl? I am sure the clear covers can be had, but I am not at all a big fan of those, especially if the car spends a lot of time in direct sunlight, such as at shows, driving on warm sunny days, etc... the clear vinyl lets all of the sun's rays in and then traps the heat in between the seat upholstery and the cover. Between the heat and the increased outgassing of chemicals in the vinyl that this produces, it can accelerate "sunburn" and heat-related staining/discoloration of the vinyl. If I were interested in protecting the original seats I would invest in some covers like the ones that were sold all over in the '50s/'60s that are a sort of pseudo-upholstery. If you search Ebay you can find them, and there is a guy in upstate NY who has thousands of sets that he bought out of a warehouse. He advertises in Hemmings each month and I have his info as well.
P.S. I don't think I would attempt to use any wet cleaning product to clean 50+ year-old upholstery fabric. That has very little chance of ending well.
