mrclean81
New member
This has been a tough area for many of us for years. There are a few different ways of going about cleaning cloth seats but they all have their fall backs. Anyone who has tried to remove water rings, soda stains, or anything for that matter from cloth seats know that its not as easy as it sounds. The first thing we go for is normally an extractor if one is available. While this will usually take care of the original stains, the chances of you soaking and extracting evenly is slim. This will cause NEW stains and more problems for you. In some extreme cases Ive known of folks pulling the seats out and pressure washing the entire seat. The drawbacks to that method are obvious so I wont go into that. Another way is to use a stain remover or dry foam and scrub them by hand. While this will also work, the down side is the same as using an extractor. Your not likely going to clean them evenly so they wont dry evenly. Vapor steamers will usually do a great job, but honestly how many noobies or weekend warriors own one?
After running across seats like this over and over and trying everything I could think of with little luck, I decided to think WAY out of the box and I came up with this method. Its been in the experimental stages for almost a year now and Ive had very good luck and very good results from it. I wanted to do a wide variety of different manufactures seats before claiming its safe. So far so good, but I claim no responsibility for what you do to your car.
Here are a few shots of some seats before using this method just to give you an idea of what Im trying to remove.
Things you'll need - A rotary or DA polisher, a clean, dedicated pad (wool works best but foam will work. (Dedicate this pad strictly to seats. You dont want to reuse this pad on your paint the next day), spot or stain remover of your choice, and a couple cans of dry foam such as Blue Corral Dri-Clean or Tuff Stuff.
The process is fairly simple but it does make a bit of a mess so make sure you havent dressed the interior or cleaned the windows yet.
I start off by spraying each stain or problem area with a spotter or stain remover and let it stand for a few minutes. I'll normally go over every seat before moving on to the next step. This in theory should be breaking down the stains while your working on your first seat.
Next, prepare your pad. I prefer wool pads but Ive also used foam pads with success as long as they arent super soft. Make sure the pad is clean and free of anything that may cause staining or damage.
Since your spotter has already been sprayed on the trouble spots, coat the entire seat with dry foam and let is set for a minute or so. Dont wait until the foam has entirely disappeared. Using your machine on a low setting, slowly scrub the foam into the seat. It really doesnt matter if your using a rotary or a DA. All you need is the circular motion and the power of the machine. Continue to scrub the entire seat. Dont forget head rests, along with the sides and back. Theres more to a seat than where you plant your butt
Once you've scrubbed the entire seat and the foam is gone, the seat should be a little damp but not wet. Take a clean and dry microfiber towel and wipe the entire area around the seat down, including the seat. Within an hour of being done they should be dry enough to sit in. Shampoo seats with an extractor and your looking at hours of drying time so thats another plus for this method.
Once your done, the results should come out something like this.
I still consider this method to be in the experimental stages, and I do request that if anyone tries this, to please post some before and afters. Id love to see how this works out for others.
After running across seats like this over and over and trying everything I could think of with little luck, I decided to think WAY out of the box and I came up with this method. Its been in the experimental stages for almost a year now and Ive had very good luck and very good results from it. I wanted to do a wide variety of different manufactures seats before claiming its safe. So far so good, but I claim no responsibility for what you do to your car.
Here are a few shots of some seats before using this method just to give you an idea of what Im trying to remove.
Things you'll need - A rotary or DA polisher, a clean, dedicated pad (wool works best but foam will work. (Dedicate this pad strictly to seats. You dont want to reuse this pad on your paint the next day), spot or stain remover of your choice, and a couple cans of dry foam such as Blue Corral Dri-Clean or Tuff Stuff.
The process is fairly simple but it does make a bit of a mess so make sure you havent dressed the interior or cleaned the windows yet.
I start off by spraying each stain or problem area with a spotter or stain remover and let it stand for a few minutes. I'll normally go over every seat before moving on to the next step. This in theory should be breaking down the stains while your working on your first seat.
Next, prepare your pad. I prefer wool pads but Ive also used foam pads with success as long as they arent super soft. Make sure the pad is clean and free of anything that may cause staining or damage.
Since your spotter has already been sprayed on the trouble spots, coat the entire seat with dry foam and let is set for a minute or so. Dont wait until the foam has entirely disappeared. Using your machine on a low setting, slowly scrub the foam into the seat. It really doesnt matter if your using a rotary or a DA. All you need is the circular motion and the power of the machine. Continue to scrub the entire seat. Dont forget head rests, along with the sides and back. Theres more to a seat than where you plant your butt
Once you've scrubbed the entire seat and the foam is gone, the seat should be a little damp but not wet. Take a clean and dry microfiber towel and wipe the entire area around the seat down, including the seat. Within an hour of being done they should be dry enough to sit in. Shampoo seats with an extractor and your looking at hours of drying time so thats another plus for this method.
Once your done, the results should come out something like this.
I still consider this method to be in the experimental stages, and I do request that if anyone tries this, to please post some before and afters. Id love to see how this works out for others.
