seat belt cleaning and dyeing

[michael bustamante]

ok so i pulled the belts out of my 67 and they are in good shape but crusty and stiff. so what s the best way to clean these and have any of you had luck redyeing the webbing and plastic?

[Sklptrljay]

I think Led Zep has a thread on this. I washed mine in the washer, and then boiled in the color with RIT dye.

I used spray paint for the buckles.

I thought they turned out pretty good.

[1968aj]

RIT dye. made mine look good. got a small plastic tub and threw them in.

[michael bustamante]

Boiled the dye in?. Do you guys have trouble with bleeding on you clothes when wearing the belts? Ill have to find the thread

[HeavyD]

For cleaning a bucket of hot water/ strong simple green mix and a scrub brush should help with the crud issue

[michael bustamante]

simple green, good idea and i have a half a bottle left. thank you. anyone got pics of redyed seatbelts? dyieing a different color i mean? i dont think my red belts will match my new grey and silver interior anymore

[Already Gone]

Very timely thread for me. I took my parchment seat belts apart yesterday because they weren't retracting and now i know how to clean them I need to find the parts to fix them, and I haven't found a vendor that sells a repair kit for seat belts.

[1972BlueC20]

I used tuffstuff and a carpet brush to clean some oem 72 seat belts I got off ebay today. Cleaned em up about 70 % but they need more cleaning and some brightening up. I guess I can try simple green or some oxyclean.

If you put them in the washer how do you take the plastic housing with the button off?

[suville]

Good topic! I like usin as much OEM stuff as possible, just me

[BruthaMan]

Rit also makes a stain remover that works pretty good.

Amazon.com: Rit Dye Liquid 8 Ounces-Super Stain...

[Stocker]

Have you considered new belts? At nearly 50 years old, those might not hold up very well if you're unlucky enough to have an accident. Seems like there's one or more threads here about replacement belts including some that are made to look the same as the originals.

[WayOutWest]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Have you considered new belts? At nearly 50 years old, those might not hold up very well if you're unlucky enough to have an accident. Seems like there's one or more threads here about replacement belts including some that are made to look the same as the originals.

I bought a center belt (dark olive green) from ebay. Washed all my belts in a 5 gallon bucket with watered down laundry detergent. Let them dry on a hanger. Once dry, I boiled water, a coupe liberal palm fulls of deionized salt and the only dark olive green dye I could find (antique, also ebay). Used a large Spaghetti pot about 3/4 full of solution. Let it boil for a couple minutes, then lowered the temp by about 1/2. Put the belts with good color in for about 4 mins. and the faded belt for 12-15 mins. Keep the belts stirring, don't let them sit on bottom. Rinse with cold water when taken out. Repeated drying process.

They look great, but I didn't think of their age or integrity. HMMM?

[michael bustamante]

has the dye held up for any of you guys that have dyed them or did you end up with a green ( or other) lashing across your lap from the dye?

[leddzepp]

I dyed mine back to black years ago, still look great. I wouldn't worry about the integrity of them, lap belts are worthless to begin with. If you are really concerned about safety then you should install 3-point belts.

[zibs71]

Anyone have pix of them after u dyed then . I put mine in dish soap overnite with hot water . Didn't turn out to bad, but then i soaked them in Oxi Clean and they look like hell !!!!! So i thought I'd try that Rit dye but was to scared....lol I'll wait till i see a before and after pix before i do this. Great Topic!!

Zibs71