Seat cleanup

[BudW]

To make a short story long, a couple of years ago, I removed a lot of fabric covered interior trim pieces and headliner, to get recovered.
In my brilliance, I did this on a nice but windy Oklahoma day. The headliner came out in one piece without tears or anything, and I was smiling at my accomplishment, enjoying a cool one.

Guess what, a moment later a gust of wind came by, and sent my headliner to Kansas, so to speak. I picked up (most of) the pieces and put them in a box with the rest of my trim, and have been looking for a replacement headliner sense.
By the way, I have found quite a few with forklift damage (sigh).

The headliner is not my topic and the drooping fabric hasn’t been bothering me so I, for the most part, haven’t been too upset.

Yesterday, I was putting some groceries in the back seat (my grocery getter) and saw some sticky black stuff on my back seat from the cap seal. My leather seats are in pretty darn good condition (except for this spot).

Does anyone know what I can use to remove the stain/goo, from the seat?

Thank you,
BudW

Also. if anyone knows of a lead of even a rough condition headliner in Oklahoma, let me know (but not the issue on this thread).

 

[Justwondering]

BudW

Leather is not forgiving when you use liquids to clean it. Especially liquids with petroleum bases.

Butyl is usually the black goo used to 'stick' the cap on.
It is petroleum based and a wicked sticky.

1. Test Area
Set up a test area of leather. Either remove the back seat or the front seat if it is the same material. Turn the seat over on a bench and practice your cleaning on the underside 'extra' fabric. Somewhere you won't mind if it fails cause no one will see it.
Yes, I know this is a pain.
But, I swear whatever you try is gonna smear and maybe leave a permanent, dark area if you don't get it figured out the first time.

2. Leather Cleaners
Do not use WD-40 or any other penetrating oil.
Things that clean butyl off metal and glass do not work well on leather. The leather will uptake the oil and never let go. Permanent dark spot.

Leather tolerate some liquids better than others but takes a few days to dry. So if you use something that takes a few days to dry, you run the risk of it wicking the goo further out from the starting point as it dries where it is thinner to where the goo is thicker.

I'd start with a true leather cleaner ... something like Quick n Brite.
I would get a test area and smear some of the black goo on it. Let it set for a few days in the sun or at least in a warm garage. Practice cleaning your test area before you tackle the back seat stain.

Here's a link about QuicknBrite. How to Clean Leather

I know that I condition the leather seats in my chariot a few times a year. More likely in the summer, less likely in the winter.

3. Headliner
There is hope for your headliner. You can spend sweat equity putting it back together OR take a walk on the wild side and build your own if a donar headliner is not in the cards.

The headliner is made from layers of fiberglass batting, pressed into that wonderful large shape for the inside of the roof. The purpose of the headliner is 1. insulation from exterior temps, 2. soundproofing, 3. flat surface for that fine looking headliner material, and so much more I'm sure.

For the part of the headliner you still have.
1. Go buy some inexpensive felt at the fabric store. Probably 1 1/2 yards or 2 if you'd rather.

2. Lay it flat -- if you don't have a big work table, get a piece of strand board or old plywood and lay it across saw horses. You just need a big surface area. Yes, you can use the floor. However, your knees and lower back will not love you.

3. Take your box of headliner parts and puzzle them into a headliner on top of the felt. Make sure you have the same side up. At this point, you just want to figure out how much you are missing.

4. You need to make up for the missing portion. If it is a chunk in the middle or out of the edge, you'd want to handle that differently that missing an entire side or long open area.

5. If you have most of the headliner. Use contact cement and glue it to the felt. Glue the side that will face the interior of the car to the felt. Essentially rebuild your headliner using the felt as the common area. Do not oversaturate the glue to the felt. You don't want the felt wet all the way through with contact cement. If it gets that wet, the felt will have a hard spot which will telegraph to the headliner material.

6. The felt will cover a multitude of sins... indentations, seams, rough edges. Its the go-to fabric used by headliner recoverers to get around having to replace the headliner itself. Once the puzzle has set up, flip it over and see if it needs a second layer of felt. You dont want serious indentations or bumps or gaps that telegraph through the felt.

7. If your headliner is too far gone to do the above. You are stuck getting another headliner. Even one with forklift marks. It might make more sense to get a donar headliner that only needs to be cut an seamed in a couple of places instead of putting a puzzle of parts together.
Look online and struggle to find what you need.
Use FOAMBOARD. Get it from the arts supply place (Hobby Lobby, Michaels, wherever). You'll need to cut and tape it back together to get some of the bends you need. In my 5th avenue, there is a slight curve left to right just the other side of the dome light location. Everything else can be done with the flex in the foamboard.

8. Foamboard ... If you go that route and want more insulation, order some of the fiberglass radiant barrier material from Home Depot or lowes. Like this: UltraTouch 48 in. x 6 ft. Radiant Barrier-30000-11406 - The Home Depot

 

[BudW]

Thank you.

The headliner base material is something I hadn’t worked with before and could be reason it split apart so easily.
Going by memory (been about three years ago?) I was able to save about three of roughly six pieces.

I remember finishing, then enjoying a cold drink, when a wind gust came. I dropping my drink, then started to run after it (if videoed, might have been a good one for a comedy show), stopping to pick it up and it would blow off again. The last time I decided to put my foot on it and it ripped in half. A fence caught the other half, until the part that went over top, bent backwards and it took off to never-never land.

Then the unsecured first half took off and did the same thing. At least I had the fence to hold the pieces in place while I carried the remaining segments back to the carport.

Not sure if I was more upset about it getting shredded or not making sure it was secured after removal.


Getting the seat cleaned off is my main concern. I know leather has special requirements on cleaning.

I also need to place sound deadener everywhere as well – just not gotten around to doing it yet (walking off mumbling incoherently, at this point).

BudW

 

[Justwondering]

When I do mine again, I'll use foamboard covered with a piece of felt as the base.
I bought the radiant barrier and put it above the headliner board before I installed it. Really cut down on the heat gain from the sun.

My plan is to also install it on the floor once I get the new carpet. (ahh, another air castle being built... lol).

If you install in in the doors, you'll have to be concerned about interfering with the lock mechanism.

If I had been smart, I would have put it behind the backseat before I reinstalled that. But since I knocked two holes in the new trim material, I'm sure I will have another opportunity to do it when I redo the trim material again.

 

[BudW]

I will be putting the sound deadener in the doors. I need to take my latches out and soak them to see if I can get that hard caked on grease off of them. My electric door locks only work, when they want to . . .

 

[Justwondering]

I need to put a little tlc into the window motors, but I have a clunk in the front wheel well that needs to be fixed first. I also noticed the left rearview mirror has spots of rust on the front of it. Now whats up with that?

Like you, I started my trim recovering last year and didn't finish before weather got cool. I have no garage to work in so I have to wait until its warm outside (and honey do's are done) before that job is complete. Hopefully, that will happen this weekend.

 

[Darth-Car]

....Right after she redrywalls the entire master bedroom before lunch.

 

[Justwondering]

The ceiling in the guest room, taping not finished above the bed yet:

However, got the wall mount faucet and utility sink with shutoff valves installed:

Meanwhile, a new issue with the Chrysler:

Broken socket in third brake light....

Just a matter of not letting the balls hit the floor when you juggle. (as she crawls around on the floor looking for those juggling balls...)

 

[Darth-Car]

That is one heck of a utility sink!

 

[Justwondering]

You don't know the half of the drama with that sink.

The area was plumbed for a vanity sink with the water stubbed to the outside of the studs.
My husband scored the sink two years ago for 30 bucks at an auction (stainless steel, deep well).

It needed taller legs to accommodate our heights. I scrounge some hollow pipe and cut new legs.

Its a wall mount faucet with it. Needed all the parts to turn the water access at a right angle to catch the water lines.

Had to add a brace in the wall with holes cut 'just so' in order to prevent water hammer and stabilize the lines.

I dry fit everything and husband decides he doesn't like the water cut off solution. Wants it in the wall. I agree.

Have to cut and re-run the pex to accommodate the cut off valves. I am not crawling on my knees to cut off the water under the sink so I route everything to the left bay in a big semi-circle and bring the water down from above the sink so I can put the cut off valves above the sink. Cut a trap door in the cabinet that will hang above it and I have easy access.

Cut in the ice maker while I'm changing up the pex.

And yes, I'm back to the 'need to hang drywall' stage. But the days have been pretty and I'd rather be outside for the next few weeks before I go back to work in May.

 

[Darth-Car]

Simply amazing! You do it all. I found your photo in the Texas DMV archives.

 

[Justwondering]

Happens all the time.
That photo from the Texas DMV is really my cousin. People get us confused all the time. Here's my photo so you can tell us apart:

 

[Darth-Car]

Either way, I still would not mess with you.

 

[BudW]

I don't know her, but I think the first picture applies.

 

[Jack Meoff]

I don't know her, but I think the first picture applies.

Same here.