Black grease on my new seat belts

[Valeria H.]

My new mechanic (who is an absolute expert genious with C1 cars) has displaced a fair amount of dark grease on to my new seat belts (they are repro) but still new. Can anyone give me ideas about how to get this dark grease out without discoloringing the belts?

Valeria

[Jean C.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Valeria, how about asking your mechanic to buy you a new set? Then tell him to keep the car clean. Just a thought.
Best regards,

[Bert L.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Valeria, how about asking your mechanic to buy you a new set? Then tell him to keep the car clean. Just a thought.
Best regards,

I enthusiastically second that motion Charlie!

[Gary G.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Lestoil is a great grease remover.

[Steven S.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

I recall recently a thread where a guy had excellent results with a pressure washer and some sort of degreaser (can't remember what type). Of course this is going to require you to remove the belts

Steve

[Chuck S.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

My new mechanic (who is an absolute expert genious with C1 cars) has displaced a fair amount of dark grease on to my new seat belts (they are repro) but still new. Can anyone give me ideas about how to get this dark grease out without discoloringing the belts?...

Depending on the amount of grease, transfer from clothing is likely be only on the surface, and not absorbed deep into the belt fibers.

My approach would be to wet a paper towel with lacquer thinner (use gloves) and try to swipe the surface to remove most of the grease film.

Some of the grease residue will probably dissolve in the solvent and go deeper into the fibers. Use another solvent wet towel to scrub the area vigorously, particularly on the edges where you will otherwise get a "ring". Keep changing to fresh wet towels and scrubbing until the stain is completely gone.

It will probably be a good idea to test the color fastness of the belt material by using the lacquer thinner on a hidden area first. Let the lacquer thinner dry completely before you decide it's safe.

You don't say what color the belts are, but the darker they are, the higher your probability of success.

If this works, give your mechanic a good chewing and tell him the next time he gets grease on your interior, he's paying to clean or replace to new condition.

[Paul J.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Valeria, before you put any solvents on it try this.

Goop hand cleaner is an excellent solvent, and it is a great stain lifter (as the package says). After the Goop, liberal amounts of either Dial liquid hand soap or Joy dishwashing liquid, and then plenty of water. You'll need to try to wick the disolved grease and water out of the webbing. Also, an old tooth brush might be helpful.

Your seat belts are a fabric that is dyed and then coated with a lubricative chemical (once made by Piedmont Chemicals in High Point, NC). You don't want to remove this chemical, or the dye. The products above are gentle enough not to do that.

If you don't have enough success with the previous products, try Spray and Wash or some othe laundry type stain removers.

Paul

[Louis T.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Hi Valeria,





Good luck!

Louis

[Paul J.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Valeria, since Louis mentioned it, my next attempt after the laundry stain removers would be Tuff-Stuff (made for automotive interiors), and then Fantastic, 409, or Simple Green. These household cleaners are stronger than what I suggested.

I imagine that Klean-Strip Prep-All either has acetone in it or something similar. Acetone, lacquer thinner, and the rest of these types of chemicals will work well, but your seat belts are new and have that "new" look and feel. I would use these harsher chemicals as a last resort.

After you get the grease out, can you revisit this issue and let us know how it turned out?

Paul

[Valeria H.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Thanks to all for your responses. The seat belts are red and do feel as though they are coated with something. I expect to get the car back this coming week after the Auto Show disaster. I will try the mildest approach first and work from there. I will report back on my progress and let you know what worked.
Valeria

[John H.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

I have used Dawn with a $1.00 finger nail brush (not to harsh) and then followed up with light brushing and paper towels using spray brake cleaner. I just bought Simple Green but have not used it yet.

[Edward S.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Thre people who try to save wildlike for oil spills use Dawn, should do pretty well on your belts?

[Edward J.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Valeria, before I would try anything, if you have a old seat belt, use it as a dummy, this way you can try the cleaners first, Hint maybe the wifes car - rear seats belts. I don't think there are to many cleaners that will not dis color when removing grease.

There maybe one more possiablity, if your in good with your dry cleaner he maybe able to remove for you, I had a frenid that had some grease removed from his new 100.00 floor matts.

[Valeria H.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Thre people who try to save wildlike for oil spills use Dawn, should do pretty well on your belts?

Thanks Ed, I put Dawn on my grocery list. I remember hearing that on the radio.
Valeria

[Joe L.]

Re: Black grease on my new seat belts

Valeria-------


If you get to the point that you need to try a solvent, I would use something like perchlorethylene or trichlorethylene. Perchlorethylene is the solvent that dry cleaners use to dry clean clothing, although for environmental reasons other solvents are replacing it. Nevertheless, I think that perchlorethylene is still the best. It might be hard to find these days, though. Maybe a dry cleaner in your area that still uses it could supply some.