best way to dye seat belts

[Michael L.]

guys,

I'm interested in re-dyeing my seat belts in my 69 coupe. My interior is tan but the seatbelts are kind of dingy. What is the best product out there to dye them tan again? Has anyone ever done this?

Mike

[Gordon W.]

Re: best way to dye seat belts

I dyed a pair of blue seat belts to black for a Camaro using RIT dye. Came out real nice and looked great but that was going to black, I'm not sure how a lighter color like tan might turn out or even if RIT makes a tan dye.

I also can't speak to what effect RIT might have on the integrity of the webbing should you get into a collision. Probably nothing, but I don't know for sure.

[Dick W.]

Re: best way to dye seat belts

Before I tried to dye your belts I would first try to clean them. I have used a strong solution of an alkali product such as concentrated Simple Green, Purple Power, etc. Soak the belts use a stiff wheel brush and scrub the stuffings outta them. You might be surprised at the outcome.

[Alan D.]

Re: best way to dye seat belts

Ditto on Dick's method however if you still need to do a dye job search for products made for automotive interiors.

Know I used RIT in the 70's - it dries very stiff! Found a dye that leaves carpet very soft from PDH Distributors, 888-552-2465, product call "carpet renewal system" You can purchase in small amounts. Now there are plenty of products out there so look around (no endorsement here).

Be very careful of the tag, people around who will sew it back the OEM way. As you keep looking at a simple job of "just dye the belts" the job keeps expanding, ie tag, chrome, . . .

So good luck with it.

[Dick W.]

Re: best way to dye seat belts

Alan, add fabric softener to the dye. Works wonders.

[Domenic T.]

Re: best way to dye seat belts

Michael,
I just cleaned some belts and I boiled them in a non oxidizing soap.

They came out great and I didn't have to dye them.

Rit was what we used to dye and treat nylon propellers for model airplanes. An old article said that the boiling would put the moisture back in the nylon and reduce the risk of failure.

We put the props in boiling water that had Rit dye in it for 15 min and they took color.

It works well with seat belts if you first clean them in boiling water then rince them before you boil them in the dye.

The belts I did were very wrinkled and the boiling took most of that out. They were soft again but there were a few wrinkles that I had to use a iron on putting a cloth between the iron and the damp belt.

DOM