Painting over stains on white vinyl seats?

[C Sickness]

The previous owner set something black (rubber?) on the back seat. I scrubbed the whole interior, but these stains remain. Could I spray just the stained areas with some type of vinyl spray, or would it look worse? Maybe spray the whole seat bottom?

 

[3175375]

The previous owner set something black (rubber?) on the back seat. I scrubbed the whole interior, but these stains remain. Could I spray just the stained areas with some type of vinyl spray, or would it look worse? Maybe spray the whole seat bottom?View attachment 409826

Looks like marks from a tire.
Have you tried some Simple Green? That stuff is very good in my opinion.

 

[C Sickness]

Looks like marks from a tire.
Have you tried some Simple Green? That stuff is very good in my opinion.

I spent all of Sunday giving the interior an initial wash with Simple Green. Had rivers of brown gunk running off the white vinyl. Also tried a little clorox just on the vinyl stains. No improvement. I want to someday buy a fresh interior, but right now, i have bigger fish to fry. (Mechanical).

 

[Davea Lux]

Most paint shops can mix vinyl color in pretty much any shade. It is a temporary fix but would probably get you by for awhile. It is designed to be sprayed onto door panels and such that are discolored.

Dave

 

[The Goose]

My 65 polara convertible had white seats made out of boat material. Beautiful bright white that could sit out in the Az sun all day and never got hot to the touch. One night a cat had babies in the back seat and I tried everything but I could not get the stains out. It looked like a freakin crime scene. My buddy does upholstery and he’s done it for over 30 years. He did these and he said just write them off. I asked the same question about white vinyl dye and he said not a good idea in a convertible. Something about UV vs white. He said dye them a darker color or redo them. I never resolved the problem because I sold the car to someone who couldn’t live without it.

In my 69 convertible the door panels are green dyed white and have held up great. The armrests dyed white have shattered after 2 years. They were brand new but light tan (I got em cheap). It looks like cracked house paint and it’s pretty much unfixable. I’m just gonna buy new ones because I have no idea how you’d strip old cracked vinyl dye off. My black seats I dyed blue at the same time and they’re still great. I can’t say for sure but maybe he was right about white vs UV on a flat surface. Especially in a convertible.

 

[mr. fix it]

Looks like marks from a tire.
Have you tried some Simple Green? That stuff is very good in my opinion.

Or Spray Nine.

Since this looks like mildew/mold, try some ZEP mold & Mildew killer.
It may surprise you on how effective it is.

 

[Welder guy]

Pop your seat out and use Black Magic bleach white. Its used for cleaning up the white walls your tires. Don’t use it in the car because it will bleach out the Colour of your carpet. Put on rubber gloves and use a small scrub brush to scrub the stained area and rinse off with water. Then use a vinyl protectant once your seats are cleaned and dry https://www.walmart.com/ip/Black-Magic-Bleche-Wite-Tire-Cleaner-32-oz-120066/19417551

 

[C Sickness]

I tried the Spray Nine before the Simple Green. Might try the Bleche White. There's a white vinyl rub strip on both body sides that could probably benefit, if it doesn't help the seats. Don't know if the BW is harsh on the stitching. They say don't use Clorox for that reason.

I'm afraid that I'm trying for 20 minutes to get a stain out of the seats that could have been made by something laying there 20 years to put it in to the seats.

 

[bnz84]

Look on boating forums. They have this problem all the time. Also Ive had luck with Softscrub with bleach. The combo of bleach and grit works well. But then you have to wipe off the grit multiple times with a sponge.

 

[bnz84]

Oh I forgot, sometimes a handheld steamer works. I tried it on my convertible top as a no rinse cleaning method. Didnt finish (cuz mine is black) but it was working pretty well. Old vinyl needs a little help to give up its patina...

 

[stubs300]

This stuff and a new green scrubber pad, follow directions on the bottle. Good Luck

The armrests dyed white have shattered after 2 years. They were brand new but light tan (I got em cheap). It looks like cracked house paint and it’s pretty much unfixable. I’m just gonna buy new ones because I have no idea how you’d strip old cracked vinyl dye off.

Sounds like it was some bad prep work before shooting color on them. It's a messy job to repair them but they can be fixed, use the SEM soap and a green scrubber and scrub the snot outta them for starters. You can also use 400 grit paper afterwards on the old dye to clean it off if the SEM doesn't do the job. Once your happy with it, give a good cleaning with a degreaser and a bonding agent, then shoot em again. Good Luck

 

[stubs300]

Hey Goose- your box is full. I wanted to ask, your cracked dye job, is this on leather or vinyl? Do you know what type of dye was used? The reason being is you can't shoot leather with a lacquer based dye, as that's the result. It has to be a waterborne dye on leather. Lacquer is for vinyl and plastic. Good Luck

 

[Big_John]

I've never used this, but it is supposed to be the best stuff around for cleaning up a white interior.

Starbrite Vinyl Cleaner & Polish, 16 oz. - Star Brite

Mentioned in this thread by @Fury Pursuit
white vinyl cleaner

 

[stubs300]

I have used this on my white interior and others with great success. Good Luck https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tuff-Stu...WBXAr5gUtRC9Q-TnbiAS6zg_aKYBDsNxoCh_EQAvD_BwE

 

[Big_John]

And am I the only one that thinks about the movie "Let's go to Prison" when "boat cleaner" is mentioned?

 

[1970cat]

I tried the Spray Nine before the Simple Green. Might try the Bleche White. There's a white vinyl rub strip on both body sides that could probably benefit, if it doesn't help the seats. Don't know if the BW is harsh on the stitching. They say don't use Clorox for that reason.

I'm afraid that I'm trying for 20 minutes to get a stain out of the seats that could have been made by something laying there 20 years to put it in to the seats.

just don't get the bleche white on your paint. it will bleach that too.

 

[The Goose]

Hey Goose- your box is full. I wanted to ask, your cracked dye job, is this on leather or vinyl? Do you know what type of dye was used? The reason being is you can't shoot leather with a lacquer based dye, as that's the result. It has to be a waterborne dye on leather. Lacquer is for vinyl and plastic. Good Luck

The armrests were brand new discontinued stock from a vendor at the spring fling in Van Nuys. They are vinyl and light tan but then they were also $12. I cleaned them and shot them white. Door panels and seats are great. These guys not so much. I used the pep boys white on the door panels & armrests because it’s always worked ok. I used SEM for the seats.

I usually shy away from vinyl dye but in keeping with my build it for under $5000 plan it worked out great. Except for the armrests LoL!!!

 

[fury fan]

I've had good luck with GoJo handcleaner cleaning vinyl.

People that store worthless crap on classic car seats - does it get any more foolish???

 

[1970FuryConv]

Have used SEM white Vinyl spray paint on green door panels and kick panels. Only thing that changed the color without the green showing thru. Cheap vinyl paints do not work. Duplicolor sucks.

 

[stubs300]

I usually shy away from vinyl dye but in keeping with my build it for under $5000 plan it worked out great. Except for the armrests LoL!!!

I can relate, I did the same and taught myself to do upholstery to re-do my A-100 seats! I wonder if the Pep-boys paint was the problem?