How to Make Black Car Seats Look New

by Sam | Last Updated: April 22, 2021

When it comes to detailing, everyone likes to focus on the outside of the vehicle. There's nothing like a fresh polish and wax, am I right? Sure, it's important to take good care of your car's paint and wash it on a regular basis. But the interior should receive just as much care and attention.

If you have an older car there's a good chance it has cloth seats. This material is easy to vacuum, but over time it can fade in the sun and get discolored. In this article we'll explain how you can quickly restore those faded cloth car seats, without paying thousands of dollars.

Tools You Need

Before you get started, it helps to gather up all the tools needed for this project. You don't have to go buying everything on this list, because most of it should already be in your garage.

The most important tip to remember is that the seats need to be fully cleaned, before they can be dyed back to the original color.

Handheld Vacuum

There's no such thing as car detailing without a vacuum. It will remove dirt, dust, food crumbs, and anything else that has gotten stuck in between your seats.

We prefer a handheld vacuum, because it's lightweight and doesn't have any bulky hoses or cords. But a regular vacuum with a hose attachment works just as well.

Microfiber Towels

You can never have too many microfiber towels. They are useful for cleaning the interior, exterior, wheels, and other areas of the vehicle. It helps to wipe down the seats after they have been steam cleaned, or sprayed with product.

Microfiber towels come in all different shapes and sizes. It's important to use the correct towel, depending on what job you're doing. Use any pile towel for the interior, as long as it's not a waffle weave towel (those are for glass only).

Steam Cleaner

A steam cleaner can make all the difference when it comes to cleaning seats. Can you get away without using one? Sure, but the results won't last as long when it comes time to dye them.

This tool will remove small dirt particles that have become embedded to the seat fabric. When the steam cleaner is in use, you can actually see the brown dirt being pulled away from the cloth seats.

Detailing Brushes

Even though a vacuum will remove most of the surface dirt, it can't do everything. There are seams on all car seats where the fabric is sewn together. A vacuum isn't able to pick up and remove the dirt in these hidden areas.

That's where detailing brushes come into play. The soft bristles can fit into these cracks in order to agitate and lift the dirt out. Once you remove the dirt in these hard-to-reach areas, finish up with a few passes from the vacuum.

How to Restore Faded Cloth Car Seats

Before you begin, make sure to set aside enough time for this project. Rushing though the process won't give you professional looking results. The work itself should take around 3-4 hours, but you also need to give the seats enough time to dry.

1. Take out the Seats

If you really want to restore faded cloth car seats properly, you will need to remove them from the vehicle. All cars are different, but most of the time there are four bolts that hold the seats to the floor. Two in the front and two in the rear.

Make sure to disconnect the negative cable from the battery, before you touch any wiring. Once the bolts are removed you can angle the seat back to see if there are any electrical harnesses. Unplug them before removing the seats.

2. Remove Surface Dirt

The first step to cleaning the seats is removing any surface dirt. This is where a high quality handheld vacuum, or shop vac comes into play. Use the hashtag cleaning method by vacuuming the seats in vertical lines, then horizontal lines.

This way of cleaning guarantees that you are covering all areas of the seat. It also helps to use a small brush to loosen up dirt stuck inside cracks and seams. If you don't have a small enough tool for this, try using an old toothbrush.

3. Scrub the Fabric

Once all the surface dirt has been removed, the next step is to clean the seats. Spray the area with upholstery cleaner, before agitating with a brush. This will help get the cleaning product into the fabric of the seat, for a deeper clean.

When you're done scrubbing, wipe off the seat with a clean microfiber towel. A thicker towel helps to absorb and soak up all the moisture embedded in the fibers. Make sure to pass over all areas of the seat, especially the seams and cracks.

4. Use a Steam Cleaner

This is the step that's going to take your detailing skills to the next level. A microfiber towel is good, but it can only clean so much. Hidden underneath the cloth seat cover is a layer of foam that absorbs dirt and oils from your skin.

A handheld steamer can help fix this problem. All you need to do is saturate the seat with water (or a fabric cleaner) and extract the remaining liquid with the steamer. Do multiple passes to make sure there is no moisture left.

5. Dye the Seats

The last and final step to restore faded cloth car seats is dying the fabric. You can do this by using a can of vinyl and fabric spray paint. You won't get the exact color match of your seats, but there are many different options to choose from.

Before you begin, make sure to tape off any wiring and plastic trim pieces. Tape will protect these areas from getting paint on them. Follow the directions on your specific paint can and follow up with additional coats if necessary.

Why do Car Seats Fade?

If you've made it this far, you probably want to prevent your car seats from fading in the future. Buy why do they fade in the first place? Let's take a look.

Sunlight

It's no secret that certain materials fade in the sun. Paint, plastic trim, and car seats are sections of your car that will take sun damage. You can easily protect paint and plastic trim with waxes and sealants. But when it comes to your car seats, things get a title tricky.

For leather car seats, a high quality leather conditioner will offer some form of protection. But what about cloth and suede? Other than keeping your car in a garage and parking in the shade, faded car seats are inevitable.

Normal Use

Car seats still take a lot of wear and tear even with normal use. Each time you sit in your vehicle, your clothes and skin will cause damage to the seats. Even if your car seats look clean the foam padding underneath may not be.

Over time dirt and the oils on you skin will become absorbed by this foam. If your seat gets wet, this hidden dirt will soak into the fabric and stains will appear. The best way to prevent this is to steam clean your seats on a regular basis.

Final Thoughts

There's no need to spend thousands of dollars on a new pair of car seats. You can fix them quickly and easily with a few household products. The only thing you really need to buy is spray paint, to dye the seats back to the original color.

But if you really want professional looking results, investing in a steam cleaner is worth it. A steamer helps because it has the ability to clean the foam underneath the fabric. You can also use it on plastic trim, wheels, and other sections of the car.

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How to Make Black Car Seats Look New

Source: http://fastcarhelp.com/restore-faded-cloth-car-seats/

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