Faded seatbelts

[Dave F.]

What can be done to restore my faded black seatbelts back to original appearance short of replacing them?

[Reba Whittington]

Re: Faded seatbelts

I have used Rit fabric dye, available in the grocery store or Wal-Mart, K-Mart etc. Just be sure you rinse ALL the dye thoroughly or it will transfer to clothing.

[Dave F.]

Re: Faded seatbelts

Thank you Reba.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Faded seatbelts

How do you then keep the dye from turning the labels black?

Patrick

[Reba Whittington]

Re: Faded seatbelts

Good question, Patrick. It has been some years since I did this, and I am not sure that the belts had labels. It was a driver that we were detailing for a dealer. I would think the labels could be wrapped with wide package sealing tape to keep them dry.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Faded seatbelts

I was tempted to re-dye the full set of belts for my, ah, 1970 Cutlass last winter as they are in great structural shape but just a little faded. As they are all original belts, I didn't want to harm the tags. I cleaned them and left them alone in the end.

I assume the same would be true of a Corvette; that's why I asked.

Patrick

[Mark F.]

Re: Faded seatbelts

Dave:

I took my seatbelts to a local upholstery shop for their recommendation. Mine were originally tan, but had been resprayed black. They were beyond repair, stiffer than you know what. The shop removed my tags and replaced the belts with new material, reattaching the tags to the new belts. Not NCRS, mind you, but nice. $30.00 was the charge for all four belts.

Mark

[Dick W.]

Re: Faded seatbelts

From a safety standpoint, I would have reservations about an upholstery shop stiching seatbelts. Tags yes, belts ? I think that I would leave this to the professionals who should use the correct materials and have product liability insurance

[Reba Whittington]

Re: Faded seatbelts

I haven't tried it, but it seems that duct tape would work great if it were pressed tightly at edges so dye would not seep in.

[Christopher R.]

Re: Faded seatbelts

Nah, wouldn't work. The die would get in from the backside.