Cleaning stained cream cloth interior

[xXRockyHorrorsXx]

I am one of the many newbeetle owners blessed with the cream colored cloth seats (and by blessed I mean cursed) and I came to realize how easily they stain. My once cream colored seats were turning...brown? Gross. Sadly I don't have any before pictures of the seats, but The Cheat (Justin) and ScarabY2K (Al) can vouch for me when I say they looked like dookie. I was embarassed of it, so finally had the motivation to try to clean them. First, I used VWs all purpose cleaner..just sprayed it straight on, scubbed with a clean, damn cloth, and wiped away the excess with another cloth. Though this didn't help drasticly on the darker-stained spots, it did improve the apperance. I then proceeded to use Resolve: I sprayed it on, used a soft bristle brush to work up a later, and then scrubbed more with a moist sponge. After I ran out of Resolve, I went back to the VW Cleaner, but continued to use the soft bristle brush (Mixing chemicals for the win!!)


Here is the outcome:

[xXRockyHorrorsXx]

ps: the seats are still wet from the spray stuff in that pic! I'll be sure to take more pics when they dry!

[amk]

Hi Rocky,

I was just trying to deal with that same problem today! Mine are so bad that if water drips on it makes a big water stain. (in my defense, I bought the car used :-) I have tried OxyClean and Resolve and zero results. I'm going to try the steam cleaner tomorrow. I'm about ready to bleach the darn things!

Do you think the VW cleaner was a significant contribution to your success? Also what type of soft bristle brush did you use?

Thanks!

[Deserion]

Steam cleaner with distilled water. Pulls up the crap and leaves it clean.

Also, other solution is to use airbag-compatible seat covers.

[jadenfox]

my first beetle had those seats..I hated them, but I used a product called ZOUT. I would spray them down lightly and then use a soft brush to scrub it in. Then I would mist them with water and use a towel to wipe the seats down, worked great.

[Papa Gino]

Waldo has cream seats and I discovered that if you use Resolve, you need to get every square centimeter of the fabric doused and scrubbed or you get the spotting effect. I am going to steam clean them later this week and then try some Scotchgard.

[AbuNigel]

i have these seats. hate them...
how hard/expensive would it be to get them reupholstered black?
i tried using soft scrub on them and it didnt do shiznit, so i jsut want new seats altogether lol.

[squeebug]

Originally Posted by AbuNigel

i have these seats. hate them...
how hard/expensive would it be to get them reupholstered black?
i tried using soft scrub on them and it didnt do shiznit, so i jsut want new seats altogether lol.

Would probably be easier/cheaper to just find black ones and buy em.

[AbuNigel]

Originally Posted by squeebug

Would probably be easier/cheaper to just find black ones and buy em.

yea you are probably right. I'll keep my eyes out

[_goREDgo_]

i hear that about the seats picking up every little thing and collecting it as a stain i got Red used and the person who drove it spilled make-up (liquid foundation to be exact) on the passenger seat. for the longest time i would just keep the seat covers on them because the seats were hideous. i took a chance and took Red to a car wash and had them professionally done along with the floors (the floors on a separate occasion). for about 50 bucks and an hour wait i had what looked like brand spanking new seats! woo hoo!!! the same can be said about Red's floors the price is a little steep but that does include a wash, wax, whitewall treatment and detail! so well worth it if you ask me. speaking of which Red's due for both upholstery and floors to be cleaned. i'll be sure to take before and after pics!

[kate_the_valkyrie]

Kind of off topic-but this brought up something I was thinking of earlier this week. I have the two-tone leather that comes stock with the color concept red beetle-and I do take care of my leather best as I can. But I live in the desert, and it gets HOT. And this is definitely taking a toll on my seats. I was thinking maybe I should get them professionally cleaned maybe once a year or every other?? Where would I got to have someone detail and clean the leather PROPERLY without removing the seats or using the wrong chemicals that would end up proving to do more harm then help?? A detail shop? A car wash place?? Any ideas on where I might call around for in town?

[wawalker]

I always had good luck with my Bissell Little Green Machine. My '98 had those seats--when I sold it w/ almost 90K miles they looked almost pristine.

[jwh40]

I tried the green machine with no luck at all. Not sure what the problem is. Do you all fully saturate the seats or just lightly spray them? My driver's seat looked worse than before after I used the green machine.

I am about to try the Zout. Any more tips on using it?

Thanks ahead of time. This junk has got me frustrated!

[RedThunder94]

awesome, i need to clean our's, OMG are they hideous, looks like somebody peed on both sides, lol. totally gross. i was going to try a mixture of distilled water and some detergent to see if it will take out the really bad spots. anybody try that before?

[xXRockyHorrorsXx]

I've gone back and read on alot of comments..and realized people are cleaning their seats with either really heavy duty cleaners, or bleach. I just used carpet cleaner and a scrub brush to clean mine. I went through about 3 bottles to clean mine. Believe me, it takes a looong time and you have to really lather those things. While theyre wet put a towel over them to help absorb some of the nastyness. lol. I've been slacking on my seats and they are LITERALLY brown. haha, they are disgusting. I'll be sure to take before and after pics this time

[sassytexxan]

Some of you mentioned steam cleaning. For you DIY'ers, wehre would I get the use of a steam clean machine (that I don't have to buy), and what would it cost roughly. I am on the spend-as-little-as-I-can budget to clean and fix my car begining next month and the seats and carpets need a very good cleaning. Got cola, chili and strawberry soda? Turn them over on carpet and you know what my seats look like! I hear those of you who talk about the stains looking like pee lol. Fortunately, I have grey seats.

[waqastariq]

Originally Posted by xXRockyHorrorsXx

I am one of the many newbeetle owners blessed with the cream colored cloth seats (and by blessed I mean cursed) and I came to realize how easily they stain. My once cream colored seats were turning...brown? Gross. Sadly I don't have any before pictures of the seats, but The Cheat (Justin) and ScarabY2K (Al) can vouch for me when I say they looked like dookie. I was embarassed of it, so finally had the motivation to try to clean them. First, I used VWs all purpose cleaner..just sprayed it straight on, scubbed with a clean, damn cloth, and wiped away the excess with another cloth. Though this didn't help drasticly on the darker-stained spots, it did improve the apperance. I then proceeded to use Resolve: I sprayed it on, used a soft bristle brush to work up a later, and then scrubbed more with a moist sponge. After I ran out of Resolve, I went back to the VW Cleaner, but continued to use the soft bristle brush (Mixing chemicals for the win!!)

Why don't you try getting a professional steam cleaning service don on your beetle? this will give you more cleaner seats, you can go for a full interior clean this will make you beetle interior as good as new.