what should I use to clean 30yr old vinyl?

[JonnyRotten]

I just picked up a 60TR3A.Is there a product I should use to clean dash and seats besides basic car vinyl cleaner?Its been sitting for 30 years and Im sure its real dry.Any prep work besides dusting?

 

[mrv8q]

FWIW, when I started cleaning on my '59, I pulled the gauge cluster, to repaint that. I also pulled the top dash leather capping. I started w/ vacuuming with a soft hair brush, then Simple Green, a couple of applications, then finished w/ Vinylex, from the Lexol people. Looks OK, but no denying it's still 50 year-old vinyl...

 

[UmmYeahOk]

Well I used SEM vinyl prep. They make SEM soap, but vinyl prep is awesome and seems to get the job done. Basically I would dunk a tooth brush in it, preferable your spouses =), and scrub the surface with it. Use in small areas and wipe off the stuff constantly before it dries. This stuff is designed to prepare the surface so that you can paint or die it, but does an awesome job of cleaning. It does eventually remove paint, just to let you know.

It seems to dry out your hands too, which is why once its clean I go over it with vinyl restorer conditioner because I am so afraid of cracking. I would never uyse it on leather simply because of this. I did this to an MGB backseat and that sucker looked brand new!!!

But if you have simple green or windex lying around the home, I would try that first, again, using a toothbrush.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Craig Gingell in the UK has done an incredible restoration of a Herald 1200 Coupé (complete with Shorrock supercharger!). He suggests bicarbonate of soda, hot water and a toothbrush! Makes sense, and you can see for yourself on his blog!

Oh, if the interior is original, then chances are the seat facings and the capping over the dash, on the doors and "up the doglegs" all are leather, in which case you'll want good leather cleaning and conditioning products. A good saddle soap might be a good starting point; for that matter, it can work pretty well on vinyl, too!

 

[bgbassplyr]

Highly diluted purple cleaner will remove the dirt buildup. RISE repeatedly, don't let it remain on the vinyl or leather. Finish the vinyl with a vinyl restorer conditioner and the leather with saddle soap followed by an application of Mink Oil. As stated above, there is a lot of leather on a 59.

 

[dklawson]

UmmYeahOk, that SEM cleaner is also reported to soften the vinyl a bit, one of the few products that is supposed to do that. Did you notice any improvement in the vinyl (other than being cleaner) when you were done? I've got a set of seats I am going to spray black and am waiting for slightly warmer weather to try the SEM cleaner and dye.

BTW, I haven't forgotten I owe you the dash template for the GT6. Unfortunately, I am only home during daylight hours on the weekends and the past two weekends have been rainy and/or snowy.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

UmmYeahOk, that SEM cleaner is also reported to soften the vinyl a bit, one of the few products that is supposed to do that. Did you notice any improvement in the vinyl (other than being cleaner) when you were done? I've got a set of seats I am going to spray black and am waiting for slightly warmer weather to try the SEM cleaner and dye.

Actually, I discovered that on hard plastic/vinyl if I cleaned one area, I had the clean the ENTIRE piece. Its almost as if BMW and Ford painted over their own pieces from that factory. Because it always seemed that my towels would collect the same color. This is strange because if you cast red plastic, or tan plastic, you casted it for a reason... ...thats the desired color. So why paint? The color is extremely close to the plastic, but its enough of a difference to show up once cleaned.

As far as improvements, I cant really say. My husband bought all this stuff because he couldnt stand the idea of blue interior in his RX7, or any car for that matter. He claims its too old and no longer fashionable. And dyed it grey/charcoal. I noticed chipping in high traffic areas, and this car did not have much mileage on it after the dye job. I mostly used the stuff as a cleaner, not for prep. Like I said, the stuff dries things out incredibly. I always immediately sprayed armor all because I was so scared about cracking and warping. Get it on your hands, and you just gotta rush in and wash them, and apply lotion. Its not that it burns, its just that its so uncomfortably dry! So the prep+armor all seems to make all pieces that were dull look brand new. You know how youd use armorall, and it would create a clean wet look for about a day or two? Well this method seems to give it just enough shine, and lasts!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]BTW, I haven't forgotten I owe you the dash template for the GT6. Unfortunately, I am only home during daylight hours on the weekends and the past two weekends have been rainy and/or snowy.[/QUOTE]
Thats ok, no rush. Dash wont need to be done for months as I still have body work and engine to work on. I also found this:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OEM-Trium...sQ5fAccessories
Theres enough pictures that I could just scan my parts for sizing purposes, and stretch these photos to actual size, then print. In fact, just so I wont be a burden, Im going to go ahead and do that, and if something should happen, and I cant, I'll give ya a hollar. Thanks