Restoring a set of seat belts...

[71 Duster 440]

Anyone have a process or tips for doing this? Can they be cleaned and restored? Thanks in advance!

Chris

 

[2 Darts]

Use a non-abrasive cleaner, like Woolite. If your belts are bit frayed or threadbare, you may want to consider having them re-webbed and restored.

For the longest time, I couldn't find anyone who would do this due to liability issues. The guy who re-did aircraft belts for me wouldn't touch automotive. I've seen ads for these guys who restore belts.

http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/

 

[71 Duster 440]

Thanks for the reply! Safety was a concern of mine going into this. I'm questioning how sound 44 year old seatbelt webbing can be. The lack of a shoulder restraint or airbag pretty much makes it a moot point in my opinion, though. Safety is relative, I guess.

I came across that snake-oyl website in my research on this and they seem to be prohibitively expensive. I think I'll try a soak in your woolite idea, followed by a re-dye of the webbing and clean/repaint of the plastics with SEM products. This car isn't Concours material, just a clean cruiser. Thanks for the help!

 

[orangetwist]

I just cleaned mine up really good, let them dry, then hit them with some spray dye. People said the spray dyes wouldn't work on the belts and would rub off easily. I just lightly sprayed them enough to get a even color, and have not had any issues with color rubbing off. That's been over a year ago.