Does anyone know what the seat covers on our cars are made of, specifically 98+? I say this because in my dad's 95, it has the patterned cloth all over, where as in my 98 the pattern is only down the middle and a different fabric lines the sides and headrest.
I'm interested to know because I'd like to find out if they would shrink in the washing machine and make it difficult to put them back on.
You realize to machine wash the covers you need to tear down the seats and rebuild them again,which is definetly waaaaay more trouble than it's worth for you. They aren't just slipped over the foam,they're tied down with hog rings,velcro and plastic push pins.
I've torn down a set of rear seats from a '98 Mystique and you definetly won't enjoy yourself putting them back together,and I can only imagine the front seats will be more of a pain in the butt.
I build Chrysler seats for a living,so if you don't know what you're doing,don't do it. I wouldn't run the risk of machine washing the covers anyways. The covers themselves,atleast the ones I build,do expand and contract from heat and cold.
If you're bent up on washing the seats,why don't you just use an upholstery cleaner????
Yeah, upholstry cleaner is an idea as well. I just figured a good machine wash would be better. I've already got a set of hog ring pliers on the way, and I have nothing to do all day for an indefinite amount of time. I just figured for dying the center parts, having the seat covers off and properly washed would yield better results.
eh..I used that duplicolor vinyl and fabric spray on a sock...doesn't seem like it will hold up on high rub areas
duplicolor vinyl and fabric paint isnt going to work on seats, its already starting to fade (rub off) on my driverside door panel (but I only put 2-3 heavy coats on).. probably need more like 6-7
What are you doing,wanting to change the colour of the interior? Don't spray the seats with fabric dye,that'll look like crap. Your best bet is go find some seats from a wreckers.
I had cloth seats in my Mystique and found an indentical Mystique like mine at a wreckers with a leather interior and $350 (Cdn) later,the front and back seats and all 4 door panels with the leather inserts were mine. However,they were already the same colour as my interior.
Either steam clean like said above or use a carpet cleaner or tuff stuff.
I have a can of this stuff and it works wonders.
I'm going to call some upholstry places to get estimates. I think maybe I'll take the seat covers off myself, and just have them replace the middle pieces of fabric with something black. Maybe if I do all the removing and reupholstering, it will minimize cost. My other thought was to take them off and just dye all of the seat upholstry black. That'd be cheap and effective, but shrinkage could be a prob. I really want the two tone look though.
my mockup:
That would look nice. I wouldn't mind a setup like yours but in teal, instead of black.
nice,I like that. If you can,try and get suede for all the black.