Seatbelt restoration opinions?

[hunt2elk]

I bought a set of original black seat belts to put in my 69 Charger resurrection. I dug them out to install and realized that they look kind of out of place with everything else on the car new or refurbished. Anybody know of a site that shows what kind of dye to use on the belts, does any kind of paint hold up on the buckles, does the buckle handle even come off, is it possible to get the plastic shroud off the retractor setup on the outboard front belts without damage?

 

[benno440]

yes plastic shroud should slide off over the metal hole end, only paint that will hold for that and never scratch would be powdercoat IMO. You can get fabric dyes online, try googling it mate.

 

[hunt2elk]

I was thinking it might take powder coating to stand up to the abuse.

 

[Propwash]

Joel,

I used RIT fabric dye....found at grocery stores, hardware stores or Wally World. Kind of a witches brew process. Took the belts to a local DIY car wash, sprayed with a degreaser and let soak for a few. Then used the power washer, soaped them up and pressure blasted clean. Used two boxes of the RIT. Strange as it sounds, you will need to heat up the belts in a pot of water. I added just a bit of vinegar just to give a little more punch. When done brewing, I hung them from the clothesline to let them dry. They came out Jet Black and the process did not visually degrade the belts at all. They do look brand new.

Buckle latches I scuffed down hard, coated with PPG black DP40 epoxy primer, scuffed again and sprayed with a dupont 2K single stage semi-gloss black I had laying around. Pretty tough! I would recommend at least priming and using a halfway decent paint. Spray bombing with just a satin trim pain will not hold up the same over time.

FYI...When researching like you are, I read a lot of threads on how to dye them and the different methods. Some went the fabric dye route, some went the SEM vinyl dye route, some even tried paint. From what I seen, the fabric dye is superior for look and holding up. There was talk about the fabric and vinyl dyes degrading the integrity of the belts. From what I researched, I could not find any bullet proof data that proved that theory. Looking from the outside in, it seemed it was one of those "my way's the best way" scenario's going on. If I would have found any viable info to prove the dyes degraded the belts, by no mean's I would have gone that route.

Hope it helps! Good luck.

 

[Gpuller]

You could do what Prop did to prep the fabric but instead of RIT dye you could use SEM Color Coat. It's for plastic, fabric etc. I sprayed my carpet and rear seats with it last winter. Made old shitty carpet look new.



Before



After

 

[idrivemopar]

I have just one seatbelt that is faded out of my entire set, and was going to try the SEM option, is that just a standard Black that you used Gpuller?

 

[Gpuller]

I have just one seatbelt that is faded out of my entire set, and was going to try the SEM option, is that just a standard Black that you used Gpuller?

They make a few different blacks. Used satin black on the seats, that only comes in spray cans. That matched the new Legendary front covers. I got Landau black for the carpet because they sell it in quarts. From what I can tell the Landau is a higher gloss. On seat belts it won't matter.

http://www.semproducts.com/color-coat-aerosols/

Reed

 

[69Bee]

If you put them in a laundry bag and wash/dry them, you might be pleasantly surprised at the result. Mine were faded and stiff, and the came out great.

 

[dodge68charger]

Any tips on getting the shroud off the retractor

 

[la_jdog]

I may be able to help. I actually work for a seat belt supplier and dabble in reworking seat belts for friends, family and car club members. If interested, throw me a line. If I cannot help, I may be able to steer you toward another resource.

 

[hunt2elk]

I hung them from the clothesline to let them dry.

Well I don't think that is going to happen for awhile around here lol. I think it has been above 32* just 2 days in the last month and a half. But I think I need to start by giving them a good cleaning to see how badly faded they actually are. I do know that the covers around the retractors are not coming off easily. The rubber apparently was a lot more pliable 45 years ago.

 

[idrivemopar]

If you put them in a laundry bag and wash/dry them, you might be pleasantly surprised at the result. Mine were faded and stiff, and the came out great.

I hand washed mine with medium bristle brush in warm water and some dawn, they all came out nice and clean except the one that has faded partly to blue! Got some sem today, so I may give it a shot over the weekend to see how well it matches.

 

[peter j]

Today I washed mine in the washing machine (while my wife was out) I used Tide !! They came out fantastic, the few that where a little stiff where now nice and pliable. After they where clean I bought some $2 fabric dye boiled a 4 gallon pot of water placed them in the hot dye water and they look like new . I will try and post pictures tomorrow. Peter

 

[Propwash]

Well I don't think that is going to happen for awhile around here lol. I think it has been above 32* just 2 days in the last month and a half. But I think I need to start by giving them a good cleaning to see how badly faded they actually are. I do know that the covers around the retractors are not coming off easily. The rubber apparently was a lot more pliable 45 years ago.

LOL! No doubt. They'd be frozen solid in no time.



Funny reading some of the other posts here...If our wives only new what kind of punishment we put the appliances and cookware through when they're not around.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I just picked some of this from Herb's, haven't tried it yet but is supposed to be really good.

http://www.herbsparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PAINT&cat=826

 

[hunt2elk]

For you guys using the washing machines, are you throwing everything in? Or are you removing the latches, buckles, and retractors? I only ask because it looks like the latch assembly has a pin pressed in and is not removable, unless I am missing something.

 

[tallhair]

An alternative to pissing off the wife might be to go to a laundry mat and use their industrial or HD machines and put the belts in some laundry bags like someone already mentioned above.

 

[hunt2elk]

An alternative to pissing off the wife might be to go to a laundry mat and use their industrial or HD machines and put the belts in some laundry bags like someone already mentioned above.

Sounds like the secret to a happy marriage :icon_thumright:.

 

[la_jdog]

There are only a handful of companies manufacturing components for the aftermarket - and 99% of those parts are from China. They sell to outfits in the U.S. that will sew pieces together. Companies like Seatbelt Solutions in Florida or Seatbelt Planet in Oklahoma also offer refurbishment services so you keep much of the current hardware.

Other cut-and-sew outfits include Beams in Oklahoma (sell through JC Whitney and some resto shops) and AmSafe in Indiana (sell through NAPA, CarQuest, Northern Tool).

The U.S. government specification for 2-point lap belts is 3,000 lbs. tensile. You'll see alot of seat belt companies reference this specification, commonly called out as "FMVSS 209." Officially it is in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), DOT's section 571.209. If the seat belt webbing (textile) is faded, it will unlikely meet those tensile strength requirements. Redying would be an aesthetic improvement but will not add strength and actually may not provide the same level of protection.

Hope some of this information helps!

 

[CoronetDarter]

I just picked some of this from Herb's, haven't tried it yet but is supposed to be really good.

http://www.herbsparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PAINT&cat=826

Mopar Muscle did an article on this product a couple of issues ago and gave it a positive review.