Cleaning captains chairs

[jacwjames]

So I'm almost done with my flooring project and had to reinstall the captains chairs.  Had to get up close and personal with them when I lifted them back into the coach and saw how dirty they were.

What does everyone clean the upholstery with, they are not real leather. 

What does everyone clean the dash etc with. 

[DavidL]

leather cleaner and scrubbing.

If really bad ie cracked, then fill the cracks and air brush spray color back.

Many youTubes on how.

[Mark B]

Mothers VLR works great but I don't like the smell. I prefer Surf City Garage Dash away but it's getting harder to find. The I use a leather conditioner, again I like the Surf City Garage Voodoo Blend. They also have a rejuvinator but its for dried out leather. I was thinking about getting some for my arms.

[Dr4Film]

My wife used Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Pads on the front dash, etc. It really whitened the dash up considerably. We had our seats recovered in HD Marine Vinyl, so we use a good vinyl cleaner.

[Oregon04Windsor]

10 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

My wife used Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Pads on the front dash, etc. It really whitened the dash up considerably. We had our seats recovered in HD Marine Vinyl, so we use a good vinyl cleaner.

Be really careful with the magic erasers.  They are just very fine sandpaper.  I used one on my leather car seat in a test spot and it immediately took the finish off.

 

[Dr4Film]

Oregon04WInds,

You are correct! Here are two warnings from the Internet regarding the use of Magic Eraser on leather.

"Magic Erasers are not safe for cleaning leather car seats because they act as a mild abrasive, which wears away the clear protective coating or top surface of leather seats. Magic Erasers are ineffective at cleaning deeply embedded dirt from leather car seats. Excessive use of Magic Erasers causes leather seats to look faded and aged."

"Magic Eraser is Great for Dulling Glossy Leather".

[throgmartin]

With 40 years as an upholsterer sewing, cutting and repairing every fabric imaginable, you need to be careful what you use on vinyl. My suggestion is to use 303 protectant for simple cleaning. For heavily soiled vinyl use Murphy's soap, towel dry then follow up by a treatment of 303 protectant. The 303 does clean lightly soiled vinyl but also leaves behind a protective layer to prevent UV damage. The biggest killer of vinyl is UV rays.

For real leather one of the best leather treatments is Chamberlains leather milk. You can get this on Amazon ( $ 16 ). Leather seats should be vacuumed a couple times a year and treated once a year. If you are using some other leather treatment product always try it in a hidden area. Some treatments can leave the surface sticky, can discolor the leather leaving it darker, etc. You want to accomplish two things when cleaning leather - 1.) Clean the leather 2.) Treat the leather by replacing oils back into the leather to prevent drying and cracking. Whenever wiping down leather use a fiber towel with plain H2O. Do not use cleaners.

One last thing, do not believe the tags on your seats such as Ultraleather, Leatherette, etc. Those tags are all Bulls***. They are vinyl but use these leather names simply for marketing purposes. Very few Monaco coaches were ever made with true leather. Some of the vinyls look and feel like leather but are not. Vinyl and leather are two different animals ( no pun intended ) and need to be cared for differently.

[jacwjames]

8 minutes ago, throgmartin said:

With 40 years as an upholsterer sewing, cutting and repairing every fabric imaginable, you need to be careful what you use on vinyl. My suggestion is to use 303 protectant for simple cleaning. For heavily soiled vinyl use Murphy's soap, towel dry then follow up by a treatment of 303 protectant. The 303 does clean lightly soiled vinyl but also leaves behind a protective layer to prevent UV damage. The biggest killer of vinyl is UV rays.

For real leather one of the best leather treatments is Chamberlains leather milk. You can get this on Amazon ( $ 16 ). Leather seats should be vacuumed a couple times a year and treated once a year. If you are using some other leather treatment product always try it in a hidden area. Some treatments can leave the surface sticky, can discolor the leather leaving it darker, etc. You want to accomplish two things when cleaning leather - 1.) Clean the leather 2.) Treat the leather by replacing oils back into the leather to prevent drying and cracking. Whenever wiping down leather use a fiber towel with plain H2O. Do not use cleaners.

One last thing, do not believe the tags on your seats such as Ultraleather, Leatherette, etc. Those tags are all Bulls***. They are vinyl but use these leather names simply for marketing purposes. Very few Monaco coaches were ever made with true leather. Some of the vinyls look and feel like leather but are not. Vinyl and leather are two different animals ( no pun intended ) and need to be cared for differently.

Well, I think that pretty much settles what I should try.  We do have Murphy's oil soap so I'll try that. 

I've never used 303 products but guess it's time that I start

Thanks for the responses

[David Pratt]

303 Upholstery Cleaner followed up by 303 Protect ant. Works Fantastic.

Interior Coach care is going to be discussed at the Gathering in February. Bethany from TALON will be giving the presentation on Thursday at 3:00PM.

[Bill R]

So if my brochure for my 2006 Windsor say Ultraleather Pilot Seats, I should clean those as vinyl and not leather?  New to this stuff.

[throgmartin]

Yes. You will know if it is leather by talking the skirt and flipping it up and looking at the backside. It should have a heavy felt on it if it is leather. As a rule of thumb, if it says leather in the name it is vinyl. Confusing I know. Most of the REAL leather seats had no name on them like Ultraleather, Leatherette, etc.. 

If you are attending the gathering see me and I will come to your coach and inspect your seats and tell you what type fabric you have - vinyl or leather. For the most part, only the upper level Monaco's had leather - Executive and Sig's. Everything else was vinyl unless leather was custom ordered.

As a side note, vinyl has come a long ways in the last couple years. Some of it you would swear is leather. On the downside of this is that most of the vinyl used today in coaches is much cheaper and wont last as long as what was used in the past. Whenever I spec out vinyl for a customer who is looking to recover their seats I tell them to look for industrial grade vinyl like that used on dentists and medical chairs. I also always check the rub rating of each vinyl. This will tell you how well it will hold up. Finishes are also key ( UV Ray and anti mildew finishes ).

By the way, I no longer do upholstery work. I have 2 seats in my own coach that need recovering and have put it off for over a year. 🙂 My 2 buddies who I used to send customers to and who were master upholsterers both retired, otherwise I would recommend them. For those of you in Florida, Dave Pratt has a contact at an upholstery place near him in Melbourne. I have seen their work and they are good and reasonable.  

[Pduggs]

Hi Chris, this is the seat flap underside on my Dynasty. I thought the seats were leather, but now I’m not sure. Can you tell from the picture?

[throgmartin]

Paul:

 

Those are vinyl for sure. Normally the felt backing on leather seats is grey and is a thick felt. Your fabric is vinyl.

[Pduggs]

17 hours ago, throgmartin said:

Paul:

 

Those are vinyl for sure. Normally the felt backing on leather seats is grey and is a thick felt. Your fabric is vinyl.

Chris, could the seat surfaces be leather and the rest of the chair vinyl?  They have a different feel and are wearing differently

[throgmartin]

They rarely ever mixed fabrics ( leather and vinyl ). All of the leather seats I have seen in Monaco's were all leather including the skirts.

[Jerry Olson]

My 2000 Winsor seats are leather surface and vinyl on sides back,skirts and armrests. I had the leather seat surface repaired several years ago. He sanded and filled the cracks and recolored them. He told me before he started of the cracks pretty deep so it probably would not last forever, but they still look really good compared to what they did before the repair.

[Pduggs]

17 hours ago, Jerry Olson said:

My 2000 Winsor seats are leather surface and vinyl on sides back,skirts and armrests. I had the leather seat surface repaired several years ago. He sanded and filled the cracks and recolored them. He told me before he started of the cracks pretty deep so it probably would not last forever, but they still look really good compared to what they did before the repair.

Very nice. Looks like new. I’m thinking mine are leather too, with vinyl on the rest of the chair. I’m not familiar with leather repair shops. What do they call themselves?

[veraken]

Here is a company the refinishes seats.

https://www.fibrenew.com/

[eddie4ne]

In our 02 Windsor the seat bottom and face of back and parts of the arm are leather and the balance is vinyl. As an upholsterer, i can vouch that some or at least ours are a mix of the two.

[Bill C]

Wow that looks great. I wonder how they hold up over time? Anybody have any experience with this refurbishing is and seeing how long it last?

[jacwjames]

I checked my MSRP sheet and I do have leather seats as a $1400 option.  The skirting on the front passenger seat is dirty, which is probably vinyl.  The passenger seat where you sit is probably the worse area similar to the pictures above. 

So I will have to do a combination of cleaning techniques, but am going to wait until I get all my floor remodel done. 

Also have a leather Euro seat that has seen it's better days so will try cleaning it also.  I need to try and find a local upholster to make new arm rest covers.  Any recommendations near Knoxville TN???

[Guest Ray Davis]

1 hour ago, veraken said:

Here is a company the refinishes seats.

https://www.fibrenew.com/

Here is a thread on IRV2 where they had the seats redone by Fibernew.  I think he is happy.  Someone else mentions a DIY process.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/refinishing-driver-and-passenger-captains-chairs-429259.html

[Jerry Olson]

The guy that did mine I found online. He did work mostly for car dealers. Like I said mine were really bad most likely from being parked without the shades pulled and had damage from the sun before I bought it. I don't remember if he was with a franchise I know it wasn't Fibernew at that time. It was done eight years ago and they still look pretty good but cracks are starting to show again. He told me to just use water on a damp cloth to clean them.