My seat belts have been sitting under my seat and due to the fact that my convertible cylinders have been leaking for quite some time they are very oily, anyone know of a good way to clean them or should I just buy replacements and if I buy new who makes the correct replacement belts that are good quality?

 

Soak and scrub them with dishwashing soap and water, let them dry. You might have to clean them a few times to get the oil out. You might take them to a coin operated car wash, the high pressure soapy water might work the oil out.

Id be a little more concerned about what affect the oil would have on the webbing than getting them clean. Seat belts are right up there with brakes and steering on the list of things that have to work when you need them.

Are convertible seat belts unique? If not, I would think it would be pretty easy to find good replacements in the right color.

 

The belts are woven nylon, so oil will not affect their strength, although the age might.

The easiest way to remove oil is to soak them in naptha for an hour (won't hurt the nylon) and then soak again in fresh naptha. Wrap in a towel and allow to dry.

 

As noted, soaking with a cleansing agent of your choice is effective. My seatbelts front and back were a filthy greasy mess (’70 442). Plus, the black paint was chipped off the buckles especially bad on the front set.

This is what I did: I soaked webbing and buckles in Oxyclean and cold water for about a half-day. I checked on them about every hour to be sure things were ok.

At the half-day mark, I removed each belt and placed it flat on the bottom of the kitchen sink and I went over each piece of webbing and buckle lightly with a brush. A thorough rinsing of each buckle and webbing is necessary.

After blowing the buckles dry with compressed air, I placed everything on the screened porch to dry for several days.

Using a thin artist brush I applied two light coats of semi-gloss black chassis paint to the buckles. The paint is chip resistant and dries to a very durable finish. After painting I shot a very short burst of synthetic lubricant inside each buckle. Of course, your buckles may not require paint.

The seat belts look brand new. I’ve attached a picture.

Good luck with yours.

 

Thanks for the reply’s I will try cleaning up the originals