I'm seeking advice on restoring / dyeing black OE seat belts on my 68. They are just faded, I want to keep them black, should I just use a standard clothing dye? I don't want to use a dye that will leach out or stain my brand new Parchment seat skins. What is the dye to use for this purpose?

Thanks.

 

The seat belt webbing you have is over 50 years old .
Most racing associations require seat belts to be less than 5 years old .
I seriously doubt that 50 year old webbing may be strong enough , in a serious crash .
Get new webbing .

 

My dad; Oldsguy, had a 69 Delta 88 in which we dyed a tan leather steering wheel black using leather dye. The dye would always come off on your hands and your trousers. The steering wheel looked cool, but it wasn't a very practical solution. I imagine seat belts would do the same thing since you put them on/take them off every time you enter/exit the car. If you don't like the seat belts because they are faded have the webbing redone like Charlie mentioned.

 

Obviously, the ideal solution is to have them re-webbed. There are a couple of companies that do belt restoration (Snake-Oyl is one that comes to mind)...but, it isn't cheap. But, trying to find a local upholstery shop or sewing shop to do the work is near impossible due to liability issues. So, if cost is your deciding factor and you do decide to dye yours, it was recommended to me to use an acid dye sold by a company called Jacquard (the acid part is simply adding a small amount of white vinegar to the dye/water solution). Your belt fabric is not made of materials that readily absorb a dye like a cotton or wool. I, too, had an issue with faded black shoulder straps on my '75 and wanted to refresh the color. The process is to bring a pot of water/dye/vinegar up to about 190 degrees and immerse the strap for something like 20 mins. Then remove and rinse with clean water. I was initially skeptical about the colorfastness, but it does not rub off afterwards. I will say the process does tend to remove that slightly slippery feel of the polyester blend fabric and ends up feeling more like a regular fabric. I will also add that, while this works to restore the black color, it is unknown how resistant it will be to fading again. Also, for those who might be reading this thinking they would be interested in changing from one color to another, I can say thru experience that it doesn't work for the reason stated above.

 

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