upholstery cleaning experiment

[jts32]

This is the bow cushion out of a Sportster 1800 that I purchased that had been neglected for 3-4 years. It sat uncovered in someones back yard full of mildew, pine needles, and leaves. I had planned on buying a new upholstery kit, so figured I would experiment with cleaners to see what worked best. What I found was pretty much every degreaser/cleaner sucked when it came to cleaning white vinyl, especially something that was allowed to get this bad. One of the last things I tried was Softscrub, and I was amazed at how good of a job it did.

 

[jts32]

After two times with Purple Power and a scrub brush. Better, but still not acceptable

 

[jts32]

 

[jts32]

 

[jts32]

Photobucket has got to be one of the worst sites ever. Can't get the last pic to load. Anyways, I will now be able to repair the rest of the purple upholstery by buying a few yards of 4 way stretch and not have to purchase a kit with pre-stitched covers for the backrests or bow cushions.

 

[bhatch21]

Hi. So was the last picture after Softscrub? If so, that's impressive. I think Softscrub has some bleach in it as well as abrasive for cleaning. Thanks for sharing. I'll probably try some on my yellowish white vinyl seats.

 

[hfgreg]

Looks great. Good as new!

 

[jts32]

Hi. So was the last picture after Softscrub? If so, that's impressive. I think Softscrub has some bleach in it as well as abrasive for cleaning. Thanks for sharing. I'll probably try some on my yellowish white vinyl seats.

Yes, the last pic was after cleaning with Softscrub and fingernail brush. It does have bleach in it, so I did a final wipe down and cleaning with Meguiar's #57 to clean any leftovers and protect the vinyl

 

[jts32]

I would also cover any colored vinyl. I tried a spot on the purple, which I plan on replacing. It did discolor it a bit