» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | 06-16-2010, 05:28 AM | #1 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 1,587 | Seat Fabric / Seat Disassembly Does anyone know if the seat fabric is glued to the seat foam at all? I have some dirty cloth seats that need to be cleaned. I'm just wondering if I take the seat apart will I be able to remove JUST the fabic? The plan is to put it through the wash machine. Or at least be able to scrub it much better that I could while it's still in the car. Thanks! | | | 06-28-2010, 07:41 AM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 1,587 | The answer is you can completely remove the fabric and put it in the washing machine. It works wonderfully! The fabric came out of the wash looking brand-new almost. I used a "Little Green Machine" first but it just didn't cut-it. Just note that some areas of old foam (a very thin layer which is sandwiched between the seat fabric and a thin piece of backing fabric) will come apart in the wash. Pretty minor drawback compared to how well it cleans up. Only the driver's seat foam fell apart because it was already beat up from normal seat use. You will need a hog ring pliers and a bunch of hog rings to reassemble the seats though. Also, order 8 new clips that hold the seat bottoms to the frame. You will most likely destroy the old ones removing them. Part #52108130678 #6 Here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...08&hg=52&fg=10 Last edited by CirrusSR22; 06-28-2010 at 08:15 AM. | | | 06-29-2010, 08:06 PM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: MD/PA/DC Posts: 1,629 | Any before and after pics? I've known that the fabric is removable, but never considered tossing in the wash. And my car is still kinda nasty even after about 7 hours of steam cleaning. __________________ No more ti. | | | 06-29-2010, 10:30 PM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 1,587 | I didn't get a very good picture of the dirty seat. I really didn't think it would turn out this well. You can see some of the dirty seat in these pictures. It was nasty. -- Then after the cleaning. The lighter sections in this pictures are just sunlight. Last edited by CirrusSR22; 06-29-2010 at 10:38 PM. | | | 06-29-2010, 11:29 PM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: MD/PA/DC Posts: 1,629 | Wow. I might just have to pull mine out. __________________ No more ti. | | | 06-29-2010, 11:31 PM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 3,244 | impressive! BTW you can order new foam for the seat bottom by itself. __________________ My Former Rides 1999 318ti Alpine White, Cali Roof, Dinan goodies 1996 318ti Hellrot California Edition | | | 06-30-2010, 03:26 AM | #7 | Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 1,895 | This thread __________________ ... ʎɐqǝ uo pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ɐ ʎnq ı ǝɯıʇ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ | | | 06-30-2010, 05:43 AM | #8 | Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Connecticut Posts: 58 | OMG that came out really good!! I want to do this for my TI but I have fabric in the middle of the seat and leather on the bolsters. Is it still doable?? | | | 06-30-2010, 05:54 AM | #9 | That's not Millpoint Blue Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: BNA Posts: 3,161 | Quote: Originally Posted by E36Wes I want to do this for my TI but I have fabric in the middle of the seat and leather on the bolsters. Is it still doable?? | I'm going to take a wild guess that putting leather into a generic washing machine would be a "bad thing to do." But, hey, if you want to be the first one to try it, be sure to document the process and post up before & after pix! __________________ Real men know how to SEARCH! THIS IS A MILLPOINT BLUE INTERIOR Mods 'n' stuff: Star Spoke 43 wheels - X-Brace - Mason Engineering front strut brace - CF gauge overlay - ZHP shifter knob - Racing Dynamics cat-back - Doubled brake lights - M-tech rear spoiler From Page 68 of the 1997 Owners Manual: "Vehicles equipped with ASC+T remain subject to the laws of physics." | | | 06-30-2010, 06:00 AM | #10 | Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 1,587 | I have the leather bolsters on my other ti. Yeah, I doubt putting leather through the wash would be good. If you were to remove the covers, you probably could hand wash the center sections well. If anyone is looking for them, I found a pair of hog ring pliers at a Midwest version of Cabelas or Bass Pro Shop called Gander Mountain. They use hog rings to close ends of big tubes of sausage. It was in the meat processing section. $9.99 and they had a bag of 100 rings for $4.99. I also got another bag of 150 rings at a local auto upholstry shop for $4. Last edited by CirrusSR22; 06-30-2010 at 08:58 AM. | | | 06-30-2010, 07:58 AM | #11 | Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Connecticut Posts: 58 | I kinda wish the dealer still provided the fabric for special order. I love the design on my seats. I may be reupholstering my interior like i did in my e30. It comes out looking so dope!! | | | 06-30-2010, 07:51 PM | #12 | Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: MD/PA/DC Posts: 1,629 | Quote: Originally Posted by b.u.ti-ful This thread | Stacks? __________________ No more ti. | | | 06-30-2010, 11:26 PM | #13 | Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: asdfasdf Posts: 10,002 | Quote: Originally Posted by familytruckster Stacks? | rocks | | | 07-14-2010, 02:21 PM | #14 | Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NC Posts: 33 | You can buy special leather safe laundry detergent for the combo seats. They sell it at horse supply places for washing riding pants. While there pick up some quality conditioner to use after you wash it. The conditioner may darken the leather some, so plan on cleaning and conditioning everything. Use saddle soap on the parts you don't wash. For non-leather seats, buy some Kids 'n' Pets from Target or one of the many other places that sells it and put some in with the wash. It's in the carpet cleaner section through, not with the laundry stuff. It is an enzyme cleaner and will do a lot for old stains and bad smells. You can also use it while steam cleaning. I even used it to get cat pee smell out of concrete (long story, pet sat a pee-er). | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |