T4 Cali Seat cleaning

bxl_lad · Feb 7, 2016

Hi,
We just bought our T4 California and very happy with it. Generally the van is really clean and it came with original westfalia seat covers (which are the same design as the seats), but when we've removed the rear bench seat cover, the original seat underneath is filthy with a sticky residue uniformly all over. It seems that the cover itself is the cause of this mess (and not that the previous owner has tried to cover it up)...
Has anyone else experienced this?

Either way it needs to be cleaned. Any advice how to best clean California upholstery? Gonna need a deep clean, can i do it myself or best to leave it to the experts?

Cheers,
Matt

sidepod · Feb 7, 2016

Wait till the sun shines..remove the seats, place them on the patio/decking and hit them with your pressure washer. Soap first then a thorough blasting..

Leave in the sun/conservatory for a few days.
You will be truly amazed at how clean they come up.
Done.

WelshGas · Feb 7, 2016

If we lived in a warmer/sunnier climate I would give Sidepod's advice a go, but at this time of year I would give it to a professional.

sidepod · Feb 7, 2016

How do you think the pros's do it? Same deal but with a heater and dehumidifier to dry them.

bxl_lad · Feb 7, 2016

Thanks folks! So looks like i will give it a go myself then... Any advice for a good detergent to do the job?

WelshGas · Feb 7, 2016

sidepod said:
How do you think the pros's do it? Same deal but with a heater and dehumidifier to dry them.

Exactly. I don't have a conservatory and am surrounded by trees on top of a hill. Somehow I do't think SWMBO would thank me for bringing into the house a very wet bench seat to dry out at this time of the year.

Raggedroy · Feb 7, 2016

Call a professional upholstery cleaning company and ask them what equipment they would use on car seats. Not one of them will say "a pressure washer".

sidepod · Feb 7, 2016

Rug doctor in the pressure wash bottle.

reserves · Feb 8, 2016

I'd leave it to the experts if it's the original interior.

Although I've found this works wonders http://www.autoglym.com/products/products/interior-shampoo check the Amazon reviews, but maybe not for this job.

Your other option is to see if there's an original seat cover in your material somewhere in a VW parts place, pretty sure there will be somewhere.

Billabus · Feb 10, 2016

I use Autoglym interior shampoo. My seats mark easily and are even marked by rainwater drops. A pain to keep them clean but, hey-Ho!

TwentyOneThirtyFive · Feb 10, 2016

Another Autoglym interior shampoo user here.

bxl_lad · Jun 8, 2016

bxl_lad said:
Hi,
We just bought our T4 California and very happy with it. Generally the van is really clean and it came with original westfalia seat covers (which are the same design as the seats), but when we've removed the rear bench seat cover, the original seat underneath is filthy with a sticky residue uniformly all over. It seems that the cover itself is the cause of this mess (and not that the previous owner has tried to cover it up)...
Has anyone else experienced this?

Either way it needs to be cleaned. Any advice how to best clean California upholstery? Gonna need a deep clean, can i do it myself or best to leave it to the experts?

Cheers,
Matt

Well finally got around to this (its taken this long to have some decent weather to do this!)...
Two pics below, the before and the after. Took some elbow grease and a Karcher carpet/upholstery vac (in conjunction with the Karcher approved car-upholstery shampoo) and the seats/carpet in the van have come up amazingly! I could not believe how dirty the water was that I poured away - even a sludge in the bottom of the machine... incredible... well worth the effort, like a new van inside now! ...have to leave shoes outside the van from now on! Looking forward to the next trip!

sidepod · Jun 8, 2016

Good work.

Pete M · Jun 8, 2016

Billabus said:
I use Autoglym interior shampoo. My seats mark easily and are even marked by rainwater drops. A pain to keep them clean but, hey-Ho!

I have the same problem! Is there a spray available to stop this happening maybe?

sidepod · Jun 9, 2016

Paint tar remover. Apply first. Stiff brush. Shampoo.

CALI FATE · Jun 9, 2016

bxl_lad said:
Well finally got around to this (its taken this long to have some decent weather to do this!)...
Two pics below, the before and the after. Took some elbow grease and a Karcher carpet/upholstery vac (in conjunction with the Karcher approved car-upholstery shampoo) and the seats/carpet in the van have come up amazingly! I could not believe how dirty the water was that I poured away - even a sludge in the bottom of the machine... incredible... well worth the effort, like a new van inside now! ...have to leave shoes outside the van from now on! Looking forward to the next trip!

View attachment 14323

View attachment 14324

pressure washed looks like

bxl_lad · Jun 10, 2016

CALI FATE said:
pressure washed looks like

Nope, not a pressure washer in sight...

One of these...

karcher-carpet-upholstery-spray-extraction-cleaner-puzzi-10-1.jpg

T4 Cali Seat cleaning

bxl_lad

Its not easy being green...

sidepod

WelshGas

Retired after 42 yrs and enjoying Life.

sidepod

bxl_lad

Its not easy being green...

WelshGas

Retired after 42 yrs and enjoying Life.

Raggedroy

sidepod

reserves

Billabus

TwentyOneThirtyFive

Scruffy looking Nerf herder

bxl_lad

Its not easy being green...

sidepod

Pete M

sidepod

CALI FATE

bxl_lad

Its not easy being green...

Similar threads

Useful links

VW California Club

About us

Our Partners

Our Partners