Anyone dye seatbelts?

[dale_z28]

I see there is a set of rear seatbelts on ebay, which my car doesn't have. Only problem is they're gold and I need black. I realize that the ID tags would be also dyed, but maybe they could be removed or otherwise protected? 

[69Z28-RS]

I've dyed parchment/beige ones to tan (for my El Camino), and suspect that almost any color could be dyed to *almost black*..     You'd have to paint the plastic parts, and probably *live with* the dyed labels as I'm unsure whether there's anything you could put on the labels to prevent the dye from absorbing??

[ban617]

i wouldn't think black seat belts would be hard to find

[z28z11]

Worst problem is that they are nylon - don't accept dye very well. If you spray them with vinyl dye, they'll stiffen up on you. Probably easier to find a set of black ones, or go to Snake Oyl and get a set of repros.

If you get a used set, the tags are actually pretty easy to remove - cut and pull the stitches (carefully) and peel off of the adhesive under each end. Reinstallation is pretty easy, especially if you have access to a sewing machine with zig-zag capabilities, or take them to your local upholsterer. Before I cleaned my belts, I pulled the tags, dumped the whole pile in the sink and washed with dishwashing detergent and warm water. Incredible difference before and after -

Regards,
Steve

[69Z28-RS]

Steve is right...  the nylon material doesn't absorb the dye as well as you might like, I dyed mine twice trying to get the beige to go to tan/saddle as I wanted..  My son in law *use spray dye - paint* on some faded black ones to redo the color, and they did come out much more stiff (I didn't like that)...  I think the best choice would be to find black ones, OR I think there are companies that will reproduce new ones (perhaps using your original hardware), and maybe even transferring the original label (or you might could do that yourself?? 

[z28z11]

Here's one possibility - they aren't cheap but they at least provide a good alternative to reproductions -

http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Ssnake-Oyl&Category_Code=RS

Regards,
Steve

[dale_z28]

Thanks for the suggestions. The PO must have removed mine, and I actually don't mind how "clean" it looks without them. The horrid-looking ones on ebay are in my price range, is all. It's something I can do without if I have to pay top dollar, or wait until later.
I was concerned about the paint technique stiffening them, and thanks to whoever suggested running them (my fronts) thru the dishwasher to clean and soften them-  I think that was over on the "other side"

[z28z11]

Hand washing with a soaking works better - use a soft brush or a cloth to help loosen the dirt and grime. You'll be amazed how much grunge comes out -

Just remember to dry the buckles well - a little Armor All on the plastic if you have standard covers.

Regards,
Steve

[68camaroz28]

Hand washing with a soaking works better - use a soft brush or a cloth to help loosen the dirt and grime. You'll be amazed how much grunge comes out -

Just remember to dry the buckles well - a little Armor All on the plastic if you have standard covers.

Regards,
Steve

Recently took our 68Z original belts and soaked in OxyClean as James had mentioned (where I first read about it). Hot tap water and let soak overnight. Easy to do and worked great. I still have a couple due to use will need restored but overall the majority look new after cleaning.

[Mike S]

Here's one possibility - they aren't cheap but they at least provide a good alternative to reproductions -

http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Ssnake-Oyl&Category_Code=RS

Regards,
Steve

I believe that is the company that restored mine and was even able to save the original date code sewn on tags and put on the new belts. I was very happy with the work.

Mike

[dale_z28]

I will definitely try the soak and oxy-clean method. I think my wife is a little skeptical (and worried about the after-effects) of the dishwasher idea, anyway. Thanks, I'm looking forward to the results! They shoulder belts are coming down as I type this for the replacement of the headliner (thanks to a tear by someone not-so-carefully placing my inner fenders inside the car for transport. Not a happy camper about that!)

[RonA]

When I bought my 69 the seat belts were stored in plastic bags for years, There was rust on the deluxe buckles so I soaked the buckle in Evaporust to see if it would help but of course it wicked up the belt itself. I rinsed them off and it didn't seem to damage the belt. Cleaned the material nice and still black. I don't know if its the right thing to do but it seemed to work.

[abiddle]

Are you looking for originals or are you really set on dying a set? I have a set somewhere, I haven't let them go because they were original to my car. But I bought a set of restored red ones which I liked better with my red interior, I didn't like the black belts with red interior.

I see blacks come up on ebay pretty frequent. Someone is restoring them.

Andy

[dale_z28]

I need to find out what mine (fronts) are coded. I don't know which would be worse, no back belts or having them with incorrect dates (for an 02D car). But if you are offering a set, or considering it, yes, I think I'd be interested

[Mike S]

I need to find out what mine (fronts) are coded. I don't know which would be worse, no back belts or having them with incorrect dates (for an 02D car). But if you are offering a set, or considering it, yes, I think I'd be interested

Not sure how much of a date spread there is for '69, but my '67 04B and 05B cars have their original seat belts dated late Jan '67.

Mike

[abiddle]

I think this will be too early for you.

[dale_z28]

Well, I'm not sure how far the parts led the build date of the car. I'm guessing they didn't want too much inventory so they wouldn't order too many too soon, but like I said....it's a GUESS. I'm trying to get my dates and I'll let you know. Thanks!

[abiddle]

These seatbelts were on my 11C, so the belts didn't advance the car by very much for this camaro. I really do think you will find what you need on EBAY, or hit a few swap meets this spring.

[dale_z28]

Here are my date-coded (front) seatbelts

[HawkX66]

For anyone cleaning their seatbelts with Oxyclean. Make sure you don't soak the buckle or the paint will come off the GM "Mark of Excellence" plate on the button. Otherwise, for the belts themselves, Oxyclean works excellent. It's like a science experiment when you first put the belts in. Tons of bubbles and foaming action. It's very easy to remove the belts from the buckles, but be careful with the plastic cover.

[dale_z28]

Thanks, Dave. SO far I've had luck with Dawn and very hot water. My only issue so far is one buckle that has rust around the slide and roller area that doesn't move as freely as I'd like. Going to try some mineral oil

[HawkX66]

Thanks, Dave. SO far I've had luck with Dawn and very hot water. My only issue so far is one buckle that has rust around the slide and roller area that doesn't move as freely as I'd like. Going to try some mineral oil

I'd separate the plastic case and button and pull the belt out of the buckle. Once you do that, you can soak it in Evaporust or something similar and that will take care of the rust without harming anything.

[69Z28-RS]

Since there was a bit of 'seat belt date' discussion in this thread, and I'd never checked mine (beyond noting they were 69's), I thought I'd check in more detail.   I first went and photographed about half the seat belt tags (the half that were easiest to access).  Of the 7 I photographed, 3 were dated '36-A-69' and 4 were dated '37-A-69'.   Checking the 1969 calendar, week 36 began Sept 1, and week 37 began Sept 8.  My car was completed/shipped on 18 September, so in my cars' case, the belts were 1-2 weeks ahead of the car.  My seatbelts are 'standard buckle', and reflected that with the '-A-' mfg designation, and were also labeled with 'IRVIN'.  I also did note that the 2904 models had the 37 week dates, and 2950s had the 36 wk date.  Since I didn't check all the belts, this may only be consistent with the ones I checked, but the CRG report on seatbelts (by KurtS) stated that this might be the case. (1 paragraph from that report follows)

"The date coding used the following format: A one- or two-digit number indicating the production week, a single letter to indicate which supplier plant (or possibly production line) produced the part, and a two-digit calendar year number. 50-A-68 decodes as manufactured the 50th week of 1968, by Irvin Industries. The belts of the same model number in a car are often dated the same, e.g. the front lap belts (model 2904) in a 69 are likely to have the same date. All standard belts had the letter A for the plant code (except for a few 68 LOS cars which had E & F coded standard belts, perhaps due to a supply issue) and deluxe Camaro belts had the letters C, E, & F."

Thanks to Kurt for a very well written/detailed report.