Removing clothing dye from vinyl seat


G

GSENT

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Staff member
Wore a new pair of shorts without washing them first! And left a blue stain on my beautiful vinyl upholstery in the cockpit.
Does anyone know how to remove the stain without harming the vinyl.
 
you may have to go magic eraser and be very gentle as you are essentially sanding off the vinyl.
-Greg
 
Although my previous "post" provided the "Formula-suggested" method of a mild detergent/soap/Fantastic/Formula 409 personal practical experience has proven different i.e.,

A damp Magic Eraser, with mild pressure, changing the sponge multiple times to make sure that you an a "new" surface, followed by wiping with a wet towel, wiping with a dry towel and finishing with 3M Vinyl Cleaner / Restorer

http://formulaboatsforum.com/forumtest/index.php?action=post;topic=6193.4

have kept all of my Formula Seats looking like the day that the boat came out of the factory in December of 2006.

That said, an earlier post suggested that the Magic Eraser may actually remove some of the vinyl. I have not seen that in my case. It would most likely be true if you were trying to clean "older/neglected" vinyl IMHO.
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions, but still have not found anything that will work 100 percent.
Tried magic eraser, soft scrub with bleach, vinegar and water, vinegar and water with dish soap, extreme vinyl cleaner, spray 9, fantastic, 409, star bright deck cleaner, etc.
Spray 9 worked the best, and removed about 60 percent with magic eraser, but still seeing a big dark spot.
Please keep the suggestions coming.
 
OK, if we are exploring "all" possibilities here are a couple more: Simple Green marine (a variant of the common Simple Green), Roll Off (comes in a red, white and blue spray bottle), Vinyl Victory (no longer being produced!). Has anyone used Z-Cleaner? From Z Tuff Products. I've only used it a couple of times not ready to recommend it yet but it is pretty strong.

Gary, what kind of fabric bled out? If you have a custom street rod shop nearby you might want to start thinking about replacing the piece which is stained, or making a quick run to Decatur!
 
try some good old fashioned hair spray - spray it on, let it sit for 30 secs or so, then wipe off with a magic eraser.

might need a few go arounds, but took pen out of my seats when my little guy didnt know better
 
Careful with Roll-Off, ect... A single drop of roll off spilled on my vinyl long ago. It was on there only for about 30 seconds or so before I noticed. It seemed to remove some of the vinyl dye, as the spot has subsequently remained noticeable. I suspect 409, ect.... may have potential to do the same.

Worst case, you may be able to get one of the vinyl dye contractors that do restoration work for car dealerships to re-dye the material. They do it every day, and I'm confident the end result would be suitable.
 
My boat had diesel blotches all over the vinyl cause the previous owner hauled the boat backwards on a semi across the country without shrink wrapping it. The exhaust from the truck was spitting on it. The marina did magic eraser. Then I got the boat nothing would clean it up fully until we went to soft scrub with a little bleach. Now of the course of the summer and several normal cleans it's all about gone. The sun will break it down too. Give it time with all the products.
 
+2 for the sun will bleach it out.

I was at a poker run with my 311 and somebody threw orange flyers into the boats at one of the stops. The orange bled off the paper everywhere and made a huge mess. Several owners called the business the next Monday but by then we noticed it was fading on its own. After a couple weeks it was completely gone ...
 
Sun sun sun. Had a boat parade with the foil color stuff. Dew in the morning caused all the foil colors to run

Seats, gelcoat etc. all stained. 3 weeks later all gone with the sun.

PS. was not my boat ;D
 
I had the same issue. Wife wore a black sundress over swimsuit that put black dye all over seats. I was able to get it out with Adams Leather and Interior Cleaner. This stuff is made for cars, but works great on our seats. Also, I was able to get blue jean dye out of the seats for my next door neighbors Lexus with this stuff. He liked it so much, he went out and bought a gallon. Also Gary, I have some stuff I would be willing to mail you and you can use and mail back. I bought it a long time ago from the Lazy-boy outlet. It is made to get lipstick off leather and pens marks, and dye, etc.
 
I really appreciate all the help.
I was successful in getting the majority (95%) of the dye off with go-jo hand cleaner without pumice.
PT G was kind enough to send me some of his secrets from his supply, and it was greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for all the great suggestions.
 
Was doing some "get ready for winter/time to put her away" and had a few light stains on the upholstery which needed attention. Didn't want to walk back to the car so I looked for what was onboard. Decided to try some of the toothpaste I use on the eisenglass. Lo and behold with a damp sponge I whisked the marks away. Toothpaste is a very mild abrasive, which all begs the question: which brands are more aggressive than others? :eek:
 
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