Tar on cloth seats, any way to remove?

D_Nyholm

D_Nyholm

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I just recently did a Jeep that had tar on the rear seats. I could not find a way to remove it. I did pick off as much as I could with my fingernail and cut a little out with a blade (not cutting the seats) and the lighter stuff did come off with some APC and scrubbing. It was easy enough to remove from the vinyl, but not the seats. Could anyone give me pointers on how to remove that in case I experience it in the future? The only thing I could think of was to freeze it somehow and then crack it off, but I surely dont have any liquid nitrogen! :) Any help would be appreciated!
 
That's a tough one because in order to remove it fully you'll want to dissolve it fully and when you dissolve it gravity is going to want to make the liquefied substance seep further into the cloth/fabric.

I'm thinking an extractor with good suction and heat plus a cleaning agent that will work on tar without harming any of the internal components of the extractor.


Maybe someone with real, hands-on experience tackling a job like this will chime in and share how they did it.


:)
 
As Mike said it's a tuff one. I have dealt with the same thing on cloth seating. Here's what I did. I used Laquer thinner or Xylene. Both are strong and smell terrible. I tried to raise the cloth up off the cushion as best I could. I used a safety pin. So the small hole can't be seen. After lifting, I applied either chemical with a cloth. Preferably as close to color of the material. I did not soak or let run. Wipe only on tar. These 2 products will loosen the tar. Immeadiately extract,rub lightly because the tar will walk or spread. Sorry I do not have pics.You will not have time to be snapping pics. Maybe a before. I have tried alot of things, and you can mess up the seat. Be very Careful!
For frezzing you can use an inverted can of air. But the liquid will get on the spot too. There is a product used to remove gum off carpet that frezzes too. Don't know the name of it. I saw a guy remove gum of a billard table with it!
 
WD40 then APC to remove the WD40. Other solvents will not stay on on the surface as well as WD40, which means they will be less effective and end up in the cushions. WD40 is also fairly easy to remove with APC. As always, test an inconspicuous area first.
 
Dupont Prepsol? I have used this to remove tar from paint and plastic with great results.
 
Been years since I've done it but back when I did high volume we used lacquer thinner for tough stains like that on cloth seats and carpet. Smells bad but it works well. Test in an inconspicuous area first.
 
I would try the Stoner Xenit.
autogeek_2132_31405326
 
Because it's cloth instead of leather you have to be extra careful not to use anything too strong that could actually melt the material.

The way I've attacked this in the past is with some turpentine or paint thinner. With a shop vac at the ready, with a small brush dab on some paint thinner an immediately vacuum it off. Keep up this process until the tar is dissolved and removed.

A couple of times I've followed this up with some contact cleaner. This stuff evaporates very fast taking with it most residual thinner. You can find it in most home stores, Radio Shack, Wal-Mart ect...

Finally clean the seat as you normally would...........
 
Blow dryer with a plastic razor blade ( putty knife works also) to remove the majority of the tar. Then moisten a rag ( preferably a white non-dyed t-shirt) with a little petroleum based solvent to remove what you can WITHOUT rubbing. The remaining residue can be removed with goo-gone.
 
I would suggest trying some Krud Kutter and dab immediately with a white cotton terry towel. The terry will absorb the stain and tar. KK is good stuff. Available at Home Depot. The white terry is important too.
 
Your idea of 'freezing' might or might-not work...BUT if you have 'janitorial supply' locally, give them a call and get some 'gum remover.' The stuff is used to get chewing gum out of carpets, etc. It used to be freon, nowadays who knows.

Good luck.

Bill
 
In situations like that I use a solvent I get from my local supplier (not sure exactly what it is) some time of paint thinner I assume going from the smell. If you don't have that, Dawn may work too. Anyway, pour it in a bucket with some water...not much water and agitate it. Take your brush and scoop some suds off of the top and use it to clean. Keeps the seeping down by almost being dry.
 
I would try naphta or brake clean. Some brake cleans are the same solvent that dry cleaners use.
 
yakky said:
As always, test an inconspicuous area first.
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RaskyR1 said:
Test in an inconspicuous area first.
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Great advice. Always test in an inconspicuous area if you can, especially when it's not your car.


BobbyG said:
Because it's cloth instead of leather you have to be extra careful not to use anything too strong that could actually melt the material.
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Great point.

Most people think of cloth as some kind of fabric like cotton, modern "cloth" can often times be a type of acrylic, polyester or nylon as these will tend to be more durable over time than a fabric like cotton, the problem is they are affected by solvents differently, another good reason to test in an inconspicuous area first before rubbing something smack dab in the middle of a seat.


:)
 
Larry A said:
I would try naphta or brake clean. Some brake cleans are the same solvent that dry cleaners use.
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I think dry cleaners use Stoddard Solvent, like a lot of solvents this can probably be purchased in different forms.

Stoddard Solvent is a common solvent used in "Parts Cleaners" like at a machine shop or automotive repair shop. It's strong enough to dissolve things like wheel bearing grease out of brake hubs or clean grimy engine blocks, etc. but it's non-flammable, so Old Joe, won't blow-up the shop or light himself on fire when he's cleaning engine parts and lights up a cigarette.

Most aerosol brake cleaners are flammable, so use caution when using these around heat or open flames.

:)
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. Looks like i have some new stuff to try next time. Or I just hope I never come up against Tar again! :) How it gets into the interior of a car is beyond me, but I know we've all seen some strange stuff in there...
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I think dry cleaners use Stoddard Solvent, like a lot of solvents this can probably be purchased in different forms.

Stoddard Solvent is a common solvent used in "Parts Cleaners" like at a machine shop or automotive repair shop. It's strong enough to dissolve things like wheel bearing grease out of brake hubs or clean grimy engine blocks, etc. but it's non-flammable, so Old Joe, won't blow-up the shop or light himself on fire when he's cleaning engine parts and lights up a cigarette.

Most aerosol brake cleaners are flammable, so use caution when using these around heat or open flames.

:)
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Dry cleaners use a lot of Percochloride (im not sure of the spelling) and its in some brake cleaners.
 
Had the same thing on a Hummer H1 I did a few years ago. Folex and steam took care of it.
 
I was just reading my can of "Oops" yesterday and it says it removes tar, and is safe to use on carpet and furniture, so it might be what you're looking for. It's a mix of various solvents and it's intended for the home DIY'er use so it's probably not as hard core as some. There's Goof Off too. It's very similar but less strong I think.
 
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