seat cover softening

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wraith
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seat cover softening

Post by wraith » Tue Jun 03, 2014 5:20 pm

Can anybody tell me if you can and if so how to soften a seat cover?
As part of my seat cover has gone hard, it's the pvc type.

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prothed
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Re: seat cover softening

Post by prothed » Mon Jul 21, 2014 12:49 pm

Late reply - but its bad news I'm afraid.
The problem seems to be that the plasticisers (?) in the original vinyl gradually degrade and the material gets harder and less flexible, and there doesn't seem to be any way of restoring the material again.
I've tried a whole range of chemicals - 3M vinyl cleaner/restorer, white spirit, WD40, Gibbs, anything else I could find... Nothing made a noticeable difference.
I've asked traders at custom car/bike shows... Nothing.
A recover with new material seems to be the only sure answer.

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wraith
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Re: seat cover softening

Post by wraith » Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:10 pm

Cheers for the reply

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johnr
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Re: seat cover softening

Post by johnr » Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:50 pm

its the uv in sunlight that does it.
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