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Seat improvement

  • Thread starter Thread starter abaton6
  • Start date Start date
A

abaton6

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I picked up an 82 GS650L last fall with 4200 miles. The seat looks all faded and dull. I triedseat.jpg armor-all, but saw no difference. Then I remembered my 1970 Barracuda back in the early 80's. I noticed other ones all had cracked dashboards, but mine seemed fine. I wanted to preserve it, so I thought, ...what is vinyl made of? Petroleum. The next hot day in S.F., I smeared petroleum jelly all over it, and let is sit for a while. It looked great, and never did crack. So I just did the same thing to my seat. Just did the back half so far. Looks new!
 
Heh. Vaseline might be the missing thing I've been looking for.
My previous seat covers (from factory and replacements) all cracked. I'd been variously using vinyl cleaner, silicone spray and furniture polish on them.

The one I'm running now had been fitted as an aftermarket replacement, then sat off the road for years and had never been treated with any of that. Still quite supple and no cracking anywhere, so it's a candidate for some different treatment.
 
The owner of my GS1000G cleaned the whole thing from head to toe with WD40 including the seat... It was in good shape so I guess it did no harm!
 
People where using automatic transmission fluid on vinyl tops before Armor All et al hit the market.
 
Im going to try vaseline on the saddle, that seems to make sense.

Now if I only understood how to clean the rest of it. Im afraid to power hose it, and Im worried degreaser will eat it up...
 
Noreg said:
Im going to try vaseline on the saddle, that seems to make sense.

Now if I only understood how to clean the rest of it. Im afraid to power hose it, and Im worried degreaser will eat it up...
Click to expand...

The good ole standby, Pine-Sol does wonders. I've used it for everything from carb dip to washing the whole bike, for $2 a bottle it's hard to beat. Plenty safe to use on paint, chrome and plastic, dilute it 4 to 1 in a bucket and get after it with a sponge.
 
soap and water. Pledge makes it slippery. Vaseline would not be on my list either...unless you want to waterproof your pants! Argh.

You might try a Plastic re-blacker on a small area. It's handy anyways for the black plastic handlebar controls. Simoniz Black vinyl/plastic restorer in a bottle has worked economically for me (because it's not a spray can! and goes a long way) but there'slots of stuff out there even in Norway?.Just try to avoid stinky solvent types that can dry out soft vinyls, I'd say.
0392581-simoniz-trim-and-plastic-restorer.jpg
 
Self improvement is not possible. You guys should learn to love yourselves as you are. Remember, God made you this way for a reason. When I was a little girl, my mother used to say, "Roseanne, God made you this way for a reason. If it's not one thing, then it's another."

Seat? Oh, seat improvement?

Never mind. :p
 
Rich82GS750TZ said:
Rob, those must be some great drugs they’re feeding you.
Click to expand...

He can still type and form complete sentences, as a Doctor of the Forbidden Sciences and fully ordained Reverend in a UFO doomsday cult my feeling is that they need to up his dosage."Too much is always better than not enough!" ~ J.R. " Bob" Dobbs ~
 
I have to say, chemically it makes a lot of sense. Apply, let it sit for a few days, then wash it off with soap and water. I would think a conditioner after that process. I have the same seat, same bike, same condition. I may try this out. Can't see it making it worse...
 
Vaseline - reminds me of a movie where Burt Reynolds was playing a politician and covered himself with Vaseline when he was going to meet a lady as he wanted to be nice and slippery for her. Forget the title of the movie, but it was hilarious.
 
Interesting.
Over the winter, I read a tip from Iconic Motorbikes (boutique buyer, seller, and restorer of vintage sportbikes / UJMs).They recommended coating faded plastic with petroleum jelly, letting it stand for a day or two then wiping it down.
I slathered up some old faded parts this past Sunday as a test. They look pretty good so far.
 
Yeah I would think it would work from a chemistry perspective too. :)

I've used Pledge on leather (cage) seats before with some success...
 
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