Marks on ultra white seats, permanent?

[9Volt]

I have a permanent stain on my passenger seat (Ultrawhite vegan leather, Model S delivered 7/31/17). I had a bottle of red wine in the car (not cheap - a gift for a coworker). The week was crazy, I didn’t see the guy for several days, and long story short it seems the heat caused a problem with the cork and some wine dripped out, leaving a couple of small spots of dried syrupy wine on the seat.

When I noticed it I panicked. I was parked in a garage at work. I didn’t realize that I had a paper towel in the car, so the first thing I did was pour water on the drops of wine. This created a puddle of very dilute wine-colored water. Again not realizing that I had a paper towel available, I used the receipt from the wine purchase to try to blot up the water. You guessed it...the ink from the receipt made the puddle of water even murkier. Terrifying. This all cleaned up relatively nicely with the paper towel I finally found, leaving a small oval where the discolored puddle settled in (the original wine spots were gone).

Sadly, attempts to clean the resulting stain have failed miserably. I have a Ceramic Pro coating on my interior, so I took it to the detailer to try to correct the stain. It only got bigger!!!! I have an appointment to get the stain air-brushed by a leather rescue company that was recommended by my local service center. I’m hoping it works! This has been disappointing considering the “stain resistance and durability” of this material coupled with the Ceramic Pro coating. After seeing the black jeans post I don’t feel so bad, though!!!

 

[JennyBo]

Mine two...just a little, but I've only had it for two months.

Same! I’ve had my Model X with UW interior for four months now and have blue staining on the entry bolster of the driver’s side. I wear jeans often, but never brand new/unwashed. My husband and I have tried everything that’s been suggested, but with no luck. I’m totally disappointed.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

I have a permanent stain on my passenger seat (Ultrawhite vegan leather, Model S delivered 7/31/17). I had a bottle of red wine in the car (not cheap - a gift for a coworker). The week was crazy, I didn’t see the guy for several days, and long story short it seems the heat caused a problem with the cork and some wine dripped out, leaving a couple of small spots of dried syrupy wine on the seat.

I hope you didn't give that bottle as a gift after that. A cooked bottle is no longer any good. Any wine subjected to heat over 85-90 degrees for any length of time (half an hour or so) is ruined. This is why wineries will never ship during the summer. Treat wine in your car as you would your child.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

My white seats are from March 2017. I have worn jeans in them a lot, and a few times brand new jeans, and have yet to get any transfer. I wonder if they changed the seat fabric in some way since then? I cringe at the sight of the transfer from those black jeans!

 

[Mediocrates]

My white seats are from March 2017. I have worn jeans in them a lot, and a few times brand new jeans, and have yet to get any transfer. I wonder if they changed the seat fabric in some way since then? I cringe at the sight of the transfer from those black jeans!

If they did, they changed them by April 2017 (when I received my new Model S). I had visible transfer within 5000 miles wearing jeans (never unwashed) for less than half of those miles.

 

[Mark Z]

Since 2012 the use of a towel or pillowcase to sit on has kept my white leather seats from jean dye transfer. It might be a hassle to position the “seat cover”, but the results have been successful.

 

[Dameon]

None of these items produced any noticable results, so on to more drastic solutions...

One last thing to try, and standard disclaimer applies - I don't know if this could damage your seat further, caution! - but I used undiluted Simple Green on video game control panels and those panels sometimes have 20 years of gunk: from human oil to soda to God knows what. Spray it on using the Foam tip setting (minimize running) and lightly brush in circular motions with a soft toothbrush. Wipe clean and follow up with a water/soap mix to clean the Simple Green off.

 

[roblab]

I hope you didn't give that bottle as a gift after that. A cooked bottle is no longer any good. Any wine subjected to heat over 85-90 degrees for any length of time (half an hour or so) is ruined. This is why wineries will never ship during the summer. Treat wine in your car as you would your child.

This is part of why I don't drink wine. I get a kick out of all the rules involved in growing, fermenting, bottling, storing, pouring and drinking the stuff. It's almost like a religion. My children can stand more variable temperatures and thankfully have learned to move into the shade when hot or put on a coat when cold. As far as I know, wine is cold-blooded and not too bright. Like a lizard.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

As far as I know, wine is cold-blooded and not too bright. Like a lizard.

I like lizard! Tastes like chicken!

Wine is what you want it to be. It just doesn't like heat or sunlight or a super dry environment (drys out the cork, which is why wine needs to be stored on it's side). Otherwise you are fine. As info, 90 percent of all wine is consumed within 24 hours of purchase, so for the bulk of people, storing conditions are not important.

 

[Pinot.Noir]

Since 2012 the use of a towel or pillowcase to sit on has kept my white leather seats from jean dye transfer. It might be a hassle to position the “seat cover”, but the results have been successful.

If I have to put a towel on the seat then it ruins the reason I got white seats in the first place. These are supposed to be super easy to clean, so there must be a solution. Doesn't Tesla have any ideas on how to resolve this?

 

[tennisman]

After reading all the dye transfer stories, I thought that I would add my "two cents" - My car is about 1 1/2 years old at this point, and I wear jeans a lot in the car (both black and blue jeans) - the only thing I make sure of before wearing new jeans in the car, is that I wash them at least twice first. I still am very lucky and see no dye transfer whatsoever - the seats look as good as new - I have the white seats with the perforated / vented seats (this was the "original" vented seats that were offered for about 3 months) - not sure if that makes a difference. It is very strange that some owners have this issue and others don't....

 

[hiroshiy]

My 2 cents - I had a light dye transfer from daily blue jeans use, but IPA (isopropyl alcohol) and microfiber removed the dye transfer completely.

What was the 3M product Tesla service person recommended, @MenloWizard ?

 

[OptAdam]

For any of you experiencing issues with staining on your seats I highly suggest you get them redyed and then put Opti-Guard Leather on them. I had a customer who ordered a brand new Model X and got the white interior and wears blue jeans everyday. I highly encouraged him to get the seats coated and he agreed. 6 months later and the seats still look absolutely brand new and any staining that starts to occur is easily wiped up with an ONR dampened towel.

 

[gulbranson]

After months of doing everything I could think of to deal with my purple seats, I have identified the best possible solution (so far) that has provided me about 80% of the original white seat.

First off, DO NOT allow Tesla service to attempt to fix your seat by spraying them with a vinyl white coating, you will seriously regret it! This is what many believe is dying the material, but it’s just a vinyl coat that is sprayed on the seat. After complaining to Tesla Service about my “purple” white seats, they offered a complementary fix. I was told they would clean them but to my surprise, they sprayed the entire seat with a white vinyl coating, which did help but it wasn’t perfect, you could still see the purple color bleed through. However, it will start to peel off in about two months and then you’ll be left with something that looks like this...(after I worked for about four hours removing it)

The darker is the vinyl coating, which as you can see, discolors considerably faster than the original UltraFabric. Getting it off is amazingly time-consuming! If this happens to you, here’s how you remove it. Use new white terry cloth towel (wash them and dry first or you’ll have way too much lint transfer). A quart of rubbing alcohol (70%) and masking tape/duct tape…the more adhesion the better. Rub the seat with a terry cloth towel that is wet (not just damp) with alcohol. The vinyl coating does not hold up against the alcohol. Let it dry then start using the tape to peel the vinyl coating off, hopefully, chunks at a time. In area's hard to remove, use the tape. Apply it pull it off slowly. It took about eight hours of work to remove the entire vinyl coating from the seat. Once it was off I proceeded to address the discoloration.

Here’s what you’ll need:
- Leather/vinyl cleaner used for shoes. I happen to have “Koolaburra UGG Clean” that worked really well. I found this to work great on removing blue jean transfer that I found on the rear seat.
- Soft fabric brush (shoe brush or similar).
- White FurnitureClinic Leather Re-Colouring Balm (it’s made in the UK so that’s the correct spelling). Amazon has it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOKOKOI/ref=twister_B07CNZ8KPP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
- More clean, white and washed terry cloth towels.
- New wax foam applicator.
- New microfiber cloth.
- Alcohol
- CarPro CQuartz Leather protectant or similar

Use the brush and shoe cleaner. Scrub the seat down and dry with a terry cloth towel. I did this twice to make sure the Ultrafabrics Ultraleather was as clean as possible. I then cleaned with alcohol to make sure there was no residue left on the seat. Once the seat is completely dry, apply the white balm with a wax foam applicator and spread evenly, allow it to dry for a few hours and then repeat, without wiping the seat down between coats. I applied eight coats of balm to the seat over two days. The last coat I only let dry for about 10 minutes and then used a new microfiber cloth to wipe off the seat. Just a word of warning, do not get the white balm on anything black if you do remove it immediately with a terry cloth towel and alcohol. Once it dries it is hard to remove.

I let the seat dry for another day and then applied two coats of CQuartz protectant in hopes it seals in the balm and provides a layer of protection. Keep in mind, these protectants are semi-permanent. I apply a new coat about every 4 months. I have not found that the balm transfers to clothing.

This is the final outcome…

Way better than what I started with…

The solid white is simply too easy to discolor so I've decided to cover the seats with seat covers from Wholesale Tesla Accessories | Taptes in Napa leather. They are custom-fit and look exactly like the seat itself. If you have white seat or you just have to order your Tesla with the white interior, you may want to just cover them to save yourself from an immense headache!

 

[selfbp]

I see there are some super in-depth methods here!
As for my input; I use a Shark Clothes steamer to remove everything from my seats. Always worked very well for me!

At 27,000mi

 

[OnBass]

gulbranson, thanks so much for chronicling your process. Extremely informative! I've been researching ways to clean our MX white seats, and saw an interesting video on YouTube. Here's the link if anyone is interested:

 

[rezag7]

After months of doing everything I could think of to deal with my purple seats, I have identified the best possible solution (so far) that has provided me about 80% of the original white seat.

First off, DO NOT allow Tesla service to attempt to fix your seat by spraying them with a vinyl white coating, you will seriously regret it! This is what many believe is dying the material, but it’s just a vinyl coat that is sprayed on the seat. After complaining to Tesla Service about my “purple” white seats, they offered a complementary fix. I was told they would clean them but to my surprise, they sprayed the entire seat with a white vinyl coating, which did help but it wasn’t perfect, you could still see the purple color bleed through. However, it will start to peel off in about two months and then you’ll be left with something that looks like this...(after I worked for about four hours removing it)
View attachment 369028
The darker is the vinyl coating, which as you can see, discolors considerably faster than the original UltraFabric. Getting it off is amazingly time-consuming! If this happens to you, here’s how you remove it. Use new white terry cloth towel (wash them and dry first or you’ll have way too much lint transfer). A quart of rubbing alcohol (70%) and masking tape/duct tape…the more adhesion the better. Rub the seat with a terry cloth towel that is wet (not just damp) with alcohol. The vinyl coating does not hold up against the alcohol. Let it dry then start using the tape to peel the vinyl coating off, hopefully, chunks at a time. In area's hard to remove, use the tape. Apply it pull it off slowly. It took about eight hours of work to remove the entire vinyl coating from the seat. Once it was off I proceeded to address the discoloration.

Here’s what you’ll need:
- Leather/vinyl cleaner used for shoes. I happen to have “Koolaburra UGG Clean” that worked really well. I found this to work great on removing blue jean transfer that I found on the rear seat.
- Soft fabric brush (shoe brush or similar).
- White FurnitureClinic Leather Re-Colouring Balm (it’s made in the UK so that’s the correct spelling). Amazon has it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOKOKOI/ref=twister_B07CNZ8KPP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
- More clean, white and washed terry cloth towels.
- New wax foam applicator.
- New microfiber cloth.
- Alcohol
- CarPro CQuartz Leather protectant or similar

Use the brush and shoe cleaner. Scrub the seat down and dry with a terry cloth towel. I did this twice to make sure the Ultrafabrics Ultraleather was as clean as possible. I then cleaned with alcohol to make sure there was no residue left on the seat. Once the seat is completely dry, apply the white balm with a wax foam applicator and spread evenly, allow it to dry for a few hours and then repeat, without wiping the seat down between coats. I applied eight coats of balm to the seat over two days. The last coat I only let dry for about 10 minutes and then used a new microfiber cloth to wipe off the seat. Just a word of warning, do not get the white balm on anything black if you do remove it immediately with a terry cloth towel and alcohol. Once it dries it is hard to remove.

I let the seat dry for another day and then applied two coats of CQuartz protectant in hopes it seals in the balm and provides a layer of protection. Keep in mind, these protectants are semi-permanent. I apply a new coat about every 4 months. I have not found that the balm transfers to clothing.

This is the final outcome…
View attachment 369029

Way better than what I started with…
View attachment 369030

The solid white is simply too easy to discolor so I've decided to cover the seats with seat covers from Wholesale Tesla Accessories | Taptes in Napa leather. They are custom-fit and look exactly like the seat itself. If you have white seat or you just have to order your Tesla with the white interior, you may want to just cover them to save yourself from an immense headache!

I just ordered the Taptes front seat covers - do you have any feedback on how they held up/ protected your seats, and how they looked?

 

[gulbranson]

Your investment is well worth it! The covers for the front seat look factory and fit great. The back seat cover does not fit with the same level of precision as the front seats, but they still look good...the protection of the white seats was the goal so the fact the rear seat did not fit as snug did not matter. After two years the covers still looked new and had not moved, maintaining a factory look. I had only lifted one of the covers to show the buyer (sold our S Oct 2021) and the original seat condition and color was perfect. The covers are quite thick, with a foam backing so it takes a little work to get them in place, but once in the correct position, they don't move. I received multiple complements and was often asked how to customer order black and white seats (bolsters were in black and the center was in white), when I said they were covers most people were completely shocked. The material, stitching and fit are really superb, you'll be glad you made the decision to buy these covers, they are really worth the expense!