Painting Seatbelts... Good Idea or Bad Idea??

Blown331LX · Jul 2, 2008

Wanting to take my stock grey belts to black and was looking to buy a replacement set but then someone suggusted to paint them with the fabric paitn that Advance and Autozone carry. This sounds fishy to me anyone ever done it? How did they look and hold up?

25thmustang · Jul 2, 2008

I did it as a last resort... Bad idea. Wont last. It works for a temporary thing, but wont ever be like a black belt.

Blown331LX · Jul 2, 2008

Thats kinda what I thought, just curious, how did it long did it last? Did it rub off on your clothes? Right now Im just trying to get this interior put back together so I might opt for the slack ass easy way, although I will hate to have to pull them back out again to change them.

25thmustang · Jul 2, 2008

Not sure on exactly how long it lasted... I never noticed it on the clothes either. It does wear off though, but works for a short time.

Blown331LX · Jul 2, 2008

Anyone else................?

Saleen0679 · Jul 2, 2008

From what I've read in order to set the color on synthetic material like the nylon/polyester webbing that seatbelts are made of you need to dye the material in a hot bath with an acid dye. More seriously on a safety note you risk weakening the material so you're not likely to find a place that would do them for you due to safety regulations.

There are places that will re-web seatbelts, but I've never researched the costs.

btsclan · Jul 3, 2008

No you should not paint your belts, I work as a model maker with a product design company so I do a lot of profesional painting and manurfacturing. If you want to change the color of your belt the only way to do it and make it last is to dye it. Two reasons paint wont work, one: since the belt is flexiable and made up of many strains of fiber and a coat of paint is not flexiable it would crack and fall off, you might get by with a light coat of paint but still it will crack and fall off. second: most belts are made up of synthetic fibers such as nylon or plastic fiber which by the nature of the material they dont paint well, the paint has a hard time sticking.

What I recommend is going to your local crafts stores that sells fabrics etc and pick up some dye, that way you are dying the belt strains and not adding anything to it that would crack and fall off.

Scott W · Jul 3, 2008

don't paint them, i've tried it and it didn't work.

I actually replaced the webbing in my belts. I have done some auto upholstery and re-did the interior of my car. the stock belts didn't look very good.

I don't know if its legal to mess with the belts - so I wouldnt suggest doing it without doing your homework.

I've attatched a pic showing the belt in black material

strtrcr50 · Jul 3, 2008

Buy new seat belts in the color you like.
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/products/Mustang-Seat-Belt-Kits

Blown331LX · Jul 6, 2008

I think the $400 price tag for new belts is too steep, especially considering Im tight on cash. But anyway................. I first tried 2 times to dye them with RIT dye, and that worked like a purpleish crap. Then I tried the fabric paint as a last resort and that was an even more of a mess. I will advise everyone that thinks about doing this with the nylon and or polyester seat belts to NOT ATTEMPT to. I spent $20 on dye and about $22 on paint and god knows how many hours. The only way to go from one color to the other is to buy a new set, or good used set. Im mad at myself for being to cheap and impatient to just wait and order a used set. Now Ive got about 10 days of car building until Mustang week...wish me luck.

Mustang5L5 · Jul 6, 2008

If you want to buy OEM belts, 1990 is the only year that directly swaps. (or 79-84 if you can find those) 1991 and up will require some trial and error to modify the mounting tabs. Not something i'd want to do considering if you are ever in an accident and you were off a bit, the belt may not lock

Blown331LX · Jul 6, 2008

Mustang5L5 said:
If you want to buy OEM belts, 1990 is the only year that directly swaps. (or 79-84 if you can find those) 1991 and up will require some trial and error to modify the mounting tabs. Not something i'd want to do considering if you are ever in an accident and you were off a bit, the belt may not lock

Really... My car is a 1990 GT hatch, and I found a guy that will trade me his set of black fronts only for my full extra set of 1993 Notchback in grey. What years and modles will properly fit my hatch? Thanks Chris

Mustang5L5 · Jul 6, 2008

Up til 1990 will all interchange for the front belts. You can put 1990 belts in an '84 and '84 belts in a 1990.

In 1991, ford changed the mounting tab slightly, so 1991-1993 pretty much is it's own grouping right there.

You can make them work, but it will require modification.

Blown331LX · Jul 6, 2008

Mustang5L5 said:
Up til 1990 will all interchange for the front belts. You can put 1990 belts in an '84 and '84 belts in a 1990.

In 1991, ford changed the mounting tab slightly, so 1991-1993 pretty much is it's own grouping right there.

You can make them work, but it will require modification.

Thanks bro, you just save me some headaches.

GreatWhite · Jul 6, 2008

I agree. You can definitely find some good used belts. That's what I did when I did my interior swap. Can't remember what year it was from, but I put them right in... so I'm assuming they were 90's. Loved them every since...

Nicegray · Jul 2, 2020

I successfully painted my seatbelts,I have a 73 monaro couple ,changed my interior from chestnut to black ,first of all I tried to dye them using Rit it was complete waste of time ,the material is not dyeable and just washes off ,then I tried Viponds Tautflex DIY ,it’s a canvans ,vinyl ,leather paint ,brushed 3 light coats ,they harden up abit so I sat them in some fabric soften for about 45 min then towel dried them ,then gave them a another wipe with some fabric soften sheets ,they came up a threat ,not as soft as they were but very close ,saved myself 1200 dollars buying a new set .

7991LXnSHO · Jul 7, 2020

strtrcr50 said:
Buy new seat belts in the color you like.
http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/products/Mustang-Seat-Belt-Kits

I was going to tell him to look up Andover as they have belts for a lot of cars.

http://www.andoverrestraints.com/

Habu135 · Jul 7, 2020

7991LXnSHO said:
I was going to tell him to look up Andover as they have belts for a lot of cars.

http://www.andoverrestraints.com/

This thread is from '08.

7991LXnSHO · Jul 7, 2020

I was lead astray by a new member chasing a Zombie thread. (Oh, the shame!) I could have at least been ready for a Zombie hunt. It has to be more fun than the Sars 2 duck and shelter routine.

7991LXnSHO · Jul 11, 2020

Since it is an old thread anyway-
Racing harnesses need recertified So often or re-webbed then certified. How many decades are we reasonably expecting to get out of the straps and sewing? Is there someone trustworthy that will use the original hardware and put new belts on it?

Painting Seatbelts... Good Idea or Bad Idea??

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