Getting smell out of vintage seats?

Looking to restore a set of vehicle seats but they have a 40-50 year old smell to them, hard to describe, between worn, slightly mildewy, old leather, etc...

Would want to check leatherique or equivalent leather re-dying and rejuvenation techniques before they are torn down completely but I'd like to start by getting the smell out.

Any thoughts, ideas, links?

Thank you!

 

Ozonator!
I had a smell problem with my 15 Hudson recently when going up for sale -- musty, damp, old smell. Since I have 6 project cars and smells bee's a problem with all of them eventually, I bought an ozonator off Amazon (under $60) and let it run a 20 minute cycle for each of two days.
Works great in enclosed areas -- kind of a neutral smell.
But note, this only works on surface accessible to the zone (i.e., topical mist application) -- deep cleaning is more iffy (depends on the porosity of the material -- which in the case of my Hudson seats, were pretty porous).

Also beware, ozone can kill you -- hence the "Danger" warning card that comes with the unit. Ozone exposure won't drop you dead, but prolonged breathing is poisonous.

 

Does the ozone machine damage the leather? Should it be conditioned after or protected in any way?

 

I have read that long-term ozone exposure will damage plastics, vinyl and leather. But the words were "long term ozone exposure".
I dont want to be the one to tell you that "vaccines are always safe" if you get my analogy.

 

I have the same problem with my 85 308. I have used many products and an ozone generator several time. The ozone did not damage anything.The smell was abated but returns in a short time. I've been unable to eliminate the order permanently.

 

Have noticed one item you did not mention and that is the foam rubber in the seats. You can usually see yellow powder from the foam under the seat and it has a bad smell.

 

I have had some luck with this . . .

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Spray under seats on the old foam, there's a good chance that's where a lot of the smell is coming from. Of course, best solution is to clean the leather then replace the old foam.

I've used this stuff in vents, on door panels, etc., sometimes it really gets the job done, sometimes not so much. YMMV - can be purchased at almost any car parts place, autozone, Advance Auto, etc.

D

 

get some of these too . . .

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Put one in the trunk, one in the passenger compartment, maybe two.

D

 

I have used an Ozone generator with pretty good results, I had to do it 3 times on one car where the window was cracked and water got in during a storm, and it got mildew on the carpets. I cleaned all the carpets and then set the Ozone generator in the car for 14 hours... and closed it up. Then I aired out the car - put the AC on Max recirculate and let the Generator run for 1 hour again with the AC on to kill any mold spores in the AC vents etc... that really helped. Not sure I'd do that in a Ferrari, but this was my company car... I let the car idle with the A/C on in my drive.... The damp rid kind of works ok, but if you are in a very humid climate it pulls all moisture not just what is causing the smell.

 

https://snsautosupply.com/products/chlorine-tablet

I had some water laeak and go under the carpet in my daily driver, and the carpet trapped that water in there and started to stink. I cleaned things up with a mold abatement solution (really jus borax).

I tried these types of chlorine dioxide tablets, and they leave a chlorine smell in the car for a week or so, then fade, and the smell was gone.

If the smell is deep within the foam, some in the boat community spray or soak vingegar on the foam.

All of these techniques, including ozone which sounds promising, can damage the materials being deoderized. But if the smell is truely bothersome, you don't have much choice, and take your chances and if need be do a more extensicve reupholstery project.

The ozone does harden and embrittle platics, I have a pool ozonator and the tubing hardens and is replaced every year as a result. But that is from continuous exposure. I doubt a days worth of ozonating would cause problems, it might if the ozone is not diffusing quickly and is eg, directed right at a leather surface.