What does Oppo recommend...

"Xyl0c41n3" (i-am-xyl0c41n3) 01/31/2015 at 18:58 • Filed to: Cleanlopnik

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...for cleaning car upholstery? I've got cloth seats in my Fiesta.

The front seats need some work. They're made of a warm grey and charcoal grey material (grey down the backrest and seat centers, charcoal on the sides). The seat portion of the driver's side is suffering the effects of me wearing too many dark wash jeans, I suppose, because there're obvious wear marks darkening the fabric (though all my jeans are well broken-in and don't really bleed color anymore).

And the passenger seat has some sort of liquid stain on it. I lent my car to my dad for a while when his was out of commission, and he spilled something on it. Probably tea. Doesn't look dark enough to have been a soda or something.

So, what does Oppo recommend? I've only had my car for two years. The liquid stain I understand, but I honestly didn't expect wear staining so soon. Thanks in advance for your help!

Nibby > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:01

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Argh, I'm trying to find the thread where I asked oppo to help me clean blood off the Forester's seat (I cut myself working on something, drove to neighbors and kinda messed up the seats a bit).

JasonStern911 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:02

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What does Oppo recommend for cleaning-

Don't cut him off and say a woman... Don't cut him off and say a woman...

car upholstery?

Oh, well, in that case, it's a perfectly acceptable thing for a man to clean.

...

In before SJWs kill me for that joke.

Scary__goongala! > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:03

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some type of foaming carpet cleaner for furniture/carpet and a scrub brush should take care of it . that's what i use at least

CB > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 19:03

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... oh dear.

CB > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:04

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You could probably rent one of those carpet cleaning machines. I believe they have a soap or whatever specifically for car seats.

jkm7680 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:05

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Scotchguard maybe and go from there.

I hate jeans that leave blue marks on seats though.

scoob > Nibby 01/31/2015 at 19:05

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Good thing you added in that last bit... lol.

Xyl0c41n3 > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 19:05

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Oh honey, you chose the wrong person to make that joke to.

Hi! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Xyl0. Woman Opponaut. Feminist. Breaker of stereotypes. Hater of bullshit.

Xyl0c41n3 > CB 01/31/2015 at 19:07

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Hahaha. I think I went easy on him, no?

bob and john > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 19:08

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...wow did you choose the wrong person to say that too...

CB > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:09

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Easy enough. However, this has been opened.

BATC42 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:10

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An all purpose cleaner should do the job (and you can clean the carpet and plastics with it). Ot you can use a special cloth cleaner for the seats. Ideally a soft brush to use to clean and microfiber towels to remove it afterwards, and a vaccum cleaner if you have for the water.
You should check this video, plenty of usefull stuff.

Xyl0c41n3 > Nibby 01/31/2015 at 19:10

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Oooh! I read that post! And don't worry, I understand getting blood in random places. I'm a klutz sometimes, too. I once banged my shin against a step on a metal staircase and it broke the skin through my pants. By the time I got back upstairs and into the bathroom, it looked like I had murdered someone.

Xyl0c41n3 > bob and john 01/31/2015 at 19:12

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Hahaha! You and CB both just went O.O.

Love y'all! :-D

Xyl0c41n3 > BATC42 01/31/2015 at 19:14

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Oh, thank you! And I do have a wet/dry vac, if it comes to that. Thanks again, BATC!

bob and john > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:14

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uhh, i dont really know what to say...for the floor matts, i take them out and hang then in the wall and have at them with a pressure washer. works wonders. then, i use a scrubs and work some bubbles into the carpet and wet-vac it out (usually do this at a Coin op car wash too)

never had to deal with cleaning cloth...all the cars we've had for the past 12 years have been leather...

Look up one of Tav's articles, he usually has links to stuff and procedures he uses

Xyl0c41n3 > bob and john 01/31/2015 at 19:20

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My car is weird. I actually can't remove the floor mats. They're attached with plastic grommets? Something. They're carpet, too. Surprisingly, though, after all the times I've tracked in sand and mud and other dirt, they're pretty spotless. They just needed a light vacuuming last week. No stains or anything. It's just the bottoms of the two front seats that need some TLC. Thanks for the advice, Pete. ^_^

JasonStern911 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:21

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Hi! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Xyl0. Woman Opponaut.

Don't say that explains the front-wheel drive car... Don't say that explains the front-wheel drive car...

If I dig myself a big enough hole, I'm bound to get out eventually... right? :)

Seriously, though. My dad never cleaned around the house, but he'd clean his car. Kind of a weird societal double-standard that I thought was worth calling out. Wouldn't wash the dishes, but he'd wash a carburetor... eventually... if push-starting it for an hour didn't fix the problem.

And being a feminist doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to take a light-hearted joke. If the comments of a random person on the internet that you will never meet deeply offend you, then I suggest seriously looking into the root of your insecurities and addressing them.

Xyl0c41n3 > jkm7680 01/31/2015 at 19:22

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But dark wash jeans just look so much better! And yeah, I need to look into Scotchguarding the seats, seeing as how they seem to stain easy.

jkm7680 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 19:27

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They do, that's why I prefer dark colored leather. But I do prefer the look and feel of cloth most of the time.

Xyl0c41n3 > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 19:33

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Who said I was offended, bro? Calling out sexism need not require offense to do. So please don't conflate my calling out your BS perpetuation of BS stereotypes as me having taken offense, because I have not.

I'm sorry your dad thought some work was beneath him, though. Mine taught me that no honest work was beneath any body. He'd wash dishes, do laundry, mop, whatever needed to be done. Similarly, he taught me that no work was beyond my abilities, either, hence me working on cars with him, or constructing countertops and plumbing sinks with him.

Maybe the only one who needs to examine their insecurities (and misconceptions) is you, hon. Hope you have a pleasant Saturday evening.

Cajun Ginger > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 20:06

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Really dude?

You make a fool of yourself then try to deflect blame by accusing her of being insecure?

JasonStern911 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 20:09

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A hat tip to you, as you summed up the problem that I have with this thread pretty well without me needing to make a case or set you up through questions or statements that invoke a response. I don't know the first thing about you. You don't know the first thing about me. And yet a single joke has provoked you into multiple responses and personal attacks that imply that my actions are negative because you disapprove. At no point was an effort made on your behalf to educate anyone on how said joke was offensive. Instead, we just hear that my comments are BS because they do not align with your ideology.

I have no insecurities. I don't care if a girl has masculine hobbies or a guy has feminine hobbies. But don't persecute humor in this human existence. Don't try to blend the positive traits of femininity and the positive traits of masculinity into an indiscernible blob. Being a dick to people for "moral reasons" behind an anonymous screen name is as big of a joke as donating $20 once a year and believing you made a difference in something you believe in.

I'm not sure that you are capable of doing this because you have an apparent hate agenda, but re-read my comments and ask, if Homer Simpson made that joke, would you be mad? Probably not, which exposes the hypocritically of it being socially acceptable to make fun of an adult white males. But as soon as the target for a joke changes...

That said, apologies if my joke legitimately offended you, as opposed to giving you a front to vent the frustrations of your life out on an anonymous stranger or make ignorant statements under the veil of feminism. I assure you that there honestly was no ill will intended.

And I say this as a man who just got done cleaning the dishes and tidying up the house while his woman works for a living.

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 20:33

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You were probably safe until the last couple sentences...

JasonStern911 > gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun 01/31/2015 at 20:41

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I'm safe regardless. This isn't China or Russia in which public opinions can be filtered, and the government will persecute me for making a well-intended joke that goes against the moral majority. If anyone wants to have an educated debate over my post, I am fine. Or heaven forbid, take the time to educate me on why my views are flawed instead of insult or comment with a negative connotation, I am more than willing to oblige.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 20:43

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Now, in my past, I've used one of those hot water carpet cleaning rigs, with the little handheld extension to do my cloth. At least, that's what I used on the B13, the first 740 and the 245's seats. I need to clean the Mazda's seats and carpet, but haven't done so, yet... If it were leather, I'd recommend Lexol, since that's what I've used on two 740s, a Fiat Spider and an S60, so far...

And, the before state:

That stain on the left was less due to the staining and more because something affected how the red dye faded. Yay, dark red carpet that fades fast.

Klaus Schmoll > Nibby 01/31/2015 at 20:43

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Had something similar happen to me last week. I usually try to end my work day (planning lessons, grading papers) around 8 p.m. so that I have some time to rewind and watch some TV or read oppo. The last thing I do is to iron the shirt for the next day. It's become kind of a ritual.

This time I picked one of my favourite shirts, started ironing it, and discovered bloodstains all over it. Turns out I cut a fingertip on my left hand seconds before picking it up. By the time I noticed, there was blood everywhere. Shirt, ironing board, carpet... you name it.

JasonStern911 > Cajun Ginger 01/31/2015 at 20:44

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If I made a fool of myself in the sake of comedy, then yeah - that was the expected result. If you don't think that there is a double standard historically in which a guy cleaning a car is accepted, but a guy cleaning the house is not, then I don't know how to respond to you. Stay off the internet and stay away for television, as the humor is much more crude and insulting than that.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 20:45

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I can't speak for the earlier ones, but IIRC, my sister's '14 can have the floormats removed. I believe they're kinda held in with a hook/loop thing to keep them from sliding, and they pull up and over the plastic clip to keep them from sliding around. Hard to describe, but if it were closer, I'd get pictures.

JasonStern911 > bob and john 01/31/2015 at 20:47

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Another example of the hypocrisy here. Had I am h four v zero c exclamation point been a man, somehow the joke is less offensive. Ultimately, I see nothing wrong with pointing out the weird gender thing where a man can detail his car and it is okay, but he can't clean the house.

Cajun Ginger > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 20:48

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Honey my 18 year old son was aghast at your humor. Do you need a kid to explain it to you?

JasonStern911 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 20:49

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it looked like I had murdered someone.

I now politely renege every comment I made earlier! :)

please learn to take a joke...

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 20:49

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So? You're free to say whatever you want, and everyone else is free to think that you're just another asshole american

JasonStern911 > Cajun Ginger 01/31/2015 at 20:50

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I'd be open to it as he likely has much less bias than you appear to have.

JasonStern911 > gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun 01/31/2015 at 20:56

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I completely support your belief that I am an asshole American. but notice that at no point am I saying you shouldn't be allowed to say that or, without making any effort to disprove you, that you are wrong. But you still never answered why my comment was wrong, why humor - even if you want to narrow it down to stereotypical humor despite my social commentary - is wrong. I personally find temporary relief in humor, and truly believe it is one of the few salvations in an otherwise mundane or bleak life. hate on it as you will, but I'm missing where that hate has any chance of possibly bringing even a second of positive energy into this world.

Xyl0c41n3 > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 20:58

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Once again, you're hearing what you want to hear while accusing me of doing the very things only you have done thus far. Allow me to recap:

You came into this post and offered an unsolicted sexist joke, while also throwing in the term "SJW" as a pejorative. I, laughingly, introduced myself as a woman and a feminist. (For further evidence of how I was amused and thought your original comment was NBD, see my responses to the two Opponauts who also replied to your original comment).

In before SJWs kill me for that joke.

Then, after introducing myself as a feminist, and, also not saying anywhere in my comment that I was upset and/or offended, you responded with a rebranded version of "calm down, sweetheart. Can't you take a joke?" when you said:

And being a feminist doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to take a light-hearted joke.

...while again, making the assumption that I was sitting behind my computer screen clutching my pearls from being so "deeply offended."

As if that wasn't bad enough, your next sentence then included a judgement about my mental state.

I suggest seriously looking into the root of your insecurities and addressing them.

All of that because, and again, I'll restate, I never even mentioned being offended or upset. (FTR: I'm still neither offended nor upset).

But that still wasn't enough for you. Now you've come back with a veritable novel of a response accusing me of personally attacking you. Um... wut? And also offering even more assumptions about me. But not before first attempting to appeal to the "humanity" of the situation by saying, "But don't persecute humor in this human existence." That was nice, but not quite as good as Shakespeare's original, "if you prick us with a pin, don't we bleed?"

But your tangent into the philosophical was short-lived; you soon returned to your wheelhouse of insults, saying:

I'm not sure that you are capable of doing this because you have an apparent hate agenda

and

giving you a front to vent the frustrations of your life out on an anonymous stranger or make ignorant statements under the veil of feminism.

The first implies I'm incapable of rationality while also ascribing to me a hate that does not exist. The second furthers the assumptions that I'm sitting here feeling stymied and stewing in offense, which, as I have said repeatedly, I am not. Also, what ignorant statements have I made? Thus far, I have stated who I am—a feminist— and offered a brief history of myself. (Brief aside, if Homer Simpson had made the joke, I would have called out the sexism just the same).

And finally, you offered an insincere apology that does nothing to actually engage in a constructive conversation, but only serves to perhaps make yourself feel better.

Congratulations! You've hit the stereotype jackpot. I've said few words (til this comment), yet that was all you needed to call me ignorant, hateful, incapable, irrational, frustrated, offended, and insecure. I suggest you take your own advice and reread the comments herein to see who is actually assuming what. Furthermore, I would kindly ask you to bow out from this conversation now. And I do sincerely hope you have a pleasant evening.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 21:10

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Here we go, a better example of the end result with the hot water carpet cleaner... I'll try and find a before picture, but this particular wagon was horrible, sheer horror when I got it. Years of being used as a family car with small children really did a number on this particular wagon's interior.

Xyl0c41n3 > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 01/31/2015 at 21:15

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So, basically what you're saying is I should just hire you to clean my seats because you have lots of experience, right? Cuz that's what I'm hearing. I can pay in homemade chewy chocolate chip cookies and Texas-brewed beer. How's next Tuesday work for you? :-P

Heh. But seriously, dang, Rotors! The before and after of the red interior, especially, is remarkable! Thank you for your advice!

Klaus Schmoll > jkm7680 01/31/2015 at 21:20

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While I like tan coloured leather interiours for their looks (BMW "sonnengelb" in a black E39 with some dark wood trim looks like a million dollars) they tend to get annoying on long drives as they don't breathe if you don't have a fancy car with ventilated leather seats, but the only reason they had to invent those is the dominance of leather in luxury cars. A decade and a half ago velours was an option that cost almost as much as leather and was coveted by the suit-wearing types. Some time ago, I watched a TV program about buying used cars and they an E38 7 series once used to chauffeur the Bavarian Minister of Finances around, he went for velours rather than leather as it doesn't crumple the suit that bad. And we haven't started about maintaining the looks of a light coloured leather interiour, as dark clothes can ruin them over the years.

This being said, I prefer the black/dark grey velours seats in my British made Honda over the aforementioned leather seats in "Bavaria's pride and joy" my mom drives any day.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 21:21

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I'm saying you should go down to Walmart or Target or your preferred big box purveyor of stuff (I like Food 'n Stuff, myself. It's where I get my food, and most of my stuff...), and get one of those "steam cleaners" for about $100. Then, you'll not have to worry again. The nice thing is, they also do a lovely job on houses, as well as cars.

That said, I do take payment in cookies and beer. ^_^

JasonStern911 > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 21:25

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You came into this post and offered an unsolicted sexist joke, while also throwing in the term "SJW" as a pejorative. I, laughingly, introduced myself as a woman and a feminist. (For further evidence of how I was amused and thought your original comment was NBD, see my responses to the two Opponauts who also replied to your original comment).

Yeah... this is where communication completely broke down between us due to the ongoing problem of a lack of human interaction with just a digital representation of what we intent to communicate being present, and I apologize. I had no way of viewing whether or not you could take a joke - I just see a non-winky face, for lack of better terminology, response and view it as hostile, which forces me to either apologize or explain why I am not apologizing. Honestly, I like to think that I am a better incarnation than my parents, and hopefully you are a better incarnation than your parents, so ultimately this will all be an on-issue on the long-term. Even on the short-term, I question the relevancy on this debate when more than half of the world lives in poverty and modern bacteria are growing immunity to the mechanisms we currently have to kill or suppress them.

while I did not address every point, I hope that you acknowledge that a lot of that was because you made a valid point that I appreciated hearing and did not dispute. This conversation has honestly been fun for me - exponentially more than the tangential reaction threads. I appreciate you taking the time to actually answer my points instead of just taking the easy way out. And I assure you that anything I said to avoid "taking the easy way out" was to invoke rhetoric, and not as a personal attack.

Brief aside, if Homer Simpson had made the joke, I would have called out the sexism just the same

This, I will disagree on. The middle to rich class white man has no historical stereotype due to recent history. Re-watch The Simpsons since its start and tell me Marge is not portrayed in a stereotypical role (ignoring specific episode exceptions) and that Homer is not portrayed in a similar light.

I'm not sure that you are capable of doing this because you have an apparent hate agenda

Yeah.. I'm a dick. :( If I waited a day or two to calm not post irrationally, then I would have been nicer. But had I done that, would you have posted the same? Would a censored conversation have been as effective at hitting the key roots of this off-topic thread? I think I would have moved on and focused on the guy wanting to buy a beat up Lancia without giving your post the the time to process that it deserves..

And then I mess it up by saying....

It's Oppo. Ultimately, it's about cars and appreciation for cars. I apologize for side-tracking everything by making a joke. The joke honestly had rhetorical properties to it, as I honestly still find humor in the contraction that a guy can wash his car but not a dish. And I stand by that.

Klaus Schmoll > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 21:28

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The plastic grommets (or what ever we want to call them?) I have encountered so far come loose at half a turn with a coin or a screwdriver. I kinda like them as they hold the floor mat in place but let you take it out for thorough cleaning. I had a Mazda in which the floor mat tended to wander upwards until the throttle got stuck at 11. I knew that I just had to pull it back and all was fine, but it scared the crap out of a friend who borrowed it.

jkm7680 > Klaus Schmoll 01/31/2015 at 21:30

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I prefer dark colored for that very reason. I'd only have light colored leatherette so I can justify using lysol wipes or something to clean the grimy shit off.

Another thing is that most leather seat cleaners make them squeaky as hell, and then that rubs off onto your clothes and from there makes everything that you sit on squeaky as a motherfucker.

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 01/31/2015 at 21:30

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Last bit of showing off, I promise... I don't have a good pic of the floorboard here, but before I cleaned it, I'd upended an entire pot of chili in the floor, and I was still able to save the carpet. I bought a set of used OEM plastic floor trays and a set of floormats, the next week.

Also, vinyl headliners are nice, when you get previously-owned family cars... Easier to get the crayon out of. *shudders*

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Klaus Schmoll 01/31/2015 at 21:34

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Hear, hear. My current 740 doesn't have a mat on the driver's side, for that reason.

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > JasonStern911 01/31/2015 at 21:42

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The concise answer, since you insist, is that very few people would find your humour funny, and quite a few seem to find it offensive.

Xyl0c41n3 > DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully 01/31/2015 at 21:53

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My mom used to drive a 1972 (or 73? I forget) Cutlass Supreme that eventually became my dad's DD. Sometime in the 80s the headliner started sagging. It would rain down little bits of fabric (felt? polyester? I dunno WTF it was, but it hurt something fierce if it fell in your eyes). Anyway, we never drew on it with crayons or anything, but eventually even us kids had to duck to avoid the material, lol. My dad finally busted out his upholstery machine and sewed up a new headliner. ^_^

DancesWithRotors - Driving Insightfully > Xyl0c41n3 01/31/2015 at 21:56

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My first Volvo had the same issue, and my 740 has the sagging, right now... I've just held it up with thumbtacks, because I'm a redneck like that... But yeah, that stuff hurts like hell if you get it in your eyes, especially while driving.

Also, Cutlass Supreme? Awesome.

Klaus Schmoll > jkm7680 01/31/2015 at 22:07

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Don't get me started on leatherette! I am glad that it has vanished from the European market completely. Burnt my legs while wearing those short shorts that boys got to wear in the 80s on my grandparent's backseat.

jkm7680 > Klaus Schmoll 01/31/2015 at 22:14

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Haha, nothing like having your legs stick to a smoldering vinyl seat.

theRealRealMikeyG > Xyl0c41n3 02/01/2015 at 00:06

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http://www.amazon.com/BISSELL-SpotCl…

Mercedes Streeter > JasonStern911 02/01/2015 at 14:44

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*Sigh*

That was bad, and you should feel bad....

Mercedes Streeter > Xyl0c41n3 02/01/2015 at 14:45

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You rock, Xylo!!! <3