Using Oxalic acid on leatherette type vinyl

[Irish Rover]

My new to me boat has external cream coloured vinyl upholstery which is in good condition but a bit grey looking from ingrained dirt, salt, suncream or whatever. I'm planning to wash the decks with oxalic acid and I'm wondering whether it would be safe and effective on the upholstery?

 

[Refueler]

Personally ? I would not use it on the vinyl ... it probably would work - but the risk ?

I would try find professional upholstery cleaner fluid ... it may need multiple applications but at least it should be safer.

 

[pandos]

The auto glym stuff in car shops for interior shampoo for cleaning vinyl and plastic is good for vinyl on the cabin roof so probably would work on your seating, also good for cleaning runners..

I have used oxalic on tee shirts and it took off rust stains nicely but not sure if they last long afterwards.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I can't see it doing anything to or for the vinyl, oxalic acid ( in the sense of what sailors and mobs owners use it for ) is to react with insoluble iron stains to turn the iron into ferrous oxalate which is both colourless and soluble in water so the staining is washed away. it will get rid of blood staining if that's any help.
Your vinyl will be far better treated to a good scrub with a good detergent and some elbow grease which should break down the suncream and lift the grime out of the surface and any texture on the vinyl.

 

[aslabend]

I wouldn't use oxalic acid on anything i was going to sit on. As fr j hackett said, elbow grease with a good vinyl cleaner might be safer.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I wouldn't use oxalic acid on anything i was going to sit on. As fr j hackett said, elbow grease with a good vinyl cleaner might be safer.

Oxalic acid is poisonous and will cause lesions to sensitive body parts such as the mouth and eyes if it gets into contact with them but "hard " tissue such as the hands will not be affected if you wash off any contact with COLD water. It can and is absorbed through the skin and that can lead to problems but you need a relatively large quantity for it to be lethal more than 10g iirc. and that needs to be ingested ie taken orally, so don't drink it or lick your hands if you have any on them. Sensible precautions are all that is needed when handling it such as washing off surfaces on which it has been used that may come into contact with your skin and even then it's unlikely to be a problem if you don't, I am thinking about cockpit seats etc here.

 

[Irish Rover]

Thank you all. I've washed the deck with oxalic acid this morning, and, so far, all my precious bits are still intact. More importantly, I've persuaded my wife that a a bucket of warm water, a strong sponge, vinyl cleaner and her elbow grease will be the best treatment for the upholstery. Win, win.

 

[Momac]

I used oxalic on vinyl upholstery and it has caused the vinyl to harden and split. So don't repeat my mistake.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I used oxalic on vinyl upholstery and it has caused the vinyl to harden and split. So don't repeat my mistake.

I wouldn't be so sure about that, "Vinyl" or more correctly polyvinyl chloride is a remarkably resistant hard wearing polymer hence its use in various coverings even floor tiles. It will be resistant to alkali and acid attack. What is most likely to have caused your final upholstery to harden and then crack will be age and it would have been accelerated by prolonged exposure to sunlight. There are organic solvents that would cause the same problems.

 

[billskip]

I remember seeing an episode of wheeler dealers, they had a car and revitalised the upholstery using product from a car parts shop....there are some that respray it....