Oil is all over my Front Car set
 

Lucky me it is the passenger side. I left a quart of oil one fine summer day and it desided to heat up and leak all over the seat. I blotted some of it up but I can think of anything that won't kill the fabric...

any ideas?

seat covers ?

I got my seat covers at http://www.gtcovers.com/,sure they cost alot ,but they really do look like that on the picture if you put them on right.

I'd say start out with some talcum powder or cornstarch to soak up any residue, then brush that away and go at it with some foaming carpet cleaner. If it was new oil you should be able to get it looking pretty good. If it was used you're probably SOL and in need of seat covers. Just be sure to soak up any that's left over so it doesn't blot through.

You might be able to remove the cover and wash it. Or call a detail shop, it may cost $100, but that is the same cost as a pair of aftermarket seatcovers.

Is it a newer car ?

Kitty litter, the clay kind, is great for absorbing oil. Garages use it all the time for oil spots on the ground.

Yep kitty litter is the way to go. Sprinkle it all around, let it sit and soak (put a bunch of weight on the seat to compress the foam allowing the oil to come out i.e. a sponge), then scoop out and vacuum the dust. Also might want to look into getting the seat recovered as the foam is most likely not going to let all the oil come out, and the heat will just allow it to reappear.

Hadn't thought of the kitty litter, I will have to try it I don't want to dumb a money into the car as we are going to get rid of it in (hopefully) a year.

I saw some degreaser carpet cleaner, I am going to pick that up and try it

Thanks

The only other thing I can think of is to go to an auto wreckers & get a replacement seat. Just put a different one in. You may find that even though you clean the oil spot, remnants may still bleed through.

I've had good luck using a carpet extraction style machine with an upholstery wand. After the kitty litter treatment, prespot the stain with a color safe cleaner, and then use the combination soap/hot water spray/vac action to remove the rest.

Try degreaser, you already have oil all over the seat don't worry about the fabric. Try something like Simple Green, just take the seat out of the car first and take any electronics off of it obviously. Then like some people said use a carpet cleaner with upholstery wand.

The company GUNK makes a foam carpet spray. It makes oil disappear. I don't know how it works or where the oil goes, but I don't care... It works!

Why don't you go to the junkyard and find a seat thats in good shape(if your car is an older model). Even if you get the oil out, won't the inside of the car still stink of oil?

Oil is practically odorless. If it isn't, it shouldn't be in a bottle.

I suggest you use a cleaner called Simple Green. It's all you need, biodegradable, and water soluble so you can clean the cleaner out once you have cleaned.

dish soap. Oil is a non-polar molecule (hence the lack of desolving in water). Oil molecules do, however, bond to soap molecules and form a polar substance. This substance will disolve in water. So dish soap and water, a rag, and a towel.