How to make white again?

[sudsbyhubbs]

The floor mats in my PT Cruiser have some white lettering on the sides that just aren't very white anymore. Last night I used the LGM with APC+ and the mats look great, but the letters still aren't very white. They look cleaner, but just not a bright white. Does anyone know of something I could use to bring back the white?

[gb387]

Re: How to make white again?

The floor mats in my PT Cruiser have some white lettering on the sides that just aren't very white anymore. Last night I used the LGM with APC+ and the mats look great, but the letters still aren't very white. They look cleaner, but just not a bright white. Does anyone know of something I could use to bring back the white?

My girlfriend has an HHR that has a similar lettering on the floor mats, I cleaned twice and got the lettering to look better but not white... similar results as you. I used APC, so not to sure what will get them back to white-white, I just chalked it up as something that wasn't going to look the way it use to. Willing to hear other ideas as well.

[Joe's detailing]

Re: How to make white again?

Try a terry towel & de-greaser put some muscle in it...

[RaskyR1]

Re: How to make white again?

You could try some lacquer thinner...probably will want to follow up with something to get rid of the smell though.

Are these carpet or rubber?

[sudsbyhubbs]

Re: How to make white again?

They're carpet.

[RaskyR1]

Re: How to make white again?

They're carpet.

I'll use thinner to take brown tar spots out of the carpet, it may work.

[BlueZero]

Re: How to make white again?

What about bleach? Do you guys think that would work? Maybe even the color safe stuff.

[sudsbyhubbs]

Re: How to make white again?

I thought about bleach, but I'm not sure what that would do to the carpet. I've seen bleach stains on other floor mats and I definitely don't want that, but the color safe bleach might work...

[Mike Phillips]

Re: How to make white again?

Sometimes when you have white fabric surrounded by colored fabric it can be very hard to fix one without negatively affecting the other.

It's just a tough thing to do...

I've met a lot of people that when getting a convertible they opt for the white convertible top over a black, tan or gray top and then find out how hard it is to keep it pristine white.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: How to make white again?

It may be at its maximum potential. The surrounding color of the carpeted floor mats might have bled into the white lettering. This may be as good as it gets.

[Sal329]

Re: How to make white again?

Spray the carpet with some Zep High traffic carpet cleaner, use a brush and some towels, then blast the mat with a pressure washer if you have it

[Andrew C.]

Re: How to make white again?

I know this is old but I thought I'd throw in a suggestion. I have never done it but what you could try to do is go get a laundry stain/bleach stick. They seem kinda waxy and you are supposed to rub it on stains on your clothes before you wash them. So wipe down the letters with the stick and let it sit for an hour or so. Come back with hot water and scrub it vigorously then extract. This most likely will make it better than it was to start with. Make sure to check that the stick will not harm the color of the floor mat.