I had a can of OFF bug spray in my car, used it on myself and then tossed it onto the passenger seat. I left it there for a couple of days. When I picked it up I saw the can had leaked and totally trashed the rubber/pleather (whatever the seats are made from). Two days later the patch is still a sticky, rubbery mess.

Oh and the car is leased, not bought. Not amused at all.

Do you have any ideas to clean up the sticky mess??

 

you put that on your body....

get some Repel.

 

Won't be putting it anywhere near my body again!!!


Trying to work out what to do to stop the seat remaining a sticky mess for the last 12 months of my lease. Thank goodness I paid for that extended wear and tear coverage.

 

Sadly it's not a matter of cleaning up - that section of the seat is trashed. The DEET in Off gooifies, for lack of a better term, plastic and the leatherette (and even the "leather" seats) are made of a form of plastic...

 

First of all I am sorry to hear about your mess. There is nothing you can do to fix the spot but maybe you can keep it from being "sticky".

This is probable be one of my most stupid comments but if I was you I would try it. You have nothing to lose other than the cost of the can.
The Off changed the chemical compound of the seat. I would go to some place like a Target (not sure if they have it) and buy that can of chewing gum remover. You know the stuff that is like liquid Nitrogen. It freezes the chewing gum and makes it brittle. Freeze a corner of the spot and see if you can stop the stickiness. If so freeze the entire spot.

I know go ahead and laugh but I am curious to see if it works.
Again sorry and thanks for teaching us a very important lesson.
Paul

 

Off has chemicals that damage plastics. If you spray the mist and it hits the clear plastic on your speedo or tach, it could melt the plastic. I damaged the clear plexiglass on my boat from spraying off.

I know you're looking for solutions to get rid of the damage to you leatherette seats, but IMHO it's permanently damaged because of the chemical reaction. I promise that you posting your experience will help someone else.

If you do find a way to fix the seat, please post.

 

The DEET dissolved the plastic of the leatherette. There's probably very little you can do at this point in terms of cleaning it up because the sticky part is the leatherette itself now, not something that formed on top of the leatherette. Whatever solution you end up with will have to involve replacing or covering that spot. I wish I could be more helpful!

 

No, I am fully aware that the damage cannot be fixed.

I am trying to get rid of the sticky, gooey mess that is there. Ugly I can deal with, but the black goo that just isn't going away is doing my head in. I used warm water, mild soap in warm water. Will try ice tomorrow, that works on bubble gum. See if I can freeze the goo and scrape it off.

My aim is to be left with a "clean" surface to sit on, as right now it is not that.

Checking out my extended wear and tear coverage, bought just in case, it seems to cover this. But as I have 12 months left on my lease I need the seat to be function.

 

Freezing might solidify the area. I've never tried it but it's worth a shot. Other than that, your out of luck. That sticky gooey area is what the DEET does to the plastic, it's not a coating on the seat that can be removed.

 

Salvage Yard. Get a seat out of a totaled Countryman. They are all linked and ship parts to each other from all over North America.

 

I tried the ice, didn't work at all. Still very sticky. So I slapped a piece of black hockey tape on it, that will do the job for now.

Next I will check with Mini to see if the seat will be covered by the extended wear and tear coverage I purchased. In theory it should. I have read it through and cannot see why it would be an exclusion.

If that doesn't work I found this company online where I can purchase just the seat part of the leatherette upholstery. It will cost about $350 CAD, plus tax

http://mini.sewellparts.com/oem-cata...60SX-2011.html

 

If not covered by your coverage, keep an eye out on the market place for the seat covers. Not common, but can pop up occasionally. I think there was a set recently, if they are still not for sale they might show what they were sold for.

 

A small update. I emailed OFF last week about the product problem. They called me today and are going to compensate me financially. I have to send the can of OFF, two quotes for seat replacement and photographs of the damage.

Not really a bad reaction at all.

Now to get quotes.

 

Wow!!!!

That is quite surprising and exciting. Glad to see they stepped up and are making it right somehow.

Maybe they were worried with day in age that a couple of pictures and a story like this could go viral and get too much bad publicity. Or, they just want to make it right. Either way...

 

Outstanding!! Glad they are doing the right thing. Thanks for the update.

 

Had I sprayed the stuff on the seats I would have been SOL, but as the can leaked I am good to go. The woman said they do not recommend storing bug spray in a car, but as it did not state this on the can in question I am covered.

Talking with my Mini dealership about the replacement costs.

 

man that's great news! Let us know how it all goes down!

 

Got a call from Johnson & Johnson today. They are sending me a check for the full amount of the mini quote to replace the seating surface. $716 USD to be exact.

I really cannot complain about their customer service. I sent them the can of OFF, photos, two quotes and a filled in report form four weeks ago.

 

That's awesome. A real stand up company.

 

WOW! That is absolutely incredible. I am very pleased to hear this outcome. Now go talk to an upholsterer about if they can replace just that portion and maybe save some money .

 

I hate to be the nag, but there's no reason to be dishonest. There are so many instances where people get the shaft by companies, and if J&J ever saw this thread or found out that he was able to pocket $500 he could get in trouble with them, and they'd be less inclined to take responsibility in the future.

 

What are you talking about??? I told the company the whole truth. They are paying to fix the damage. End of story. I'm happy.

 

Seems to me that J&J paid for the 'damages', not for the repair. Quebecker can decide if, when or how to fix it. Nothing wrong with that.

 

What are you talking about? The company isn't going to care if he ever even fixes it (or she, sorry Q if you are). They paid now to avoid possibly paying more, including court fees, later. Now if Q lied just to get the money, that is a different situation.

 

Great news on getting the seats covered for repairs.

Deet is rough stuff on nylon based plastics.. I've had it "melt" zippers and ruin plastic eye glasses.. Be careful.. I always store it in two layers of zip-loc bags when I have to transport it in a camp bag..