The Sea Blue Beetle is back from Rusty’s Autowerks, once again it looks new. It was there for a week, which was longer than I expected, but they had a larger job ahead of mine. In the meantime, I found and ordered the original rear seat retaining strap on eBay.

Strap is a rather ambiguous term given the location. If you google this, you will more than likely find search results related to the rubber strap that holds the rear seat from falling forward. The retaining strap, on the other hand, holds the back seat rest forward for storing luggage. So, I found myself doing multiple searches to finally get the correct part.

Disassembled and ready for the grey dye.

The original straps were grey in color. Most if not all original straps have faded to a lighter color of grey or yellow appearance. My plan is to return my strap to a grey color with Rit dye. The instructions are pretty straight forward, but the process takes well over an hour.

I could have just used a replica strap from an aftermarket supplier, but that hardware is cheap, and it’s a pretty sad looking imitation. So, I went the eBay route to find the period correct retaining strap.

The Grey Dye, and Color Fixative
Dye with strap

Once you get the water to at least 140, it’s time to add a cup of salt, and a teaspoon of dishwashing detergent. Then add the dye and start stirring for at least 20 minutes.

Next, the strap goes into a different container with the color fixative. It’s time to do some more stirring. Then rinse with cool water until the water runs clear. Then, hand wash with gentle detergent and air dry.

So here is the finished result. The dyed strap is on the right, the aftermarket strap is on the left. The dyed strap is not quite what I expected for a grey color, but it’s better than what it looked like before dying it. I still need to but the clip on it and install it in the bug. That will be a job I do in a couple days, so stay tuned.