The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Cleaning an original horse hair firewall pad

I am working on the firewall / toeboard on the 52. The original horse hair pad and pressed fiber cover are filthy, and the fiber cover is breaking down. I don't mind replaceing the pad with jute. But I would like to have the same fiber cover. I have checked all the usual venders, and all I get id pebbled rubber, and polyureathane. So has anyone found a place I can purcase a close appromaxication of the fiber cover? Also outside of shaving the neighbors horse has anybody cleaned/washed an oringinal horsehair pad and been successuful?

I don't think the panel board covers are available any where. If I had a bad one I'd replace it with one of the plastic ones. The backing may have been coir, a natural fiber made from coconut husk. it was used as a seat pad also and was rubberized to hold the fiber together. The jute that was used originally under the floor mats was also a natural fiber, and that fiber was, "Jute". The vendors use the word jute today as a generic term for any of the synthetic materials that are used under a floor mat.
DG
I don't think the panel board covers are available any where. If I had a bad one I'd replace it with one of the plastic ones. The backing may have been coir, a natural fiber made from coconut husk. it was used as a seat pad also and was rubberized to hold the fiber together. The jute that was used originally under the floor mats was also a natural fiber, and that fiber was, "Jute". The vendors use the word jute today as a generic term for any of the synthetic materials that are used under a floor mat.
DG

Denny, thanks for the insight. The fiber pad is hard to identify. The size of the fibers could be thick horse hair, coir, shredded tree fiber who knows what. I guess the first step will be to see if I can clean the pad. If the rubber has held up it should take a soak in water and a gentel cleaning. Then I will work on the cover. a good cleaning, and maybe ironing on a piece of tar paper or roofing felt as a backing to preserve the original. I know jute is a wood/fiber content product while I woud think that coir is a long wood fiber product. The two being quite similar I would think. By the way I know you were looking to "freshen" the brown cover on your truck. Did you try anything? and if so, how did it turn out? Jimmie.

Taint touched it yet Jimmie, having the same problem you are, that is finding a product to restore it.
DG