Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

This old thread, pun not intended, may be of help.

You want to proceed carefully with the cleaning. Try a product on a test section that is hidden from view, if possible. Blotting is the technique to use rather than scrubbing. Old and fragile material cannot take much abrasive action. Go slowly and carefully.

(o{}o)

I would definitely recommend pulling the seats and carpet out to clean. Repeatedly vacuum first top and bottom before any upholstery cleaning so no "dirt" gets into the padding. Air them out for a few days first, also. Inside if it's wet out, outside if it's sunny. It won't fade in a few days but the odor will. If you can, I'd take the headliner and side panels off also, but depends how bad the infiltration was. But that might be more than you can reasonably handle if you haven't done it before and can wait til new interior. If odor doesn't go away/disspate there's probably residue in these locations.
Try SMS for the interior materials. Call and send them a clean swatch and trim code. Stick with it, don't accept the first if no match. They were the only ones that had the seat material for my 23 series. I had to hunt for the rest of the matching cloths but they're out there. I was similarly told it was impossible to find. There is not a good place to find the original material info or sourcing. Both archive museums had no info and roster keeper not much help either. You're pretty much on your own or find a good resto upholstery shop.