Jeff, I used my Bissell Little Green Clean Machine on the blue velour-ish
upholstery of my 85 last spring when I got it, using an unscented shampoo
product from AMF (fragrances of any sort make me very ill-- the reason I
bought the van was it was the only thing available that had NEVER had an
air freshener in it...and now I have to read a Vanagon Listserv ;-)

I started out using the recommended amount of shampoo and the little carpet
machine...but the upholstery had never been washed before (just vacuumed)
and it had lived in a dusty climate...and after while I was in there with a
scrub brush and bucket on certain areas and a hose (ok, I took out the
carpet and hosed it outside the van-- that's where the hose came in...I
didn't do an 'Agean Stable Method' on the inside....)

And the carpet and upholstery look great!  Someone mentioned taking off the
scotchguard-- yeah, I probably did, but that's fine by me (one less
chemical in my van) The color and texture are all even and fine...if
there's any fading it's from being 17 years old and the sunlight's been
hitting it through the windows, not my scrub job.

I think you'll be ok using the Bissell Steamer in the Bissell-recommended
fashion.

--Patrice
85GL VanaBlue