Interior cleaning tips

Slattsy

Firstly, delighted to see a dedicated forum for detailing. Having got plenty of advise from many of you here since I got my car last November, there's always some great advice and tips from the regulars and your contribution doesn't go unrecognised. From myself anyway.

So keep up all the great work.

Secondly, as thread title suggests I need some good products for cleaning the interior. For all I've done on the exterior I feel I need to move inside. Apart from a hoover and a wee dust down I've not done much.

In particular I've noticed the fabric on the ceiling a little scruffy, and the leather seats too.

Any recommendations?

Tia.

head the ball!

tyre shine on gear gator and dash gives loads of shine to interior,

Ded_Zebra

Dirt on the headlining can be removed with a dilute solution of APC and a gentle rub with a clean towel.

I don't have leather:( so I won't recommend a product for it, I'm sure someone in the know will shortly

EDIT: I use some lidl interior wipes which give a semi gloss shine to plastics which I like and they're cheap too! I'm sure the more serious detailers will look down on these wipes :P and will recommend a much better product but these do the trick for me:)

vectra

Dilute APC all round for me to give a clean Matt finish as i hate shine inside.
On the leather i also use a very diluted spray of apc and a damp MF cloth to clean. Dry with MF and clean and[protect with the Glyptone twins.

Chimaera

One thing I've found especially important in interior cleaning, particularly on light coloured fabrics such as are used on headlining, is to change your rinse water regularly. First time I cleaned the headlining on my car the water had turned brown by half way but I didn't change it so I ended up with very obvious staining on the headlining. It disappeared the next time I got to it though.

If you have access to a wet vacuum cleaner interior cleaning is so much easier. You can afford to use more water than you would without and this gives a better result IME. It's great for dealing with hte aftermath of a liquid spill too. At some point in its past my car had had coke or coffee spilled on the carpet and it took a lot of water and vacuuming to get rid of the stain (it was bad enough to be visible on a black carpet).

Autoglym's plastic cleaner is pretty decent IME. You can spray it on and leave it soak for a shine, or wipe it off quickly if you prefer no shine. And it doesn't leave a sticky residue.

Don't forget to clean inside the windows. You'd be amazed at how grimy they get.

Curran

As adviced, APC (All Purpose Cleaner) is the way forward for pretty much all the interior surfaces. Each surface may require a different dilution, but always start with a weak dilution; if it's not working on a certain surface, move on, and retrun to the areas that need more attention with a 2nd pass of the same dilution or move up to a stronger dilution if the weaker one isnt working on a certain surface.
A few detailing brushes of various sizes, and a toothbrush can also be handy, APC in a spray bottle and a few clean cheap microfibre cloths. Spray on the APC, agigate with brushes and wipe the surface clean and dry with the MF cloths. A bit of care around the buttons of the radio/dash, but in general they can take a light misting without issue. Heavily soiled areas such as the gear knob, handbrake and steering wheel, can be tough to get clean; a MF cloth in hot water (as hot as you can handle ringing out water of the MF) and wrap it around the surface and let it sweat a little, before giving a good rub with a dry MF, will help draw out the heavy dirt and grease from constant handling.

Once the surface is clean, it will leave a nice matt finish when fully dry. People prefer different finishes, but personally I like it matt. The plastic trim products that give a shine often attract dust more quickly, and are sticky, which make it harder to clean in future. With an un-finished surface, generally, a light wipe / weekly vacuum is enough to keep it looking good. There are a few anti-static products, that will help repell dust, while also giving a matt finish, and a deep appearance of the plastic.

Leather seats; same again, a weak APC and a soft nail brush. Section by section...spray, agigate, wipe dry. A leather conditioner application, should perhaps be considered, afterwards depending on condition of the seats.

head the ball! wrote: »

tyre shine on gear gator and dash gives loads of shine to interior,

Seriously?? Judging by your username, Im guessing that this is a piss take? No?

georgefalls

AG Leather cleaner and balm. Two part system. One cleans, the other feeds..
Always used it, good results that seem to last for ages..

Vegeta

Hey folks, any tips for bobbled and grubby alcantara?

georgefalls

^^^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0038M3ICO

Curran

There are special cleaners for Alcantara.

Give the Alcantara a good clean and then use a bobble remover on it...pick one up in Argos



Or Mack III it....or a combo of both would be the ideal...get as much off with the bobble remover and then shave it smooth!

Sounds crazy, but works!

Vegeta

Thanks guys. Any further info on stain removal once bobbles removed? APC, damp microfiber and twisting cleaning motion??

mickdw

vectra wrote: »

Dilute APC all round for me to give a clean Matt finish as i hate shine inside.

I have to agree re matt finish. Nothing worse than a shiny finish when it wasnt designed to be shiny. Shiny dash screams - polished up for sale.
Only place Ive used cockpit shine has been in the engine bay. After a good clean, it was super shiny for about 1 day then it was perfect.

Slattsy

mickdw wrote: »

I have to agree re matt finish. Nothing worse than a shiny finish when it wasnt designed to be shiny. Shiny dash screams - polished up for sale.
Only place Ive used cockpit shine has been in the engine bay. After a good clean, it was super shiny for about 1 day then it was perfect.

You've an A5 too Mick, what do you use on the dash?

mickdw

Any good product to clean the door cills inside? Ive never been too successful cleaning those due to the textured plastic finish

Curran

mickdw wrote: »

Any good product to clean the door cills inside? Ive never been too successful cleaning those due to the textured plastic finish

Do you mean the surface to the top right of this image?
http://www.eurocarnews.com/media/pictorials/182/1007.jpg

If so, then APC and agitate with a toothbrush or nail brush.

vectra

Curran wrote: »

Do you mean the surface to the top right of this image?
http://www.eurocarnews.com/media/pictorials/182/1007.jpg

If so, then APC and agitate with a toothbrush or nail brush.

And finished off with a matt plastic dressing.

Curran

vectra wrote: »

And finished off with a matt plastic dressing.

Otpional

What do you use out of interest?

Stallingrad

Where can you get this APC stuff?

Vegeta

Stallingrad wrote: »

Where can you get this APC stuff?

Tesco or lidl

Stallingrad

Link to what it looks like?

Cheers

Vegeta

Here's one:

http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=265673183

vectra

Curran wrote: »

Otpional

What do you use out of interest?

Diluted Pearl.

mickdw

Slattsy wrote: »

You've an A5 too Mick, what do you use on the dash?

Never needs anything more than a dusting really. Have been known to use a household polish. No shine.

Curran

vectra wrote: »

Diluted Pearl.

Heard decent reports of Pearl. Nice that its dilutable!

vectra

Curran wrote: »

Heard decent reports of Pearl. Nice that its dilutable!

Hard to get as far as I know now as well. Place I got it from is not doing it anymore I think.

JAMES VTI S

Never ever spray straight on to leather

Curran

JAMES VTI S wrote: »

Never ever spray straight on to leather

Never spray what?

JAMES VTI S

APC

Curran

Care to back that up with an explanation as to why you should never spray APC straight onto leather?

JAMES VTI S

When i was at autoglym training i was warned of this
IIRC its if the APC (or what ever) runs down the leather it can lighten the colour of the leather
Im not one to risk it and see

Curran

APC neat perhaps! And allowing it to dwell for a long period.

Obviously it goes without saying that all detailing products should be used with common sense. Do you risk using Tar Remover on your paintwork? Its a risk too leave it sit for extended periods, similar to APC on leather.

Quick example, Meguiar's APC clearly states its safe for leather - Click Here

As I pointed out in post #6, start out with weak dilution and work up to stronger if necessary. If you work in small sections at a time, spray on, agitate and wipe off with a clean MF, there is no risk to the leather.

fryup

whats best for upholstery seats?? a steam cleaner??

Curran

For regular upholstery (as in not Alcantara) something like Chemical Guys Fabric Clean...again diluted down to suit the job.

Spray on
Agigtate with a nail brush
Wipe off with MF cloth

Then, ideally if you had a wet vac, give them a good going over afterwards to help pull out all the dirt. If not, repeat above again as necessary. You might find if you do sections, that the seat will dry with a white-ish tide line. Repeat again and it should be good.