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CAR INTERIOR DETAILING

Overview:
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Vacuuming your car [*]
Dashboard & console care [*]
Leather & vinyl care [*]
Cleaning carpet & upholstery [/ul]




Regular vacuuming and dusting of your car's interior is the best way to keep it looking good. However, surface cleaning alone is not enough. Two to three times a year you will need to detail the upholstery to keep it looking its best.
Warning:Before using any product on your car's fabric upholstery, carpet, leather or vinyl, test for color fading by cleaning a small, inconspicuous area. Do not use the product if it adversely changes your fabric's color or texture.







The interior of this BMW has just been perfectly detailed. Notice how the leather has a nice, even matte finish. Professional detailers don't leave a car's interior looking wet and slick. The interior should look like it just arrived from the factory.

CAR INTERIOR DETAILING: A SYSTEMATIC APPROACHThe interior of your car takes a lot of abuse. Unlike the inside of your home, which has many times more square footage, the inside of your car gets repeated, concentrated traffic. Each time you get in your car, you drag in more dirt. Each time you eat or drink in your car, you add a few more crumbs and spills. In fact, just sitting in your car, you drop hair, dead skin, makeup and other contaminants. All of this dirt and junk adds up very fast.

It is not necessary to fully detail the inside of your car each time you wash it. Unless you've been to the beach, out in the mud, or tracking in grass and leaves, you can probably get away with vacuuming and a quick wipe-down every couple of weeks.

Weekly Car Interior CleanupHere's what I recommend as a weekly routine for the interior:[/size]

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Wipe down all vinyl, leather and plastic surfaces with a damp cloth. A microfiber detailing towel is excellent for this task, as it will leave a lint-free, dust-free finish.

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Pull out your floor mats, and shake or brush off the dirt and debris.

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Pick up trash (that old banana peel you tossed into the backseat), and empty the ashtray and console storage bins.

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Wipe down your door jambs and doorsills with a damp towel.

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Wipe down your interior glass and your rearview mirror with a damp microfiber detailing towel. If your windows are relatively clean, you don't need to use a glass cleaner. [/ol]
Very recently, a new product category has emerged for the car interior that's equivalent to the exterior quick detailing spray. Interior cockpit sprays, like Sonus Cockpit Detailer, combine light cleaning and protective capabilities in a spray-and-wipe system. If you're looking for an interior product that keeps your cockpit looking perfect, you might give it a try. In my mind, this is a much better solution than layer after layer of protectant.







A weekly wipe down with an interior detailer keeps your vehicle fresh and prevents the need for heavy cleaning later.

Monthly Car Interior DetailingOnce a month your car's interior will need a little more than a quick wipe-down. After a month, your interior glass will have some film buildup, the carpet will need to be vacuumed, and the dash, console and other vinyl parts will need to have their protection renewed. Here's what I recommend:

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Follow all of the steps for the Weekly Interior Cleanup.

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Vacuum the interior carpet, seats, seat crevices and console.

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Clean the interior glass with a good glass cleaner and a microfiber detailing towel.

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Apply a vinyl protectant with an ultraviolet (UV) light inhibitor to the dash, console and tops of door panels (the areas with the most sun exposure). I find that a foam applicator works the best. [/ol]

Quarterly Interior Detailing

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Clean and protect all leather and vinyl upholstery.

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Clean and protect all rubber door, trunk and hood seals. [/ol]

PROPER INTERIOR DETAILINGWith the variety of materials used inside the modern automotive interior, knowing what to detail and how to do it is not always a straightforward matter. This section is divided into specific materials and areas of interior detailing. Read the areas that apply to your vehicle.


Car VacuumingThere's no special science to car vacuuming. You need a good vacuum, a few attachments, and ten to fifteen minutes to get in there and get the job done.







A special car vacuum, such as this Vac N'Blo Portable Vacuum from Metropolitan Vacuum has all of the right attachments for car detailing. This car vacuum is under 18" long and only 7" in diameter. It comes with a 12' power cord, a shoulder strap, a 6' flexible hose, two 20" extensions, a blower nozzle, pik-all nozzle, dust brush, crevice tool, inflator adapter and a 4-piece microcleaning tool kit.
The two most important attachments are the crevice attachment and the dust brush attachment. Make sure your crevice attachment is plastic, not metal. A metal attachment or a plastic attachment that's in poor condition may scratch or otherwise damage leather or vinyl upholstery.
Use the crevice tool to reach between and under seats, into tight seams, nooks and crannies, and around seat beads. Vigorous movement on the carpet helps to bring up sand and grit.







Holly is using thecrevice tool on her Vac N'Blo vacuum to get behind the gas pedal and into other areas the wide nozzle won't reach.
Use the round dust brush attachment to vacuum the console, dash and vents. You can assist with the dusting by using an interior detailing brush ahead of the vacuum to get deep into vents and cracks.
[size=2]Here are the steps for proper vacuuming:
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Start your vacuuming job by pulling out the floor mats. Shake out the mats to remove any loose dirt. Use a 4" upholstery attachment or the bare hose end to vigorously vacuum the mats.

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Work on the rear upholstery and carpet. Push the front seats all the way forward. Use the crevice tool to vacuum the cracks of the seats, and between the seats and carpeted ar