[foonanas]

What do you guys and gals use to clean your interior? for cloth that is. i bought an 86 and would like to clean the seats. I tried that foam type stuff (3 different kinds) but it does not seem to work. looks like it just spreads the dirt around. i am trying to get this one cleaned up so i can sell it. You would not believe what i found in this car. chicken bones under the seats and fries in places that i did not know they could get to!!!!!! i should mention the lady used this car to deliver newspapers. so i am thinking that most of the dirt and stains might be ink. any help would be great.


thanks jeremy

 

[Speed Racer]

I'm thinking a full box of Tide (with bleach), a garden hose and a big brush.

Pour the tide all over the interior, roll down the windows, open the hatch....and turn the hose on full blast. You can use the big brush on the really dirty places. :wink:

 

[DriftMe]

Be sure to stand back when you open the doors, you don't want your feet getting wet. Let it sit for a week with a dehumidifyer running in the backseat. Problem solved.

 

[RaptorRacing]

I have a steam cleaner attatchment on my shopvac that works wonders...nothings stumped it yet. I also have a Eureka Steam cleaner that shoots out steam....not hot water...between the two of them, i can pretty much get any stain out of my carpets.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Have a small Bissel steam cleaner. Used it to clean up a passenger side Terra Cotta P-Type seat over a year ago. Got all of the dirt stains out. Only thing it did not get out, was some ink stains/blotches from a leaky pen.

Bought mine from Target. Was under $60

 

[Angkistrodon]

I took The Door panels and most of the interior Out of one of my parts cars..at first it was not much better than what I had in my car but it was not ripped up. I took the hose dish soap and stain remover washed them let the particle board dry........and DAMN!!!!!! they look great. if you have the cloth on your door panels etc. I recommend taking them out to wash them......much easier.

 

[Borlax]

I recomend taking the cloth of the seats, put it in a bath tub or somthing like that for a day, with a detergent that dissolves all the hard dirt, and then cook washing it in a machine. I have done that with all of my cars and the interior smells and looks like new. I know its hard to get all those brass or whatever theyre made off, rings that holds the cloth on the seats off, but i used two pliers to take them of and refitting them. Its really worth the effort !!!.

 

[dogstar]

they make pliers for those rings, theyre called hog ring pliers, and they work wonders.

i worked as a detailer for almost a year, and if you wanna know how the pros do it, ill tell ya.

first, go to an automotive supply wholesaler, and find out what kinda cleaners they have, or find a diversey lever supplier.
then, get some good professional cleaning products, and a steam cleaner, it should cost you like 70 bucks for it.... seems expensive, but its worth it, belive me!

put your soap into the steamer, and clean the WHOLE interior, i recommend doing it at like 6 am, then letting the car sit in the sun with the windows down all day.

do this two or three times.

get steel wool.... like 000000 or something really mildly abrasive, spray the windows with cleaner, and scrub em gently.
dont worry about getting them super clean, youll clean them again later.

wash the exterior, do a good job.
clean the exterior windows with the steel wool, then clean them again and make em CLEAN.

go back and do the best job possible on the interior of the windows.

it sounds minor, but who wants windows that smell like tobacco, or that have a nagging little streak....

i wouldnt buy a dirty car, but maybe thats just me

 

[wallcrawlr]

Thanks good post.

Keep posting those "insider" tips.

 

[Marblehead]

.....put your soap into the steamer, and clean the WHOLE interior, i recommend doing it at like 6 am, then letting the car sit in the sun with the windows down all day.........wash the exterior, do a good job. clean the exterior windows with the steel wool, then clean them again and make em CLEAN. go back and do the best job possible on the interior of the windows.

But after cleaning the interior, and with the windows down, how do you keep the water out of the car while you're washing the outside? Also, it's gotta be tough cleaning the windows when they're down, having to remove the door panel and working around the frame work and all.

:silly: :rotfl:

Released early for good behavior.
Scott

 

[Racefiend]

I find Ronsonol lighter fluid works wonders for most things. I use it for taking adhesive off paint, and getting stains out of rugs/seats. Chris, try this out. You may find it takes the ink out of the seat. I had a big blue ink stain on the seat in one my cars, and I had to work at it for awhile (its was a LOT of ink) but eventually the rag came up clean and no more stain. I also find that Tuff Stuff works really well, especially for rugs. It's taken grease stains out of my rugs no problem.

Christian

 

[Marblehead]

A friend of mine used an orange cleaner, one of those spray on types that are popping up from every cleaning manufacturer. He sprayed it on full strength, let it sit for a moment, then wiped it with a moist, hot towel. He did this on a light gray cloth interior. Don't know how it would fair on any other color, may want to experiment on a hidden area first.

Ring leader of an alien circus.
Scott

 

[supraii]

take all the seats out and use the whole bottle of simple green. Soap it and leave it on for an hour or so then scrub it with brush. and let it dry. Mine took a week. I spilled awhole bottle of use oil in the trunk and it got to the back seat. That shit was stink. The simple green is safe and powerful and smell good too.
thanks

 

[pdupler]

Since first reading this thread, I've looked at several places for steam cleaners and I can't picture what everyone is recommending. There seem to be small handheld steam cleaners that look somewhat like a teapot and shoot steam out a nozzle and show on the box they clean everything EXCEPT carpet and upholstery OR there are small carpet & upholstery spot cleaners with rotating brushes that just use hot water, not steam. The only carpet cleaners that I've found that use actual steam are big units like you'd do your whole house (and cost many hundreds of dollars). And I've not found any steam attachments for my shop vac either. What exactly is everyone using here?

Phil D.

 

[TOYMAN321]

Go to Target, Walmart, Kmart... those kinda places and go to the vaccume isle. They look like a vaccume but have water tanks on them instead, you want to get one with a hand held attachment. You can clean the interior with the hand attachment, do the removable carpeting the same way you would vaccume it and your set... just remember to crack your windows to let the interior dry completely. Another pointer is remove your seats... it's just 4 bolts each, then you can get under and around them and get all that gunk thats fallen beside the seats over the last 20 years... and then all the change that you find under the seats imbedded in the carpet will help offset the cost of the steam cleaner

 

[jonroy]

steamer

But after cleaning the interior, and with the windows down, how do you keep the water out of the car while you're washing the outside? Also, it's gotta be tough cleaning the windows when they're down, having to remove the door panel and working around the frame work and all.

:silly: :rotfl:

Released early for good behavior.
Scott[/
good work keep it up
do you have an idea about good steamer??
if you have so please tell me about best steamer which use to home.

 

[Beernuts]

I use 'any' interior cleaner or plain carpet cleaner soap, and use a small brush to work it in. Be gentle, you don't want your car to look like terry cloth..
After soaping up, (you can let it sit for some minutes) I use a hand sprayer with clean water, and soak just the upper layers. Then I get out my shop vac, and suck up all the water, soap and grime.
Repeat the rinse prosess, and the whole soap process if still stains.
I find this a gentle process, since the backing is made of compressed wood. Even works on the delicate sun visors.
I took out everything and cleaned them separately since the car was going to the paint shop anyway, but as the car has been in our family since '89, it wasn't that dirty.