Interior cleaning q's

[Jordan]

Ok, long story short, my Aunt's old '91 Grand Am was completely trashed. Headliner was slit in many places, the car was heavily smoked in and was used as an ashtray, everything is sticky, the carpet is heavily stained, and the windows have some sort of residue on them. My aunt is heartbroken, and I want to make this right for her. I'm not exactly what you'd call a detailing expert, so forgive me if my questions sound completely retard or obvious.

I have a small wet/dry vac, some brushes, windex, clorox wipes, and I bought a little bottle of woolite, but that's about it. I know this stuff won't make the cut, so what will?

What's the best way/method to clean the carpeting/seats? What about the windows? Interior plastics? I already removed the headliner and its backing to attempt to recover, so that's atleast out of the way.

Thanks for any help guys, it will be much appreciated by me and I know my aunt will be happy

[MikeyC]

How did the car get so trashed? Was it stolen?

Anyway, sounds like you're going to need a lot of cleaner to do the whole interior. I would pick up either some Meguiar's APC which works on just about any interior surface except glass or the DP Interior Cleaner which is a similar product. Then for the glass I would get some Stoner's Invisible Glass. Finally, make sure you protect all the vinyl/plastic after cleaning. My personal favorite protectant is DP Interior Surface Protectant because it's not shiny at all. 303 Aerospace Protectant and Poorboy's Natural Look are similar products which are also very popular, but IMO leave a little more shine.

[BILL]

How did the car get so trashed? Was it stolen?

Anyway, sounds like you're going to need a lot of cleaner to do the whole interior. I would pick up either some Meguiar's APC which works on just about any interior surface except glass or the DP Interior Cleaner which is a similar product. Then for the glass I would get some Stoner's Invisible Glass. Finally, make sure you protect all the vinyl/plastic after cleaning. My personal favorite protectant is DP Interior Surface Protectant because it's not shiny at all. 303 Aerospace Protectant and Poorboy's Natural Look are similar products which are also very popular, but IMO leave a little more shine.



What are you using to remove the S.I.G.??

[Excessive Detail]

If the carpets bad really really, bad, I would say ake all the seat our, removw th carpet and pressure wash the carpets. I've done that a few times, depending on the car it really isn't that bad and works really well. Other than that I would suggest a portable steam cleaner or spot cleaner that has a a water heater built in and plenty of carpet cleaner, folex works magic or oxiclean. Get some magic erasers for stains on the vinyel, use with care though, they do contain small amounts of fiberglass. Water and woolite make a good cleaner, gentle, but effective. I've also used purple power on the interior, strong so dilute it good. I wouldn't use any two in one cleaners, meaning clean and condition. like megs 40, don't get me me wrong this is the only stuff I use on interiors, but in you case it would probably be a waste of money. Do it, of course, after everything is fully cleaned. Good luck.

[Jordan]

In a nut shell it wasn't stolen, it was borrowed by a less than honorable person then not returned. We actually had to find it and retreive it ourselves.


I'm assuming that APC = all purpose cleaner, but what about DP?


Also, aside from the products, what's the best way to tackle this? I know a lot of you are professionals, so any steps or guides would be really appreciated.


Edit: Excessive, thanks for the tips! I already have the passenger seat removed, and the driver seat is next. Fortunately, the carpet cleaned up nicely after a few passes with the shopvac, but the stains/smell remain. I'll probably tackle them with the woolite/water, then go from there. What's a good mixing ratio?


I actually do plan on getting into detailing, I have been lurking here for months! Just didn't expect to get a crash course in it like this. heh

[Excessive Detail]

In a nut shell it wasn't stolen, it was borrowed by a less than honorable person then not returned. We actually had to find it and retreive it ourselves.


I'm assuming that APC = all purpose cleaner, but what about DP?


Also, aside from the products, what's the best way to tackle this? I know a lot of you are professionals, so any steps or guides would be really appreciated.


Edit: Excessive, thanks for the tips! I already have the passenger seat removed, and the driver seat is next. Fortunately, the carpet cleaned up nicely after a few passes with the shopvac, but the stains/smell remain. I'll probably tackle them with the woolite/water, then go from there. What's a good mixing ratio?


I actually do plan on getting into detailing, I have been lurking here for months! Just didn't expect to get a crash course in it like this. heh


Apc does mean all purpose cleaner and dp is one. They are all basically the sam thing, but soem are stronger than others and require diluting. Water and woolit seems to be good cleaner for me, but sometimes on really dirty carpets I use oxiclean and apc mith, pp, You don't need a lot of oxi clean, too much will leave residue. To kay with the oxiclean is to let it si on the area for a little bit, say you just vaccumed one side of the car, spray it down and and go vacuum the other side, then spray it down, when your done go that side back to the origional side and wipe up the stains, you get the picture. I will tell you, some stains will not come out no matter how much are hard you try. If you work to hard on an area you will end up doing more damage than good. It all about trial and error. Keep asking questions.

[MikeyC]

I'm assuming that APC = all purpose cleaner, but what about DP?

DP is a brand name. It used to be short for Detailer's Pride, but now the official name is just DP. You can find their products in the Autogeek store.



What are you using to remove the S.I.G.??


By S.I.G. do you mean Invisible Glass? If you do I usually use Cobra Glass Towels to buff off glass cleaners. These towels are fantastic for cleaning glass.

[BILL]

DP is a brand name. It used to be short for Detailer's Pride, but now the official name is just DP. You can find their products in the Autogeek store.



By S.I.G. do you mean Invisible Glass?

yes.......


If you do I usually use Cobra Glass Towels to buff off glass cleaners. These towels are fantastic for cleaning glass.


great.......thanks.........:)

[BILL]

DP is a brand name. It used to be short for Detailer's Pride, but now the official name is just DP. You can find their products in the Autogeek store.



By S.I.G. do you mean Invisible Glass? If you do I usually use Cobra Glass Towels to buff off glass cleaners. These towels are fantastic for cleaning glass.

yes ....thanks............:)

[BILL]

DP is a brand name. It used to be short for Detailer's Pride, but now the official name is just DP. You can find their products in the Autogeek store.



By S.I.G. do you mean Invisible Glass? If you do I usually use Cobra Glass Towels to buff off glass cleaners. These towels are fantastic for cleaning glass.


the cobra waffle weave glass towels??

[Whitethunder46]

I tried Folex as a spot cleaner last week on my sister's car. Had a large coffee stain on the back seat, WOW, this stuff was awesome. Took a few times to completely get rid of since the coffee kept coming back up through the cloth.

As far as a de-odorizer or odor removal... I've heard really good things about Duragloss's de-odorizoer. I've never tried it, but this is the one I will be ordering.

[supercharged]

Please post pictures when you are done. Really want to see the results.

[TOGWT]

For a first detailing project this is baptism by fire-

Smells and Odours:
If the interior has a lingering odour from French fries, spilled milk, or misplaced baby diapers or wet pets, use a product that chemically alters the proteins that odour-causing microbes feed on (Auto Internationals Odor Terminator (Valuguard) most odours will be eliminated (http://www.autoint.com (http://www.autoint.com/)) that is non-toxic, non-allergenic, fast acting, without a cover up scent or an offensive perfume smell.

Removal of smoke, pet odours, virtually any organically caused mal-odour in carpet, seats, headliners, upholstery and heating and air conditioning ducts. As with all smell and odour removal check the cabin air filter, change as necessary

Good luck and let us know how it turns out


Knowledge - [We know a subject] [We know where to find information on it] the most highly valued; [knowledge that is both held and shared]

[MikeyC]

the cobra waffle weave glass towels??

Yup! Definitely the best glass towel I've ever used.