DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
- 4,895
- 2,963
- Thread starter
- #1,821
Inner Workings!
Most detailers hate doing interiors! And trust me, I can totally get that. Dealing with neglected interiors is time consuming and tedious, compounded by being cramped up within a confined space. My worst nightmare? Dealing with the cheap and nasty carpet the Japanese and Korean car companies use for their interiors. That stuff just hangs onto every grain of sand and debris, even after using every tool and method under the sun, it still doesn't look clean.
Having said all of that, I don't mind maintaining an interior, that I find cathartic. Maintaining a state of cleanliness means you don't need to reach for the sledgehammers such as heavy-duty interior cleaners and all-purpose cleaners. And while I typically use an interior quick detailer, to perfectly honest, all you need to maintain a clean interior is a damp microfiber.
Now, I know what you are going to say..............."why are you cleaning a brand-new interior".........................because that's what I do!
Seriously though, the initial clean is about hitting the reset button, albeit very early on. As mentioned during the first wash, these cars sit out in the open for months, all the while the interior is left to bake and outgas. The most obvious here will be the glass, often witnessed by a fine haze when looking out into the light. The interior in general sees many hands as its assembled, driven off the line, prepared for shipping, moved from Ford's holding yard to the dock, onto the vessel, off the vessel, into a holding yard, driven onto and off the truck, then many dealerships personal as its prepared for sale. Think of like buying a used car, you replace all of the fluids to start from fresh. Same concept here.
I decided to get the rear accommodation sorted first, which means moving the seat back and base all the way forward, then folding yourself into the back seat. The first thing I noticed, Ford have changed from a carpeted parcel shelf to a hard plastic. The natural reaction to that would be, wow how cheap. But actually, vacuuming that carpeted parcel shelf was difficult, so a simple wipe going forward will be much easier and convenient.
First, cleaning the rear glass. Every S550 and S650 Mustang owner needs one of these, the Stoner Reach & Clean Tool. This might seem like a gimmick, but it makes the job much easier, especially reaching right down to the very base of the screen that would ordinarily be missed. This applies to the front screen as well. I teamed this with the classic Invisible Glass.
I then used Griot's Interior Cleaner to wipe down the leather seats and plastics. Why Griot's? Because it's not scented..................you only get that new car scent for so long. Because the rear seats will never have been used, I didn't feel the need for a more intensive leather cleaning back there. After the wipe down with Griot's, I applied ColourLock Leather Shield, including the back of the front seats. A quick vacuum on the carpet, it was time to move to the front row seats.
Again, the Griots was used for a quick wipe down of the console, dashboard and door trims. The front screen and door glass given the same treatment as the rear. For the seats and steering wheel, I used the ClolourLock brush and Mild Leather Cleaner. Again, this was more of a reset procedure, so only light pressure was used.
Now clean and allowed to dry, I then applied ColourLock Leather Shield. For brand new leather, ColourLock recommend using Leather Shield up to the 3-year mark, from there you switch to Leather Protector. Leather Shield is an abrasion, discoloration and dye transfer blocker that also allows it breath. ColourLock suggest that signs of wear are most pronounced over the first three years, so Leather Shield was designed to prevent that. For best results, the driver's seat should have this applied every six months, once a year for rest of the interior.
In my case, I applied Leather Shield to the aforementioned rear seats, the front seats, steering wheel, door trims, gear shifter and boot, drift brake, the center console and console lid. Yes, most of that is not real leather, but there is no harm applying it to artificial leather. Like the Leather Cleaner, Shield is unscented.
Leather Shield goes on quite shiny, but as it flashes away, the finished result is a soft, natural, matte finish. No greasiness, no shine. I have to say, afterwards, the leather took on a new dimension, it feeling softer and smoother than before.
Finally, a couple of additions to the boot.
First off, I repurposed the scuff guard and cargo net from my S550. Combined, these two are worth about $140 new.
Genuine Ford Pony Logo FLA Boot Scuff Guard
Genuine Ford Cargo Net Mesh Organiser Backer
Next, a very generous gift from a fellow Mustang 6g/7g forum member after a trip to the USA. This item replaces the standard boot lock cover and provides a grab point to close the boot lid without fingerprinting your paint. Many thanks 5.0ALM, greatly appreciated.
Not an addition per say, but new to me as my S550 didn't come with one, a sizeable subwoofer.
Most detailers hate doing interiors! And trust me, I can totally get that. Dealing with neglected interiors is time consuming and tedious, compounded by being cramped up within a confined space. My worst nightmare? Dealing with the cheap and nasty carpet the Japanese and Korean car companies use for their interiors. That stuff just hangs onto every grain of sand and debris, even after using every tool and method under the sun, it still doesn't look clean.
Having said all of that, I don't mind maintaining an interior, that I find cathartic. Maintaining a state of cleanliness means you don't need to reach for the sledgehammers such as heavy-duty interior cleaners and all-purpose cleaners. And while I typically use an interior quick detailer, to perfectly honest, all you need to maintain a clean interior is a damp microfiber.
Now, I know what you are going to say..............."why are you cleaning a brand-new interior".........................because that's what I do!
Seriously though, the initial clean is about hitting the reset button, albeit very early on. As mentioned during the first wash, these cars sit out in the open for months, all the while the interior is left to bake and outgas. The most obvious here will be the glass, often witnessed by a fine haze when looking out into the light. The interior in general sees many hands as its assembled, driven off the line, prepared for shipping, moved from Ford's holding yard to the dock, onto the vessel, off the vessel, into a holding yard, driven onto and off the truck, then many dealerships personal as its prepared for sale. Think of like buying a used car, you replace all of the fluids to start from fresh. Same concept here. I decided to get the rear accommodation sorted first, which means moving the seat back and base all the way forward, then folding yourself into the back seat. The first thing I noticed, Ford have changed from a carpeted parcel shelf to a hard plastic. The natural reaction to that would be, wow how cheap. But actually, vacuuming that carpeted parcel shelf was difficult, so a simple wipe going forward will be much easier and convenient.
First, cleaning the rear glass. Every S550 and S650 Mustang owner needs one of these, the Stoner Reach & Clean Tool. This might seem like a gimmick, but it makes the job much easier, especially reaching right down to the very base of the screen that would ordinarily be missed. This applies to the front screen as well. I teamed this with the classic Invisible Glass.
I then used Griot's Interior Cleaner to wipe down the leather seats and plastics. Why Griot's? Because it's not scented..................you only get that new car scent for so long.
Because the rear seats will never have been used, I didn't feel the need for a more intensive leather cleaning back there. After the wipe down with Griot's, I applied ColourLock Leather Shield, including the back of the front seats. A quick vacuum on the carpet, it was time to move to the front row seats.Again, the Griots was used for a quick wipe down of the console, dashboard and door trims. The front screen and door glass given the same treatment as the rear. For the seats and steering wheel, I used the ClolourLock brush and Mild Leather Cleaner. Again, this was more of a reset procedure, so only light pressure was used.
Now clean and allowed to dry, I then applied ColourLock Leather Shield. For brand new leather, ColourLock recommend using Leather Shield up to the 3-year mark, from there you switch to Leather Protector. Leather Shield is an abrasion, discoloration and dye transfer blocker that also allows it breath. ColourLock suggest that signs of wear are most pronounced over the first three years, so Leather Shield was designed to prevent that. For best results, the driver's seat should have this applied every six months, once a year for rest of the interior.
In my case, I applied Leather Shield to the aforementioned rear seats, the front seats, steering wheel, door trims, gear shifter and boot, drift brake, the center console and console lid. Yes, most of that is not real leather, but there is no harm applying it to artificial leather. Like the Leather Cleaner, Shield is unscented.
Leather Shield goes on quite shiny, but as it flashes away, the finished result is a soft, natural, matte finish. No greasiness, no shine. I have to say, afterwards, the leather took on a new dimension, it feeling softer and smoother than before.
Finally, a couple of additions to the boot.
First off, I repurposed the scuff guard and cargo net from my S550. Combined, these two are worth about $140 new.
Genuine Ford Pony Logo FLA Boot Scuff Guard
Genuine Ford Cargo Net Mesh Organiser Backer
Next, a very generous gift from a fellow Mustang 6g/7g forum member after a trip to the USA. This item replaces the standard boot lock cover and provides a grab point to close the boot lid without fingerprinting your paint. Many thanks 5.0ALM, greatly appreciated.
Not an addition per say, but new to me as my S550 didn't come with one, a sizeable subwoofer.
Also in the same family is a red 1966 Mustang Coupe fitted with a modern fuel injected Windsor, which I've been lucky enough to ride in.
And I say "brand new" because it seemed, to me anyway, the most vocal of Mustang doubters didn't actually buy Falcon's brand new, which didn't really help Ford and ultimately contributed to the closures.
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