How to clean inside door and jambs

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cheekyage

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Hi guys

What is the best way to clean around the inside of the doors and door jambs?

Thanks
 
I'll add to your question... I'm currently detailing a Hybrid Kia Optima and the door jambs are quite dirty. I've hit the passenger side with APC + steamer but they're not as perfectly clean as I was hoping they'd be... Plus while I was doing that I noticed there's some sort of box which seems to house some sort of electronic device in the door jamb?

Maybe I'm overthinking it because it's a hybrid but I was a bit hesitant with the steam once I noticed it and normally I'd just say screw it and give the jambs a quik hit with the hose nozzle but I dunno I don't want to mess up anything electric on this car that doesn't even make a sound when it turns on! Lol.

Has anyone else thought about this? Or am I being overly cautious?
 
Pros here will have the answer. Obviously wash them as well as you can. I took stronger car wash soap to mine as needed and I used a degreaser in a few spots.Then I went over everything again with a microfiber only or with mild rinseless to get rid of the stronger soaps. They didn't look great until I hit them with some polish and/or paint cleaner. Either by machine with 3" pads or by hand. Once you get them clean and polished it's fairly easy to keep them that way. Most of us apply coating or spray wax (or sealant) after we get them clean.

Re the electronics, I would wipe it only and not saturate it until you know that doing otherwise is safe (of course).
 
If really bad you could hit the area with a foaming degreaser from a spray can and let it set for a few minutes. Then spray it out.

Waterless wash is working well for me on my maintained cars. Mckee's 37 waterless has excellent lubricity and leaves behind protection as well.
 
The battery's dead on this car now... I hate hybrids. Talk about a buzzkill.
 
My process is hit it with a degreaser (foam would work the best), agitate with a brush, rinse off with a hose and repeat if needed. When clean, I air blow dry, spritz on some D156 and hit the rubber boots with a shot of stoners trim shine. Door jambs is one of my least favorite things to do.
 
When you say rinse, do you mean rinse with water?


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David Fermani said:
Absolutely. Preferably a power washer.
Click to expand...

Recently I read a good tip (I believe it was GSKR) but he said rather than trying to deal with a hose or pressure washer to use a garden pump sprayer. I now keep a garden pump sprayer filled with distilled water just for rinsing M37 APC+ out of door jambs.

After rinsing with distilled water, blow dry

I find that using an easy to remove AIO like HD Speed or Poli-seal on a square microfiber applicator pad to lightly clean the area prior to applying D156 really helps make the jambs look sharp.

I'm honestly pretty bad about using a dressing on the rubber and plastic door jambs. Unless it's really faded and worn I'll just use D156 or Optimum Car Wax to maintain them. Probably need to get some stoner trim shine like some else mentioned.
 
Distilled water for door jambs huh? That's a 1st reading this.

It kinda depends on the door jamb and how dirty it is? Sometimes pressure is a must have, but agitation solves most dirty jobs along with proper dwell time of the cleaner.
 
Lots of good advice.

I will add that a soapy, cheap, MF towel is a great way make the door rubber seals look clean and new.

I have a cheap 7-8 setting spray nozzle on my hose that allows me to "mist" the water with a fire hose type valve. The valve is really nice for using light pressure to remove soap and APC/degreaser from jambs.
 
If you blast the door jambs with a power washer or garden hose, doesn't water end up in the interior?
 
Not if you're careful and can control your blast zone with the right fan and angle of your spray.
 
David Fermani said:
Distilled water for door jambs huh? That's a 1st reading this.

It kinda depends on the door jamb and how dirty it is? Sometimes pressure is a must have, but agitation solves most dirty jobs along with proper dwell time of the cleaner.
Click to expand...

David, If you go back and read my post...I wasn't using distilled water to CLEAN the door jambs. I clean door jambs with Mckee's 37 APC+ and a boars hair brush. The Distilled water in a pressurized garden sprayer is what I use to RINSE away the apc/degreaser.

This is the best method for me when it comes to RINSING the degreaser out of door jambs so I don't have to spend additional time cleaning up the overspray from a pressure washer that unavoidably gets on door panels, carpet, seats. A pressurized pump sprayer is also incredibly easy to maneuver and manipulate. In my opinion, if you use a quality APC/Degreaser and agitate with a soft boars hair brush, using a pressure washer isn't necessary and in many circumstances is creating unnecessary work.
 
I like to use an APC/Degreaser with a MF towel. I will usually hit the door jams after washing/drying the car. Sometimes I will wait until the car is waxed/coated before I do it (usually weather dictated). Having the MF folded in 4's (seems to become something that is now mindlessly done since becoming a detailer ;) ) is perfect because generally, you will need, at most, 6 sides for the jams, trunk, and hood. I will knock out the jams, then the top and sides of the door, and finish up with the bottom of the door since that is ALWAYS the worst part. People seem to be amazed at what you wipe off of the bottom of their doors. LOL I honestly find the door jams the best part of washing a car. I don't know why, but it has always been my favorite part of the process.
 
mwoywod said:
David, If you go back and read my post...I wasn't using distilled water to CLEAN the door jambs. I clean door jambs with Mckee's 37 APC+ and a boars hair brush. The Distilled water in a pressurized garden sprayer is what I use to RINSE away the apc/degreaser.

This is the best method for me when it comes to RINSING the degreaser out of door jambs so I don't have to spend additional time cleaning up the overspray from a pressure washer that unavoidably gets on door panels, carpet, seats. A pressurized pump sprayer is also incredibly easy to maneuver and manipulate. In my opinion, if you use a quality APC/Degreaser and agitate with a soft boars hair brush, using a pressure washer isn't necessary and in many circumstances is creating unnecessary work.
Click to expand...

No need for me to re-read as I got your point the 1st time around. Like I said I've never heard anyone use distilled water on door jambs. Seems like complete overkill, but if you think it makes a difference or prevents some phenomenon from occurring then by all means more power to you.

Using a power washer is essentially pretty harmless *for us* and is mandatory when there's any significant soiling present. It's virtually impossible to clean greasy hinges without a heavy force of water regardless of what APC is used. And I don't think any water splatter that could enter the interior compartment would hurt anything anyways as after we do our initial prep we immediately start our interiors which typically requires quite a bit more water to be used on the interior. We don't deep clean jambs on exterior details either. Only on interiors or completes. I feel if a jamb is clean enough to not use a power washer its probably light enough to just degrease and wipe, but this the exception rather than the norm for us.
 
Matt Hanson said:
I like to use an APC/Degreaser with a MF towel. I will usually hit the door jams after washing/drying the car. Sometimes I will wait until the car is waxed/coated before I do it (usually weather dictated). Having the MF folded in 4's (seems to become something that is now mindlessly done since becoming a detailer ;) ) is perfect because generally, you will need, at most, 6 sides for the jams, trunk, and hood. I will knock out the jams, then the top and sides of the door, and finish up with the bottom of the door since that is ALWAYS the worst part. People seem to be amazed at what you wipe off of the bottom of their doors. LOL I honestly find the door jams the best part of washing a car. I don't know why, but it has always been my favorite part of the process.
Click to expand...

If you think about door jambs, especially the driver's door, the non-detailer/non-car person probably looks at the area around the door jamb more than most other painted surfaces, except the hood. My eyes are instantly drawn to door jambs on anyone's car. One of those indicators if the person knows what they are doing detailing wise.

Door jambs are like engines, if you don't clean them regularly they are a PITA. My favorite are people who live on gravel/dirt roads. If you enjoy cleaning those jambs, you are nuts:)
 
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