ok seriously how to clean dirty seams and vents in cars??

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RMarkJr

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ok .. so I am getting faster at cleaning the inside of cars.

But I find what is slowing me down a lot is cleaning the seams where the plastic parts meet on the door panels, dashes, etc. I have a truck right now and you can see the brown dirt/dust in the seams and vents. I started off by spraying the seams and or vents down with APC. I then used a brush to go over the seams and scrub the vents out.

It looked good right after I did it .. however the issue is after it dries all the way I can still see that brownish dirt behind.

I then went to my steamer. I tried the steamer straight and again ... when dry it showed back up. Then I used the APC and brush to scrub and then the steamer to kinda rinse it out. again still didnt get it all out. I am really scrubbing these areas quite a bit too!

This isnt my first time with this issue. It actually happens a lot to me for some reason ... things will look good when I am doing it but after it dries it shows right back up. seams, vents, door jambs in the hinges..etc.

I went over the vents like 3 times and they just do not look clean still.

I watch videos like you woldnt believe .. but I realize that none of them really go over dirty seams and crevices.... they all actually look pretty dang clean when they do the videos so those dont really help

does anyone have any good way to get these parts clean the first time around? If you do I would really like to know because if I can figure out a way to actually get them clean and not have to go back over them over and over it would really cut my time down by a lot.


so just to clear things up. I do not remember doing anything while it was dry like brushing it off first, I might have in some spots. Maybe that is something, remove as much as possible before scrubbing.

Maybe blow it out with a compressor first or use a brush first.

What I think is happening is that after I scrub it and try to dry it, I am not able to dry it all in the seams and it just resettles back in. Maybe blow it out with the compressor while its still wet? Does anyone do that?? But then again I did try to use the steamer to rinse it out too....

Maybe the brush I have sucks .. they are the black boars hair brushes with the red case and wooden handles you can find on amazon.


Thanks again for the help!
 
Compressed air! I detail my entire interior with it.

Grab a thin terry cloth, clean shop rag or thin microfiber. Spray it with water, or APC if desired. Wring out most but not all of the water. Place cloth over the area and spray THROUGH the cloth into the groove.

The cloth will hold the dust. Repeat untill clean, and then wiper down all panels to remove streaks. I also use this technique with a light application of dressing to do little edges etc.
 
CanadianBacon said:
Compressed air! I detail my entire interior with it.

Grab a thin terry cloth, clean shop rag or thin microfiber. Spray it with water, or APC if desired. Wring out most but not all of the water. Place cloth over the area and spray THROUGH the cloth into the groove.

The cloth will hold the dust. Repeat untill clean, and then wiper down all panels to remove streaks. I also use this technique with a light application of dressing to do little edges etc.
Click to expand...

are you shoving the cloth into the crevice before you spray it down I am guessing? or maybe pushing the edge of the towel into it? Heck I am even wondering about a foam painting brush that comes to an edge... I am wondering how that would do now.
 
I've been using printer head swabs lately. Someday I'll spring for that vapor chief. Someday.

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alright so what I tried to today was to go over the seams again with the foam brushes I got at walmart and tried the regular bristle brush again. This time though I blew out the seams with my 150PSI compressor while it was still wet right after scrubbing.

That seems to be working real well. Not only is it blowing it out of there but its drying it right away so I can see the results instantly. I am gonna have to use that compressor more often it looks like when the seams are really dirty.
 
Apply APC, agitate with a boars hair brush, wipe off excess chemical (it usually foams up a little after agitating), use steamer to blast out all crevices and wipe up any moisture that splatters out with a microfiber, use compressed air (I like the Tornador blow out gun) to completely dry the area which will prevent dirt and dust from re-settling on the wet surface. This method has never failed me on crevices and A/C vents. Obviously be careful around Nav systems and sensitive electronics.
 
RMarkJr said:
are you shoving the cloth into the crevice before you spray it down I am guessing? or maybe pushing the edge of the towel into it? Heck I am even wondering about a foam painting brush that comes to an edge... I am wondering how that would do now.
Click to expand...


Nope, I just lay the cloth over top. That, in conjunction with some small brushes, has been all I've ever needed to clean grimy seams.
 
One other tip to bring up would be to check function of all the switches both before you start and after you're done; since you're adding moisture (though a small amount) to an area with electronics, you don't want the customer to come back saying something doesn't work.

I only mention it because I remember seeing someone on here have trouble after steam cleaning an interior.
 
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