| Interior Detail info
Interior detailing
When you think about it, we spend a great deal of time inside our car, so it makes sense to ensure it is properly cleaned. Here is a list of some basic things you should have on hand before doing an interior detail:
Shop vacuum, air compressor, (a small one will do fine) all purpose cleaner, carpet brush, horse hair brush, small detail brush, leather cleaner, leather conditioner, water based dressing, foam applicator pads, Q-tips, Terri towels, flannel towels, micro fiber towel, quick detail spray.
First task is to remove all personal belongings from the car, and remove floor mats. Lay mats out on a tarp, do you don’t dirty the back of them. Proceed to vacuum as you normally would, don’t forget to vacuum the air vents as best you can, console, door pockets and dash. Now take your compressor and blow forced air under the back of the front seat, pointing toward the front. You will find all the candy wrappers, paper, pens, and other items that were buried under your seats. Now blow air in the console, door panels, dash and other small nooks and areas that the vac did not clean. Now take your leather cleaner, and Terri towels, and clean the dash, console, and door side panels.
Take the Q-tips and spray some all purpose cleaner on it, and clean the vents, along with other tight areas. Using the horse hair brush, and leather cleaner, spray the cleaner into the seats and work cleaner in a circular motion with the brush. Remove product with a Terri towel. Proceed to do all the seats. Using an applicator pad, apply a small amount of leather conditioner to the pad; work it into the seats doing a small section at a time. When you have completed doing all the seats, buff with a flannel towel. Using a different applicator pad, spray some water based dressing on the pad, and dress the dash, door side panels that are vinyl, console and any other plastic and vinyl trim. After a few minutes, buff with a flannel towel. Mist a micro fiber towel with water, and clean the plastic instrument panel. If you have any laminated wood, mist some quick detail spray on a micro fiber towel and clean the wood. You can seal it as an option with any wax/sealant you use on your exterior. Now using your shop vac, clean the carpeting again.
For carpet deep cleaning, the extraction method is best; however most people don’t have access to an extraction machine. You must be careful NOT to apply a heavy amount of chemicals using this method I will describe, so make note. Doing a section at a time, mist the carpet with all purpose cleaner, the key word here is MIST. Agitate the carpet with the carpet brush, then vacuum as best you can, follow up by rubbing the carpet with a terri towel creating friction, this promotes the drying process. Put in an air freshener and your car and you have done the job. |
