I fell into a 57 New Yorker. The interior is in remarkable shape but its pretty dirty. The car had been garaged since 84. What do you use to clean the vinyl? I'm using "simple green" but is there someting better? Its taking a lot of scrubbing. I figgure after I get it all clean I'll use armorall. Is that still the best product out there? What's best for the fabric inserts in the seat? I'm just curious what others have used that works well.
I Only use a product by the name of Krud Kutter. Awsome on vinyl and fabric. As with any cleaner try a small out of the way spot on fabric first. Krud Kutter may be purchased at most of the "box stores". Armorall is not that good, I would use one of the products from Eagle One or Meguiars, or Mothers that are for vinyl and leather!
I like to use the spray foam carpet cleaner like woolite spray or other good brand foamy type cleaner, I have found that you should not use these in direct sunlight and dont let them dry. I detailed cars to put myself through college....so I have some experience. I spray the foamy cleaner on everything, I mean everything, then let it set for bit. but dont spray it on dash parts like clear plastics......after setting for a minute or two just lightly scrub with a mild scrubbing pad or like a nail brush, easy at first to test. Finish out with a rag continuously rinsed in warm water to keep a clean wipe. I like to put a shine on vinyl with leather cleaner/conditioner. I put it on a rag, then wipe it on. This seems to be better than sprays that get on everything. The leather products seem to soak in better and feel less greasy. Just my .02
'Lemon Pledge to keep it looking good for both leather and vinyl.......those polish companies products are a waste of time and money......
Just remember.... the faster (better) it cleans, the harder on the material your cleaning. It's a catch 22.
That is 100% true. I would use a mild dish soap in warm water first to knock out the big stuff and get the dirt off. Use windex and a toothbrush to clean the seams. It'll take a bit more effort than using a high-powered cleaner, but it'll be much easier on that 54 year old material.
The guy who does my upholstery gives me some stuff called Malco--says it's the best--seems to work well-then leather preservative--mild solution of woolite for carpets
I like to go mild and cut through the layers...also one thing I discovered is that baby wipes (especially costco's brand) work really well as they tend not to shred and you can wrap them around smaller tools for cleaning crevices...my twins are 9 and my daughter is 6 but we still keep the baby wipes around the house for all kinds of cleanup and there is always a pack under the front seat of our cars
Car Brite makes products "See Spot Go" and "Xtra Duty" cleaners that are are great. I've used them for years. You may have to get them through a detail shop or dealer.
Having been an upholster for 35+ years, do not use anything with alcohol in it. It will harden the vinyls and crack in no time. Stick to the products made by known companies that are designed to be used with the materials you are working with and follow up with a conditioner. Damn, sound like I’m washing my hair.
If it's vinyl (NOT cloth) and it's really filthy, nothing will clean it better than some Westley's White Sidewall cleaner. But go easy: the stuff is pretty harsh and you gotta rinse rinse rinse it off (yes, three times) and even then I'd follow up with a very mild soap scrub just to get it all off of there. After it's dry some preservative. My Dad once bought a Pontiac convertible that had a pearl white interior and had sat for a long time with a torn up top. The seats were black and dark gray in most places. We pulled the seats out of the car, put them in the grass, and went at them with a scrub brush and Palmolive dish detergent. The really stubborn stains we hit with a shot of the Westley's. An hour later those things gleemed like brand new again. Did the same thing with the door panels. I drove the car for a couple years and they were still looking good when we sold the car.
My idea of interior cleaning is throw away all the Tim Horton cups ( I know, what's a Tim Horton?). But seriously, I too have seen Magic Erasers work well
I wouldn't use anything that has water or alcohol in it (like Armor All)- it'll dry out the vinyl quickly and then you'll have nothing but splits and cracks... and YES I just realized that I said, "but splits and cracks"- thank you Beavis!
Our Power Clean works great for general purpose cleaning. For tougher stuff, look to our Crud Release. Finish it off with our Vinyl Shine (non-petroleum based!) for a nice natural shine -- without the greasy mess. See my signature for a HAMB discount!
Most of this thread is about vinyl. What about cloth? I'm looking for tips to clean these seats. These are not OEM covers but re-skins, I found the Fingerhut packaging in the trunk. They are in real good shape, but as you can see they are pretty stained. The doors are also in need of a cleaning. Any ideas? Mostly cloth, only vinyl is the dash pad and the back of the front seat. I like to use Eagle One vinyl cleaner/conditioner and blue shop towels, works great.
I use surf city garage's dash away and follow up with there conditioner .gets any stains out and shines the white interior like it was upholstered that day. If is an awesome cleaner and doesn't cause cracks or drys out the vinyl
You've got a lot of water stains in that interior. There are two ways to get them out gently. The first way is to use a garment steamer or a steamer made for rug cleaning WITHOUT any soap. Steam the seats and panels, get them good and damp, and let them dry. You may hav eto repeat this three or four times. Don't staurate the material. The second way is to get some Borax detergent, make up a slurry, and spread it over all the fabric, not just the stains. Let it dry, and then vacuum. Again, you may have to repeat this two or three times. The water stains are not dirt, they are minerals left when the water evaporates. You can scrub the seats with the Borax slurry after the first application to remove dirt. Go slow, and be gentle.
I finally bought a box of Borax soap. Could you tell me what ratio to mix it at? The directions on the box are useless....
You want to make it like the consistancy of toothpaste or thinner. Kinda like the flour and oil mix you use to thicken gravy. Take a spray bottle and mist the seats a section at a time about 10 inches to 1ft square. Then scrub in the mix with a stiff brush, remist it and then suck it up with a wet vac. Keep it damp but don't over soak it, as that will pull up soil out of the material underneath. Let it dry in the sun (if there is any) and repeat if necessary
Do Not use Simple Green !!!!!!! It will eat a lot of automotive stitching. Try Spray 9, you can get it at Home Depot. After using Spray 9, wipe with windex, or clear water. Spray 9 cleans great, but leaves a film. We use it on $500,000. (and up) performance boats.
I use the same shit. I hate the feel of armorall or whatever. and it works good on dashes. We all know how dusty a metal dash can get in a hurry. I put if on my dash, seats, door panels. works great.
Another vote for Wesley's Bleach White white-wall cleaner. I've used this stuff on cruddy rubber & vinyl for years with no problems. The keys are test it on a small spot first, and don't let it sit on there too long. You also should RINSE with a ton of water after it cleans the nasty stuff off. Follow-up with a rubber treatment and it should come back to life nicely.
I use "Crazy Clean" by Sprayway. It's strong enough to clean a whitewall with one swipe but gentle enough to clean smudges off a painted wall in your home. ( sounds like a commercial, don't it?)
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