Need some interior advice.... bad :(

[SuperBee364]

I`ve never done interiors except for my own cars. My latest Charger has a few problems in the interior that I`m going to need you guy`s help with in a big way. It was a "showroom floor" car. Every greasy hand in the neighborhood found it`s way into the interior of this car. I really didn`t want them to touch anything (inside or out) before delivery, so I took the car home. Greasy hand prints and all.



The headliner is made from very soft, very porous fabric. There are black hand and finger prints all over it. A really nasty one just above where the shoulder belt goes through the headliner, and some more up by the sunroof handle.



It would seem that trying to use any sort of chemical cleaning process on this type of material would just result in spreading the dirt/grease/whatever further around in the material.



I`m wondering if it would be worth the money to just buy one of those cheap 99 buck steamers from Lowes or Home Despot? I just can`t swing a nice steamer right now, but I really want to get this junk off of my headliner.



If steam is the best way, any chance I can talk one of you steam gurus into a post on the basics to keep me from damaging my new car?



I`ll go snap some pictures of the areas I`m concerned about...



http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/floorpizza/New%20Charger/IMG_0936.jpg



http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t317/floorpizza/New%20Charger/IMG_0934.jpg



I couldn`t get any pictures of the area around the sunroof to come out. It pretty much looks like the same gunk, though.

[imported_Denzil]

I`m familiar with that interior material that you have pictured. I think steaming it will remove them with ease.

[SuperBee364]

So do I just do a pass of steam vapor, then immediately blot it with a MF?

[Mark77]

Have you tried some APC on those stains? But a steamer would be good too.

[SuperBee364]

Have you tried some APC on those stains? But a steamer would be good too.



I haven`t... this kind of material is very thin, very open-weaved, and very porous. It looks like using something to desolve it would just spread it out further into the fabric. I`m concerned that an APC might just spread it around a bit.

[imported_Denzil]

I would pass the steam through a terry cloth so that it absorbs the junk as soon as the steam is passed through.

[Accumulator]

SuperBee364- Too much moisture, or over-emulsifying the [dirt], or otherwise making a mistake will greatly compound your difficulties.



I`d see what Grouse and Jimmy Buffit and David Fermani have to say if I were in your shoes. They`ve all posted BTDT advice about serious interior issues and one of the things I recall from those posts is how you *really* don`t want to make a mistake with your first attempt.

[SuperBee364]

Yeah, that`s what I`m worried about, Accumulator. I`m seriously concerned about damaging the fabric by using steam.



I just don`t know what else to do, though. There aren`t any Autopian level detailers around here that I`m aware of. Well, jngrbrdman, but I don`t think he does interiors.

[Lil Dog]

Try some corn starch, apply dry, just heap some on a micro fiber cloth and rub gently...

I have used this to remove vasoline from wall paper with great success, (don`t ask).



Lil Dog

[SuperBee364]

Try some corn starch, apply dry, just heap some on a micro fiber cloth and rub gently...

I have used this to remove vasoline from wall paper with great success, (don`t ask).



Lil Dog



Thank you, sir, I`ll give that a shot!

[BlackElantraGT]

My guess would be that those stains probably came from a mechanic or porter`s hands so there`s probably a little grease involved, and not just dirt.



I`m not familiar with using a Woolite & water solution for car interiors, but many people seem to have success with that and Woolite and water or a mild soap/water seems to be a recommended cleaning method from some OEMs. However, I am familiar with using Meg`s APC+ @ 10:1 for interiors and while I would bet that would get the stain out, I would go with the least aggressive method first and sometimes I think an APC even at 10:1 is not gentle enough for some materials, compared to mild soap/water or Woolite/water.



Instead of spraying the solution directly onto the stain, I`d spray onto a towel first to get it slightly damp and try to gently rub or blot out the stain to avoid excessive moisture.

[SuperBee364]

Thanks for all the help, gents, I really appreciate it.