Interiors: What's the order of events?

I

imported_Luster

New member
For exteriors, it's pretty simple:
1. Wash
2. Clay
3. Polish
4. Wax

But what about interiors? In what order do you do your cleaning work inside the car?

Here's mine:

1. Clean plastic and vinyl interior parts, dash, console, etc.
2. Clean leather or cloth seats
3. Condition plastic, vinyl and leather
4. Clean interior glass, mirrors, sunvisors
5. Pull out floor mats
6. Clean door jambs & rocker panels
7. Vacuum, spot clean, foam clean floor mats
8. Vacuum, spot clean, foam clean carpets
9. Let interior carpet and floor mats air dry
10. Close the doors and do the outside of the vehicle.
11. Replace the floor mats immediately before the customer comes to pick up the car (If the carpet is dry).

What's your order for interiors?:D (Never too old to learn about someone elses means & methods!)
 
1. remove all items

2. clean entire interior with Meguiars APC, dash center console, leather seats, vinyl, plastic etc. doorjams included.

2. dress all rubber/vinyl with either Natural Shine or M40. dress weatherstripping

3. Clean/Condition leather seats with Lexol Leather Cleaner or Meguiars Rich Leather Cleaner/Condiioner.

4. #18 Clear Plastic Detailer on all clear plastics.

5. dust out crevices with brush, airvents too.

6. remove mats.

7. vacumm out entire interior, in bewtween the seats. Remove seats if necessary.

8. Meguiars D Line Carpet/Upholstery Cleaner with All Surface Interior Brush on carpet and upholstery.

9. re vacumm carpet and upholstery.

10. clean floormatts and put them back in the vechile.

11. clean interior glass

12. Inspect and touch up with Quik Interior Detailer

13. place air freshner in the vechile

14. sit in the drivers seat and look at things from their view.

15.exit vechile.
 
On the basis of dirtiest first; carpets, air vents (check cabin air filter) dash, interior glass surfaces, seats, interior trim inc instrument cluster and satellite navigation screen, steering wheel, etc
 
I usually start cleaning from the top down if you will.

I usually start by blowing all the dust out with compressed air from the vent's, creases, dash, etc.

Then I vacuum the entire interior, using a variety of crevice brushes and a Meguiar's SLIDE LOCK brush to whisk away any stubborn dust. I start at the dash, then the seats, then tight areas, and finally the carpet.

If the carpets or floor mats need to be shampooed, I do this step next.

Then everything is wiped down with the correct cleaner, starting again with the dash, console, gauges, trim, working my way down to under the dash, the pedals, etc

After cleaning I will dress everything with an appropriate dressing, if necessary. Most cars I work on have full leather interiors, so I will clean then condition the leather with appropriate products at this point. I always do the seats last (even after the windows) since I am sitting in them at various points of the process.

If there is any metal or carbon fiber trim, then I will select a polish or sealant for those.

Interior Glass is next.

The seats are cleaned/conditioned.

And finally I will clean and treat the weatherstripping.
 
Very helpful thread. I can't say that I've had a lot of experience with interior detailing, as I only work on my own cars. Next week comes the biggest challenge to date - the interior of my wife's car. I hate to say it, but she maintains a very dirty environment. Mostly, she blames the children who somehow make no mess, whatsoever, in a vehicle other than her's.
 
My approach is to tackle the vacuuming first as I find that this often displaces dust which resettles on the interior surfaces. This is counter productive in cases where the vents and other surfaces have been cleaned first.
 
I agree with vacuuming first, then shampooing next (usually get some on the plastics), vacuum again after shampooing/spot cleaning, then clean the plastics/ door jambs, treat the plastics/ seals, do the glass.

Seats are whenever, usually during shampooing if they are cloth or when I do the plastics if they are leather.
 
Here's how I clean an interior....



~Fill extractor with water/shampoo solution, deodorizer & baking soda and set heat on high (200 degrees) to preheat


~Wipe down all door & trunk jambs with damp microfiber while they're still wet from the wash


~Remove all items from vehicle (owners things, floor mats, parking passes, etc.) and take note of mirrors & seat position if the vehicle doesn't have memory seats


~Blow all dust, dirt and crumbs out of all areas (dash, vents, cupholders, seat crevices, in-between seats and console, seat tracks, hard-to-vacuum areas, etc.) with compressed air before vacuuming.


~Prep vacuum complete interior, including trunk to remove as much debris as possible


~Pre-treat carpets with carpet cleaner / spot remover and let dwell


~Fire up the extractor, spray the carpets with extractor shampoo solution, agitate all areas with a stiff bristle brush, then extract all areas with overlapping strokes. I go over all carpets a 2nd time with just the vacuum part of the wand to get as much moisture as possible.


~Clean headliner with damp microfiber cloth saturated with cleaner and wipe again with clean microfiber. I make sure I use front to back swipes, so there aren't any 'lines' or 'traces' from wiping.


~Grab a clean microfiber cloth, soak it in hot water, wring-out as much water as possible and spray both sides of the cloth with desired interior cleaner. Gather my 3 favorite interior cleaning brushes & Q-tips


~Clean all interior surfaces (seats, dash, door panels, seat tracks, etc.) with microfiber & various brushes, then blow off with compressed air before it air dries to prevent dust from falling on the wet surfaces.


~Clean all heat / AC ducts with antibacterial foaming cleaner


~Polish all plastic, woodgrain and carbon fiber with necessary products and seal if necessary


~Treat all interior surfaces with Meg's Quick Interior Detailer (for UV protection) to give interior surfaces a dust-fee, matte finish. I hate interior dressing!!!


~Clean all interior glass, then treat with anti-fog treatment


~Blow off all interior surfaces with purged air to remove any dust remaining


~Final interior vacuum, including trunk


~Put all customers valuables back in the vehicle the exact way they were previously (parking passes, fast-lane pass, sunglasses, etc..) I'll clean the owners sunglasses if they are in the car... All other stuff goes in the trunk.


~Brush all carpets one way for a factory-fresh look (I hate stripes & lines in carpets!!)


~Apply plastic floor covering (sticky) to front floor mats and install (customers love this!)


~Align all AC vents so they're straight, adjust all mirrors and seat position, turn radio off, fold-up seatbelts neatly and tuck into seats


~Wipe down all jambs with spray wax


~Last but not least..... Stick a business card in an Ac vent or near the radio!


~Have a beer!! :clap::clap:
 
-Remove floor matts, all garbage and personal items...place personal items in a bag
-Vacuum interior
-Purge interior with air (dash, vents, glove box, center console, between seats, under seats, seams of the seats, cup holders, ash trays...) This is one of the most important steps IMO.
-Revacuum
-Pre-treat soiled areas in carpet
-Clean all vinyl/plastic surfaces, head liner, and visors
-Shampoo carpets
-Dress or protect vinyl/plastic
-Detail dash, vents, radio, Nav display...
-Clean windows and mirrors
-Clean/protect seats
-Place fans inside to dry carpet
-Look over interior with Brinkmann or pull outside, touch up as needed
-Place personal items back in car
-Drink beer!
 
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