Cleaning the Interior
 

Im fairly meticulous about keeping my exterior looking good - I Zaino whenever I can on weekends etc. But the interior is where I'm truly obsessive; after all, this is where I spend my time enjoying the car!
Here's how I clean the interior. Many of you already have routines, but here's how I do it, in order:

1. Vacuum - shop vac is best, but a pain. Discount Auto Parts sells a handheld vacuum that plugs into the cigarette lighter and is pretty powerful. It comes in a tidy little case that is easily kept in the car. It's about $15.

2. Zaino Leather in a Bottle - I apply this stuff LIBERALLY on everything but the piano black surfaces and the metallic pieces along the tunnel. It smells like a new car (unlike many "new car smell" products), removes scuff marks, and cleans and protects without leaving a glossy shine. Just returns the car to looking new, and keeps it that way.

3. Go over the entire interior lightly with a good quality microfiber towel - this removes any dust and other small particles that are on surfaces.

4. Buff the piano black surfaces with a microfiber towel - this brings their shine back really well, removing any fingerprints or dirt.

5. Windows - soak one microfiber towel in windex; use this to clean windows, buffing off with a dry microfiber towel. It took me awhile to find this technique - without it I always get streaks, smears and leftover dirt. However, this works perfectly.

NOTE: I do the windows on the outside last, but the inside portion of windows FIRST, because any windex left on the interior surfaces of the car could be damaging.

Don't forget all the little areas you may not think of - door sills, back of front seats, seat controls on sides etc. Keeping the whole interior clean and dust-free leads to a longer "new car" feeling.

good vacuum tip...have to look into that.

shop vacs work great. that's what i used to clean the interior.

noahprtlnd -

nice post!

1) gotta pick one of those up this weekend.
2) still haven't purchased any zaino products...might give this a shot if/when i ever do so.
3) exactly what i do.
4) ditto, again. :D
5) now this was new to me...had never thought of soaking and enitre towel in windex...let alone 'buffing' the glass! will definitely give this a shot this weekend!

thanks again!

oh, forgot to mention...before i vacuum, i dust the hard to reach areas (vent slats, ring around shifter, etc.) with a rectractable duster. u can get this at pretty much any store that has an auto care section.

great tips, although I must say I do most of them already.

As for soaking the towel in windex, I don't think noah actually soaks the microfiber in windex (correct me if I'm wrong)

I use the same method, you spray windex on one towel, then buff off with a dry towel.

Well it depends on your definition of "soak the towel in windex." I fold it into a square a little larger than my hand and spray it with enough windex so that at least the first layer is soaked. I don't open the bottle of windex and pour it onto the towel or anything, but there is a considerable amount of windex on it.

Next time, you may need to open up the windex and stick your head through it. I know the opening seems small but your head will fit through nicely.

Good info. I certainly use micro fiber towel on my exterior, but have never used on my interior. I would think it would leave more lint than the cotton towels I use, but based on your comments, I could be wrong. I just find no matter how hard you try to clean it, there’s always those little dust particles that show up especially on the dash when you get it out in the sun. Now I use a Pledge Grab-it dry towel after I finish and even those particles are gone.

are you mentally handicapped? this is the worst post ever.

If you think that's the worst post ever, then you haven't been following noahprtlnd's posts.

My original comment has much context behind it.

Oh, not to diss you but I will anyway. LOL. You have the worst name I've ever seen on this forum. You should change it to "Cumpressorhead4u2shiton."

Thank you for your time.

Actually the post didn't make any sense, thus my lack of response to it. Is it supposed to be an insult to me or what? And speaking of names, what's with the Nissan slogan?

What's with: (1) your V8 installation, (2) the pink shirt, shorts, and wine bottle, and (3) the relationship you have with IkeWRX?

Moron.

(1) No comment
(2) It's called a fucking joke
(3) My relationship wtih IkeWRX? You're the one that brought him up in the gas thread.

get it together guys. whats with all the insults? as far as buffing the glass after its clean one of the best thigs to do is use a new chalkboard eraser (the felt kind). it takes away any streaks and doesnt scratch. just make sure you keep it clean and dont drop it in the ground. also for those of you who know of and have access to costco they sell a ammonia free glass cleaner which comes in aerosol cans (blue and white) and it works way better than windex. BTW I discovered that Vinelex made by lexol works unbelievably well on tires, they come out looking better than new but without the sticky over shiny fling shit all over your clean paint approach of most tire dressings. just wipe on and let dry just not of the wheels.

can anyone recommend any method to clean the piano black pieces? I used a MF towel and it scratched it

Use an old t-shirt or other soft 100% cotton cloth, well moistened, to get the derbis off the piano black pieces first, then use another one to dry it.

The key is removing the particulates that could scratch it.

your microfiber towels should not be able to scratch anything, unless they're dirty.

Well, technically, not true. According to BetterCarCare.com, if you use cheap quality MF towels, they'll scratch your paint.

What are folks using to clean the ceiling? Ive got black crap on it in the high traffic areas (mechanics, bleh! cant blame it all on them though :)). Any apolstry cleaner will do?

Going back to the original post...Zaino's Leather in a Bottle is really superb stuff, use it all over the car's interior (except the shiney piano black surfaces of course). Apply a small amount to a small sponge....can't say enough about it :)

i like the zaino leather stuff too, makes the seats easy to slide out of too. the problem is the smell - my wife says it smells like BO. heh.

haha...don't think it smells THAT bad. I had a Honda Prelude once that I liberally applied Armour All to the interior...a gfriend climbed in and said my car smelled like piss...never used it since :D

Never use Armor All Leather Conditioner - that stuff really stinks!

Don't use ammonia based (Windex) cleaners on window tint film.