Cloth Seat Cleaning - Rotary & Wool Method

mrclean81

mrclean81

New member
Cloth seats have been one area that has given me more grief than any other aspect of detailing. Ive used about every tool and method out there, and the results were rarely consistent. It seemed that even with a good extractor, I could never get them dry before the wicking occurred (I didn't have a good air dryer). I decided to think way outside of the box a couple years ago, and came up with what is now known as the Nathan Flannell Method.


 


Here is a 2012 Ford Focus with what I would call average seats.


 














 


I like to start out with a pretreatment of the bad areas. Ive found Megs APC+ to work very well for this, but that's just my personal preference.


 








 


I try not to really soak the seats, but you do need to apply enough for it to be breaking down the stains. I also like to do every seat before I move on to the next step. This in theory will be working on the heavily soiled areas and will make it easier to remove in the next steps.  


 


The next thing is choosing your pad. I personally like twisted wool, but foamed wool, foam, microfiber, they all work to some degree. I like the 7in twisted wool because of its absorbing ability. Also, you want to dedicate this pad to only seats.


 





 


I decided to use Tuff Stuff for this write up as opposed to Car Brite Xtra Duty that I normally use. Tuff Stuff is easily available to everyone, so that's what I went with for this.


 





 


Now that the APC has been applied to the trouble areas, I move on to foaming the seat. I cover the entire section with foam, let it sit for a few seconds, then slowly start scrubbing it with the rotary. RPMs should be set to around 800 on a rotary.


 








 


Once the entire seat has been cleaned including the back and sides, I'll use a clean dry mf towel and wipe the seat down really good, alone with the surrounding areas. This method can be a little messy. I like to do this first, before I detail the rest of the interior. Usually by the time I finish the interior detail, the seats are dry enough to sit in. This is possibly my favorite thing about this method.


 

















 


Thanks for looking, and I look forward to any questions or comments.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 
 
Thank you. I forgot to mention that this also works with a DA polisher. I've not had a chance to try it with the newer pads that are out now, but the foamed wool pads I originally started using with this method worked well on my GG6.
 
I have used Nathan's process on filthy cloth interiors and wish he would have introduced this years ago. All I can say is it WORKS.I have been using Blue Coral Dri-Foam with great results.   :)
 
Thanks Paul. I've had so many people contact me just to tell me how well it works. I kept it between myself and a choice few for several months because I figured it wouldn't be very well recieved in the professional world. After testing it on every seat I could get my hands on, and having consistant results with no damage to anything, I had to let the cat out of the bag.
 
Thank you so much for this thread Nathan! It's unfortunate that many people don't look outside of the box for alternative ways to clean interiors. You've gone above and beyond this! I will make sure to link to this thread every chance I get to spread the work on the Nathan Flannel Rotary Seat Cleaning Method (NFRSCM)


 


Also, do you mind sharing how this technique came about? Are there things to consider or watch out for when doing this? Speed, cleaner, pad, downward pressure, scrub time? Does it work better with a cleaner that has higher foaming characteristics then one that doesn't? Have you every tried it on carpet or leather seats?   


 


I can't wait to use this!!!
 
Thank you very much. Ive found the heavier foaming cleaners like Xtra Duty, Blue Coral, and Tuff Stuff work the best. The pretreatment is a very important step though because that's what is going to bring the deeper stuff to the surface. I've used several different pretreatments, and APC+ has worked the best for me. I've been playing around with CG Fabric Clean lately, but haven't figured out a good dilution ratio for it yet.

The main thing to watch out for is seat belts. You can imagine what would happen if you wrapped a seat belt up in a rotary..it would probably be a hard lesson learned. Other than that, I've never had a safety issue of any sort.

I like to run at 800 rpm with the DeWalt. This can also be done with a DA though. I've had really good luck with the GG6 outfitted with foamed wool pads..they just aren't as absorbant as twisted wool. Really any machine will work because all you need is the circular motion along wih the speed and power of the polisher. Its basically the same concept as scrubbing them by hand, your just supercharging the process.

The pad choice is important too because one of the biggest advantages to this method is the drying times associated with it. Twisted wool is actually very absorbant, and while its scrubbing the seats, its absorbing the APC and foam cleaners and ultimately cutting drying time down to minutes instead of hours. Foam, mircofiber, and other pads do a good job at scrubbing, but they aren't as absorbant.

Once I get a section foamed up, Ill let it set for a few seconds but I don't want all of the foam to dissolve. I like to have plenty left on the seat to scrub with. You'll see results almost immediately once you start running the machine, and it usually only takes 2 or 3 "passes" before your ready to wipe it down by hand. Usually it doesn't take a lot of downward pressure, but I've been known to put a ton of pressure on the machine to get something out. Of course this varies from seat to seat. Sometimes on really nasty or worn seats, this method just isn't enough and I have to reach for the extractor or Tornador. Like I've said before, its just another method of attack. I've not used it on leather or carpet yet but that's something I need to explore. I usually use the brush attatchment on a DA for carpet and recently started using it on leather after seeing a writeup about it here (good idea).


How I came up with it was actually a trick I learned when I was working a dead end job for a janitorial company years ago. The man who ran the company would use a low speed floor buffer outfitted with a giant wool bonnet soaked in carpet shampoo to clean the short napped carpet in doctors offices. It actually worked very well and it was a rather fast process. I was working on a car one day that had been hammered by kids, and nothing I threw at it was working. I started soaking small sections with Xtra Duty and scrubbing by hand and was having a little luck, then I remembered the floor buffer trick and a light bulb came on in my head. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I figured I had nothing to loose (wholesale car). Fast forward 2 years and several hundred seats later, and I can say with confidence that its safe and it works well.
 
Nathan, very detailed writeup. 


 


I appreciate the insight into your process and the reasoning behind it.


I think that you have hit a home run with this one.  The only thing that


I do not like, is the need to purchase "Tuff Stuff".  I would much rather


be able to purchase a concentrate of something that i could use for


this method. 


 


Do you think that Woolite would work well?


 


Are you worried about not rinsing the APC and Tuff Stuff out of the seats?


 


Have you ever attempted this cleaning without the tuff stuff, but perhaps


prime your pad with some stronger APC?


 


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Lastly, I remember the article about leather with DA brush attachment.


I was unable to find this article via search.  Would you mind pointing me


to it?  I am finally brave enough to attempt this method on leather.
 
Thanks. I believe the link your looking for is this one

http://www.autopia.org/forum/topic/128340-extreme-leather-upholstery-and-carpet-cleaning/page-1#


I have tried using APC and Fabric Clean alone. While it does the job, Ive found it to over soak the seats and drastically increase drying times. That's the major advantage the foam has..it doesn't really soak into the seat. The pretreated spots that are sprayed with APC should be minimal and not soaked deep, so they dry quickly too. The wool pads are very absorbant and are the key to making this work. While your scrubbing with the rotary, your pad is not only cleaning, but absorbing the foam and APC. Its not uncommon to need to blow or spur the pad out several times before you finish an entire vehicle. There is usually no need to follow it up with anything other than a dry towel because there is rarely any product left to remove. The wool pad absorbs it. I would love to hear how it goes if you try a different approach though.
 
Re: Cloth Seat Cleaning - Rotary & Wool Method

Old thread bump. First of all many thanks to the op. So is anyone still using this method? I think im gona try it when i get the chance.
 
Re: Cloth Seat Cleaning - Rotary & Wool Method

You're very welcome. On rare occasion when I do take on a detailing project, I still use this method when applicable.
 
Re: Cloth Seat Cleaning - Rotary & Wool Method

Ive seen this method used on seats last year , and it does work very good without soaking the seats.
 
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