How do you guys clean interiors?

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picorrect

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My Absorber freezes up when it starts to get cold. Soaking it in a bucket of clean warm water helps a bit, but it looses it's pliancy quickly and I'm afraid it might start to scratch the car.



Any thoughts?
 
My absorber has been working fine, but I have noticed it is "stiffer" in the colder weather. I might go back to using cotton towels for the winter. Also, you could take it for a quick drive to get the excess water off, and then pull it into a garage and finish it off with the absorber.........
 
I have found the quick drive does not remove that much water and tend to get more bugs and dirt.



just blot the absorber not drag and it still works.



or



Bust out the leaf blower and blow dry your car (be careful not to suck up dirt else it will blast your paint). The blower works great at getting the water out of them constant drip sites like side mirrors and trim pieces. Reverible vacuums work well for this too. Than follow up with some MTs.



Or try the Ca Water blade. I do believe I have read some posts and some like them.
 
ever if I was using it on my car. Too risky in my opinion.



Taking a spin around the corner gets rid of 50-60% of the water on my car....
 
the absorber definitely got really sitff last february...but for some reason the waterbandit never gave me any trouble like that...not sure why....no matter which one i use i always fold it and wipe....i dont like to drag it...they just seem to work better for me if i fold them and wipe....dragging it...i dont know...it doesnt get it as good as when i wipe...did i drag that sentence out enough...:D ...the waterbandit is definitely alot thicker than the absorber,,,,and fluffier....maybe that has something to do with it:confused: ....i keep the absorber for the bottom part of the car and the door jams.....but like DK said....cant go wrong with high quality cotton towels....



ps...dont have a leaf blower so i couldnt tell you about that one,.....pps...i got a free Ca WaterBlade with my last order from Autogeek...its supposed to come today.....(i got a free item..and i picked that)...still very nervous about using it on the paint...but im definitely gonna try it on the windows with my next wash....
 
I guess the drive does not get the much off because I do that hose thingy where you get the water to sheet off. After that I tend to have little beads which wipe up easily.
 
I might have to pick up a water bandit and try that out if the absorber does not perform in colder weather.



Be careful with that water blade. I ONLY use it on windows.....
 
After working with a lot of top detailers, I have noticed that everybody has a different method to cleaning interiors. I would say that David Fermani is probably the most impressive guy I have seen with interiors, but that is because he scrubs every square inch of everthing with an all-purpose cleaner and a tooth brush.

What tricks and tips do you guys use when getting the interior 'concours' perfect?
 
I use "Make-Up" brushes for the dash vents, window switches, console etc. They are soft and won't scratch plastic surfaces. Available at any drug store... cheap. This would primarily be for dry-dusting. For more stubborn stains down in the cracks, I use APC spray and artist's paint brushes. (tape the metal ferrules so nothing gets scratched!)

For carpet, no extractor here... Old Skool at it's finest!:Dancing Dot: First I vacuum, then spray liberally with Woolite Heavy Traffic Carpet Foam (APC can be used if carpet foam is not available). Let soak for 5 minutes or so, then scrub with a stiff carpet brush. (Woolite HTCF also works great on fabric upholstery.:biggrin:)

I then rinse by flooding the carpet areas with water from a spray bottle and scrub with a "white" cotton towel until clean and damp. Repeat as many times as necessary until carpet is clean.

Then I dry with a Vornado Fan.

(I use a white towel because the dyes from a dark-colored towel could potentially stain the carpet.)

The final step, when nearly dry is to brush with a stiff carpet brush to fluff the knap and give it that "freshly-steamed" look!:biggrin:
 
Fermani's interior cleaning is no doubt the most in-depth hard-core cleaning style. I like using a smaller brush (leather style) to do the agitation. Various bottles with various strength APC are on hand, and everything is wiped clean. We finish things off by brushing in 1Z Cockpit Premium as it has very light cleaning ability (helps get off any APC residue), UV protection, and the perfect finish for 95% of cars.
Leather is similar, but products are different with Leather Master's complete line and leatherique on hand.
My carpet cleaning technique is nothing to explain much as I adopted the Fermani Method on that with slight changes: minus the compressed air (use the shop vac in place).

Fast, Safe, Effective: pick two.
That's the story of working interiors well IMO. I'll be experimenting more and more with a steam machine - not that it's a replacement to the slow but sure style, but may have perks. We'll see.
 
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