Interior cleaning with my new steamer

I forgot to mention how small and portable these are compared to extractors. I still carry my extractor with me for major spills, but the steamer is very compact and easy to use.
 
I know the majority of the population could care less about swirls but they know a clean interior when they see it and likely the single detailing item they would likely pay more money to get. With the health conscious phase and H1N1 etc, an enterprising interior specialist could take advantage of this and make some money. Think about, a family can spend a lot of time in that trashed mini-van with food residue, dirt, mold, etc.....
 
rockymountaindetail said:
Definitely condition the leather afterwards. I start with the lowest steam setting and move up as I need to, kinda like polishing I always try least aggressive first. I have never damaged any leather and the customer is usually surprised at how awesome the leather looks when I'm finished.

These machines truly are awesome, you can use them on almost every surface in the car from the carpets to the headliner and everything in between. It is also a great time-saver for me because it not only does a better job than by hand but does it quicker. Better and faster is a tough combo to beat!!

For those of you considering a purchase I know on ATTENTION TO DETAILS website Renny sells an instructional DVD. You could get a pretty good idea of what the machine is capable of and how to use it from that and then decide on your purchase.
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The only 'conditioning' leather usually requires is hydration. Steam is vaporised water, that's all you should nees, periodically wiping the surface with a damp micro fibre will surrfice for maintenance.
 
TOGWT said:
The only 'conditioning' leather usually requires is hydration. Steam is vaporised water, that's all you should nees, periodically wiping the surface with a damp micro fibre will surrfice for maintenance.
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Are you saying that wetting leather occasionally is all that's needed for long term protection against drying and cracking??

I'm not a leather expert or anything but after cleaning with steam it can give the leather a "squeaky" clean feeling and look dry. Although there is some wetness in the steam it's not very much. It's a very dry vapor. It also produces heat (298 degrees) which makes the leather feel "dry" after cleaning. I like to use leather conditioner afterwards to soften it up again and give it some "luster" (sorry bill :biggrin:)
 
let me add my .02 after trying my lil scunci steamer that my wife and i thought may be a good idea for cleaning around the house since she's chemically allergic. i used it on her leather seats in the bimmer and it did look like it dried the seats out. though it was much cleaner all the sheen that was on the leather disappeared. now i,m no leather expert myself but with the sheen being gone the seats do look like they are dry although they feel soft. so i would say that you should condition the leather after steaming... just my novice .02 worth of an opinion...
 
If the leather has a natural finish (not covered) a product like LM 'Vital' (not a conditioner per se) should be used after steam treatment

If the 'leather' has a polyurathane covering (currently 95%+ of modern vehicles) do you need to use an expensive oil based conditioner on a plastic
 
A great review! Can you please tell me what steam cleaning device you used to do this? I am in the market for a new steam cleaning device to take back with my self to my country, I had been using professional steam cleaning service by DetailXperts when I was in Detroit and loved it, I though I would not be able to find something that closely resembles to there services, Your pictures show other wise and I want to buy some device like this before I head out!
 
detailchick said:
Very impressive!
I would worry about the glue on the headliner getting too hot or wet ,no? Are people using on headliners without problems?
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Never had a problem with it.
The idea is to heat the cloth you have wrapped around the attachment (spray the cloth with carpet cleaner and put the machine in high) once it's hot turn off the machine to put it in low setting...from that point you are going slightly rub the cloth against the headliner and repeat when necessary...
 
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