Maintaining the interior of the vehicle depends on how often you drive your vehicle and how it ends up looking after a week or a month. If the car is a weekend driver, maintenance may happen once every 3-6 months but if it’s a daily driver, you may need to do a “Basic Detail” wipe once a month and a detail job 1-2 times a year.
Basic Detail
This is my favorite method and usually the easiest to do while using the least amount of water. It is also very fast and can be done inside the garage with minimal water spreading around. This method is great for most people who are looking to maintain their vehicles with minimum hLassle.
Equipment Needed:
Rinseless Wash Detergent (eg. Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine)
3x Microfiber Cloth (eg. Amazon Basics Microfiber Towels)
1x Glass Towel (eg. Rag Company Glass Towel)
Vacuum Cleaner (eg. ShopVac with Attachment Tools)
Optional:
All-purpose cleaner (eg. Adam’s all purpose cleaner)
Protection sealant (eg. 303 Interior Protectant)
Steps:
First, vacuum the vehicle, starting from the front to the back of the vehicle while working into the center console area with a crevice attachment.
Optional: If you have spots and spills, use the all-purpose cleaner at a dilution to gently wipe and dab the area. If the spot is still there, use the all purpose cleaner at full strength but leave it for a few minutes in the spot for it work through. Then agitate, wipe and blot away.
Dilute the rinseless detergent based on the instructions of the detergent and wipe the side panels, center consoles, steering area, dash and other vinyls and plastics
Using another microfiber towel, carefully apply the protection sealant.
If the interior of the glass is dirty or foggy, use a clean glass towel with glass cleaner to wipe clean the interior of the glass. Then use the other dry side to buff the glass. This will help with visibility at evenings or mornings when the sun is at a low angle.
Leather Seats:
Leather seating is one of the easiest ones to clean. Nearly all cars nowadays have coated leather installed on them so you don’t need to condition them. They need to use a synthetic sealant for maximum protection. You can treat them similar to vinyls and plastics of your car by giving the seats a basic wipe and protect treatment.
Interior leather seats can also be coated which can reduce the cleaning required and make the seats resistant to stains and spills. You also don’t need to apply protectant to the seats while the coating is active. You can contact us to have a coating installed for your seating.
Cloth Seats:
Cloth seats can be the most finicky and stain easiest. You will have to vacuum them alongside vacuuming the car’s carpeting and consoles. Then you can use a microfiber cloth dampened with a diluted cleaner to encapsulate and blot away dirt or dust from the seats.
Cloth seats cannot be coated or properly protected. They require the most amount of cleaning over time.
Fabric Seats:
Fabrics are similar to cloth seating when it comes to maintenance but are more resistant to dirt and stains. You will have to vacuum them alongside vacuuming the car’s carpeting and consoles. Then you can use a microfiber cloth dampened with a diluted cleaner to encapsulate and blot away dirt or dust from the seats.
Once a year or two, you can have us come over and install a sealant on the fabric seats or have it coated to make the seats resistant to stains and spills. You can contact us to have a coating installed for your seating.