I wasn't planning to share my newbie attempts of interior car detailing. However my sifu, KC2 who has been giving me a lot of advice and encouragement has again encourage me to come out of my comfort zone. So, here I share....
Just a bit of a background. About 3 months back, I embark on restoring a '97 e39. Due to budget constraints, I had to compromise on a few things to achieve a vision that was in my head. So buying a well kept '03 wasn't possible. The car I bought was stock standard and the first owner seems to have kept it as good as possible (but he didn't go out of the way to preserve it). 15 years of "good enough" amounts to a lot of bad stuff as well.
I spoke to KC2 a couple of times over the phone while my car was still at the painters/tint etc and the first night I officially could drive it home, I looked for him first. My intention was to get a quote for him to detail my interior but after spending 1 hours plus sharing his info and experience, he planted the seed - Inception style. The next time I called him, it was not to make an appointment but to get my hands of a couple of things to start me off!
Due to time constraints, I spend maybe 30 minute on and off and work on one or two parts at a time. With the magical potion (Alien Clean) and in the correct portion, I manage to bring some part of the interior back to life.
Based on my experience so far, the plastic+dash+vinyl is easy to do. If you just keep at it slowly and patiently, you can get to a "clean base". I have reach my happy point here.
The carpet & fabric are slightly challenging just with OPC and a simple vacuum. Some of the stain is probably been there since 1997! So I don't expect it to get this back to showroom but I plan to give the car one more pass probably with a help of a stronger or wet vacuum(??) and some OPC where there are faint stain marks.
The leather seats are beige but it's a b*tch to clean as well. You see, I consciously CHOOSE this interior color because I feel when you can get it back to clean, it really "shows" the car very well. However, as I'm detailing it, I'm a bit worried of how much cleaning can I keep at it before I start damaging the leather. It's easier with plastic to know when to stop. Any tips?
ps. sorry for the shoddy pictures. Obviously my picture taking skills are as bad as my detailing skills! hahahah I have a lot to learn before lil' grass hopper can do this....
Thanks KC for the encouragement. I've realized it is not as tough as one would think but it will come with experience and sharing. So, please do share you comments and corrections
Just a bit of a background. About 3 months back, I embark on restoring a '97 e39. Due to budget constraints, I had to compromise on a few things to achieve a vision that was in my head. So buying a well kept '03 wasn't possible. The car I bought was stock standard and the first owner seems to have kept it as good as possible (but he didn't go out of the way to preserve it). 15 years of "good enough" amounts to a lot of bad stuff as well.
I spoke to KC2 a couple of times over the phone while my car was still at the painters/tint etc and the first night I officially could drive it home, I looked for him first. My intention was to get a quote for him to detail my interior but after spending 1 hours plus sharing his info and experience, he planted the seed - Inception style. The next time I called him, it was not to make an appointment but to get my hands of a couple of things to start me off!
Due to time constraints, I spend maybe 30 minute on and off and work on one or two parts at a time. With the magical potion (Alien Clean) and in the correct portion, I manage to bring some part of the interior back to life.
Based on my experience so far, the plastic+dash+vinyl is easy to do. If you just keep at it slowly and patiently, you can get to a "clean base". I have reach my happy point here.
The carpet & fabric are slightly challenging just with OPC and a simple vacuum. Some of the stain is probably been there since 1997! So I don't expect it to get this back to showroom but I plan to give the car one more pass probably with a help of a stronger or wet vacuum(??) and some OPC where there are faint stain marks.
The leather seats are beige but it's a b*tch to clean as well. You see, I consciously CHOOSE this interior color because I feel when you can get it back to clean, it really "shows" the car very well. However, as I'm detailing it, I'm a bit worried of how much cleaning can I keep at it before I start damaging the leather. It's easier with plastic to know when to stop. Any tips?
ps. sorry for the shoddy pictures. Obviously my picture taking skills are as bad as my detailing skills! hahahah I have a lot to learn before lil' grass hopper can do this....
Thanks KC for the encouragement. I've realized it is not as tough as one would think but it will come with experience and sharing. So, please do share you comments and corrections
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