The Fundamentals of Interior Cosmetic Car Care
May 15 '01 (Updated May 25 '01)
The Bottom Line Be conscientious about your cars interior and it WILL look as good as the day you bought five (or ten) years later.
Introduction
Few things are as pleasing to a guest rider or a potential buyer as a car that boasts a clearly maintained interior. It is a pleasure to ride in, it inspires confidence in the potential longevity of the materials, and simply makes the owner feel better about their investment. A well maintained car has a higher resale value and allows for easier sale, less things to quibble over with the buyer or "trade evaluator".
Maintaining the interior also protects against things like premature wear (in most cases). Cracks in the dashboard (again, in most cases) can be avoided by simply caring for the vinyl on a regular basis and by taking simple precautions like a dash shade in sunny climates, UV is shockingly damaging. There are many upholstery products that now feature UV blockers to help prevent fading in interior fabrics. Some leather products also feature similar protectants to prevent UV wear on seats, inserts, and steering wheel accents.
All the topics I will be discussing are easily executed if simply done on a regular basis. Not unlike dirty dishes, the longer you don't treat the problem, the more aggravating and difficult it will be down the road. Unlike porcelain plates though, with many car interior materials (vinyl, leather, rubber, plastic) once the damage is done, it may be irreparable in many cases. So, with this in mind it certainly behooves any car owner to be diligent whether they plan on keeping it or avoiding a hassle when the return the leased vehicle.
In the long run, it really does come down to cost. One doesn't have to be ridiculously anal or fastidious to maintain your interior, just DO it, even if its once a month. Also, the cost of replacing the leather front seat from a 1995 Volvo 850 ($930) is far greater than the 4 bottles of Mothers one might buy in 6 years and elbow grease is a free commodity.
Carpets, Velours, and Miscellaneous Fabrics
Scotch Guard! Yes Scotch Guard, when used as directed, provides a great service for keeping cloth/velour seats stain free. Granted, simply disallowing eating in ones car is a good way to avoid this too, but I know some people won't go that far, SO, protect those seats! As long as any stain, whether coffee, coke, blood, mud, wine, Kool-Aid, or whatever, is dealt with in a rapid fashion by dabbing NOT rubbing the stain, the seats should be fine. Scotch Guard is not the only brand, but like Kleenex, say the name, and everyone knows what you're talking about.
Scotch Guard is also quite effective for carpets as well, though one will probably retreat more often depending on weather, kids, or the number of passengers or inconsiderate friends. I can honestly say that floormats are a good buy regardless of price. My mats (4) me $98 (I'm on my second set), a friends mats (4) his Galant V6 will run him $136. Either way, they protect the lowish quality carpet found in any car, even Bimmers. Almost all carpets you will see in cars are 100% synthetic and will also absorb stains like a truck full of Bounty towels. They also however work very well with stain resistant treatments, like Scotch Guard.
If you are a smoker, stop. Tobacco tar does a real number on fabrics, plastics, glass, rubber, you name it. I know, from experience. Again, a stain resistant product will help, but the yellow stuff you wipe off the windshield won't come out of fabrics nearly as easily, save for a true high PSI steam clean. The long and the short is this, smoking in your car is very damaging, period.
Plastics and Vinyl
There are as many brands of protectants out there as cereal varieties in your local supermarket, every brand has a line now, and why not, its big business. Lets cut out some of the noise though. Unless you have a specific recommendation from a friend, stick to the top names and you will be fine. Mothers, Formula 2001, Armour All, and Eagle One all have a good offering of premium products. What may do it for you is the scent, each is unique, some irritate some people. One way to find out is simply to open the bottle in the store and take a whiff if you are sensitive to perfumes or other chemical based scents. I like all Mothers brands scents, very light, very "new car".
Dashboards are a funny thing. They look good shiny, but in excessively sunny climates (like here in Austin, Texas) the shine can interfere with your view of the road due to extreme reflection. There are some mfrs that have addressed this problem with lower shine products. Armor All was the first to market such a product, and its not bad. Another way of getting by this is to simply apply less and then rub for a while. You will get a good looking, supple finish, but not too shiny. As my reviews of some of these products suggest, some protectants are best on specific surfaces. You may find 2001 does a great job on the dash but not on the paneling cause it looks drippy. Try a few products, most are around $3-$6, so it won't kill you to experiment.
The whole purpose of "protecting" your synthetic materials is to (for lack of better laymens terms) keep them from "drying out". I'm sure we've all seen a cracked dash or guage unit, eeeuuggh, ugly! This is not to say you have to use it from day one, you can treat a used car just as easily and get what once looked dead brought back to life with a few rags and the proper chemical. For REALLY old cars that are in really bad shape, try Nu-Vinyl. Its cheap, effective, and smells like a new car.
This type of care is not just for the dash. Do this to all interior plastics and over time they will simply look better than those that weren't treated. This extends to your headliner (the interior "roof"), pillars, door jamb linings and accents, even the steering wheel (NOT where you put your hands!!). Remember, do it regularly and it will be less work.
Glass, Lenses, and Bezels
Glass is easier to clean, to a point. Cleaning more often will make a difference in how hard it is to do an effective job each time. There are just as many glass cleaners as cars on the road, so pick one and use it. I believe simple is the way to go, however, so I use Windex. This is not to say that 20/20 or Vision One are bad products, but I ahve found some of the more "engineered" (sheeeesh, were talkin about vinegar and water!!) products leave a film in my opinion, but its up to you the consumer as to how much time you are willing to spend on the task.
Cleaning the windows serves 3 primary purposes. First off, it is simply SAFE to have clear glass, as a driver it is paramount that you have total view of the road and your surroundings unfettered by dirty glass. Number two, it simply make the car look good. Number three, cleaning often means less build up making the job easier.
Again, smokers, stop. Those of you who do smoke have seen the ugly brown/yellow mess on the towels when you clean your windows. Avoid this and don't smoke in you vehicle or at the absolute minimum, leave a window open. The other drawback to this tar left on the windshield is that is makes all glass cleaners work harder, and most will streak badly untill ALL of the tobacco residue is gone.
When I say lenses, I mean the clock, the front of the stereo, the plastic in front of the guages (also called a bezel, esp in the IS300!). These should be cleaned with a mild homemade glass cleaner or something mild like regular blue Windex. They will collect dust etc just as fast as everything else, and one dirty clock can throw off a sparkling dashboard.
The last thing I would say about interior glass in to use Rain-X Anti-Fog if you are in a climate that allows for interior fogging often like Seattle, Florida, the Gulf Coast, well, anywhere. When used properly it is VERY good at reducing or eliminating interior fogging and only costs a few dollars. Yes its one extra step, but isn't your car worth it?
As per a comment I did a little reseacrch and found that my recommendations may be misleading. It is important to know that one should not clean tinted windows with any cleaner that contains ammonia, so in this case, some of the more engineered products may be the way to go instead of classic Windex.
Summary
I understand that not everyone is as religious about car care as I am, but I tried to lay down the fundamentals to assist you, the car owner/user, in maintaining a good looking if not show quality car. The brands I suggested are exactly that, suggestions. There are some products that work best for some people and cars, but as I mentioned, most of these products are inexpensive enough to allow for some budgeted experimentation.
It is these simple concepts, maintaining fabrics/leathers, interior plastics/vinyls, and glass surfaces as well as clear plastics that will allow your car to look new even if the model year was in the last century. If you have any questions about procedure or products lemme know, I will be happy to answer them all.
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