Interior cleaning fun - with pics
08-30-2015, 08:43 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Interior cleaning fun - with pics
Mandatory 993 content: this car parks next to the 993.
With that out of the way, there are few things more satisfying than a clean car interior. Let's face it, that's where you spend all your time behind the wheel. And when you see how easy it is to do, but how much elbow grease and attention to detail is required to do it right, this is a project definitely to be undertaken yourself over a weekend. I am not a car 'detailer' and this will be a fair weather DD for me in summer - but there is just so much satisfaction in the total transformation of a good interior cleaning.
The Subject:
A new-to-me 1986 Euro 911 with 180,000 KM. A real survivor, decent repaint, nearly all stock.
The Mandatory Tools for the Job:
A Natalie (you need one of these, no question)
Good shop vac
P21S total auto wash
303 protectant
3M adhesive remover
Stoner Invisible glass
Resolve dry powder carpet cleaner
Large box of rags and microfiber towels, brushes and QTips
Just got the car home and plated after extensive mechanical refresh. That’s for another thread.
I figured that after 30 years, she needed a bath whether she liked it or not. It’s amazing how much crud builds up over time, as the typical owner really doesn’t do much more than an occasional vacuum and some Armor all.
This took about 10 man hours total. Mostly women-hours, actually, hence the point above – you need a Natalie.
Here are the steps we took and some photos of the end results. Really should have taken ‘before’ shots, so you‘ll have to trust me here. The starting point was an original interior with about 30 years and 120 thousand miles of accumulated dirt.
Step 1
Removed the factory carpets, front and rear. The car had been run without any car mats (!) so a fair bit of dirt had accumulated. The rear and passenger carpets were OK after repeated brushing, vacuuming, and beating out the sand and dirt.
The driver’s side was obviously very dirty, so I used some P21S on it with a brush and a hose. Came out pretty good all things considered – the carpet pile is pretty beat, but nice and clean - and fine under new car mats. Vacuumed the bare metal floor and washed/rinsed with P21S diluted in a bucket. Clean carpets reinstalled.
Step 2
Washed ALL vinyl surfaces - seats, trim, headliner, plastic with diluted P21S. Then rinsed. As you can imagine, lots of BLACK dirt was lifted and removed. Rinsed clean and dried.
Step 3
Frunk carpets were stained (greasy). Removed and treated with dry carpet cleaner, vacuumed out with the home vacuum beater brush. They came out great. Cleaned out the bare frunk completely, wiped everything down and degreased with multiple damp rags and adhesive remover where necessary. Clean carpets reinstalled in clean trunk.
Step 4
All vinyl surfaces treated with 303 and then wiped down with a clean cloth.
Applied 303 to remove the bloom (mold release agent?) on the inside windshield seal. Was grey/white – now black. Nice.
Step 5
All switch gear dusted, cleaned, degreased. *****, levers, everything.
As an example, the red release button on the seatbelts is not supposed to have dark “PRESS” font. That’s either years of Chicken McNuggets – or in this case, Schnitzel from the fatherland.
Which reminds me, mmmm... Jaeger Schnitzel....
Step 6
Brand new car mats – we chose Coco mats with a blue offset to work with the Prussian Blue paint, a pretty rare color that's growing on me by the day.
Plus we get to name her Purple Haze, which would otherwize have me buying a Mopar for the priviledge. Actually, that's Plum Crazy. But equally funky.
I’d say the 80’s Carrera’s are borderline in terms of the vintage look of these mats – but I think they really work here.
Step 7
All glass cleaned REPEATEDLY, inside and out, with some adhesive remover where necessary. You take for granted what a difference clean glass makes – wow.
Step 8
While we were at it, we hit the exterior rubber trim and tires with 303… a nice touch.
Hope you enjoy the pics – this is a good reminder how much grime builds up driving over the year(s).
It’s our habit to do the 993 similarly once a year, and even that gets pretty dirty with track and open window driving.
Cheers
Matt (and Nat)
With that out of the way, there are few things more satisfying than a clean car interior. Let's face it, that's where you spend all your time behind the wheel. And when you see how easy it is to do, but how much elbow grease and attention to detail is required to do it right, this is a project definitely to be undertaken yourself over a weekend. I am not a car 'detailer' and this will be a fair weather DD for me in summer - but there is just so much satisfaction in the total transformation of a good interior cleaning.
The Subject:
A new-to-me 1986 Euro 911 with 180,000 KM. A real survivor, decent repaint, nearly all stock.
The Mandatory Tools for the Job:
A Natalie (you need one of these, no question)
Good shop vac
P21S total auto wash
303 protectant
3M adhesive remover
Stoner Invisible glass
Resolve dry powder carpet cleaner
Large box of rags and microfiber towels, brushes and QTips
Just got the car home and plated after extensive mechanical refresh. That’s for another thread.
I figured that after 30 years, she needed a bath whether she liked it or not. It’s amazing how much crud builds up over time, as the typical owner really doesn’t do much more than an occasional vacuum and some Armor all.
This took about 10 man hours total. Mostly women-hours, actually, hence the point above – you need a Natalie.
Here are the steps we took and some photos of the end results. Really should have taken ‘before’ shots, so you‘ll have to trust me here. The starting point was an original interior with about 30 years and 120 thousand miles of accumulated dirt.
Step 1
Removed the factory carpets, front and rear. The car had been run without any car mats (!) so a fair bit of dirt had accumulated. The rear and passenger carpets were OK after repeated brushing, vacuuming, and beating out the sand and dirt.
The driver’s side was obviously very dirty, so I used some P21S on it with a brush and a hose. Came out pretty good all things considered – the carpet pile is pretty beat, but nice and clean - and fine under new car mats. Vacuumed the bare metal floor and washed/rinsed with P21S diluted in a bucket. Clean carpets reinstalled.
Step 2
Washed ALL vinyl surfaces - seats, trim, headliner, plastic with diluted P21S. Then rinsed. As you can imagine, lots of BLACK dirt was lifted and removed. Rinsed clean and dried.
Step 3
Frunk carpets were stained (greasy). Removed and treated with dry carpet cleaner, vacuumed out with the home vacuum beater brush. They came out great. Cleaned out the bare frunk completely, wiped everything down and degreased with multiple damp rags and adhesive remover where necessary. Clean carpets reinstalled in clean trunk.
Step 4
All vinyl surfaces treated with 303 and then wiped down with a clean cloth.
Applied 303 to remove the bloom (mold release agent?) on the inside windshield seal. Was grey/white – now black. Nice.
Step 5
All switch gear dusted, cleaned, degreased. *****, levers, everything.
As an example, the red release button on the seatbelts is not supposed to have dark “PRESS” font. That’s either years of Chicken McNuggets – or in this case, Schnitzel from the fatherland.
Which reminds me, mmmm... Jaeger Schnitzel....
Step 6
Brand new car mats – we chose Coco mats with a blue offset to work with the Prussian Blue paint, a pretty rare color that's growing on me by the day.
Plus we get to name her Purple Haze, which would otherwize have me buying a Mopar for the priviledge. Actually, that's Plum Crazy. But equally funky.
I’d say the 80’s Carrera’s are borderline in terms of the vintage look of these mats – but I think they really work here.
Step 7
All glass cleaned REPEATEDLY, inside and out, with some adhesive remover where necessary. You take for granted what a difference clean glass makes – wow.
Step 8
While we were at it, we hit the exterior rubber trim and tires with 303… a nice touch.
Hope you enjoy the pics – this is a good reminder how much grime builds up driving over the year(s).
It’s our habit to do the 993 similarly once a year, and even that gets pretty dirty with track and open window driving.
Cheers
Matt (and Nat)
Last edited by Matt Lane; 09-06-2015 at 01:23 PM.
08-31-2015, 05:11 AM
#6
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
They are compatible for a short time if not mixed. After a while info leakage occurs and in resulting catharsis Kathy ends up with your 911, making Natalie surplus as well.
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08-31-2015, 10:28 PM
#8
Race Car
Don't want to go messing up anything with a Natalie (how ever great a tool she is
08-31-2015, 10:30 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
The water got dirty a few times, and was replaced. There are more specific recommendations on the bottle, right up to using it undiluted on an engine compartment (which is what I do as well). It does need to be rinsed, of course.
But she's priceless to me! She's the best.
