Cigarette stain in headliner???

[UltimateDetail]

How would I go about getting a 2 year old stain out of the headliner of a 08 cobalt??

I got a friend of mine dropping his car off tomorrow for a full detail (will take pics), and one of his main concerns is the smoke stain in the headliner directly above where he always holds his cigarette. It looks like one of those "impossible" stains to deal with.. Anyway, anyone have experience with getting off smoke stains? Thanks! Jeff

[dad07]

OPC will take it out.......spray on mf and gently rub then repeat if needed then go over with damp mf.

I do this with the work trucks I do and it always works........

[statusdetailing]

Lightly misting with folex and then rubbing with a white cotton towel works as well. If it was me and that didn't work, I would use folex and then my vapor steamer on low with a plush cotton towel over the end. You have to move quickly or you will delaminate the headliner. This would be a last resort. I almost never steam headliners, but will if I have to.

[Vegas Transplant]

APC of your choice 10:1 & Tornador Classic makes short work of headliners.

[UltimateDetail]

APC of your choice 10:1 & Tornador Classic makes short work of headliners.

That's what I was going to do! I just got my new tornado, so we'll see how it works.:xyxthumbs:

[UltimateDetail]

Lightly misting with folex and then rubbing with a white cotton towel works as well. If it was me and that didn't work, I would use folex and then my vapor steamer on low with a plush cotton towel over the end. You have to move quickly or you will delaminate the headliner. This would be a last resort. I almost never steam headliners, but will if I have to.

Yeah I gotta get some folex, do you know of anywhere that sells it?
Also I wish I had the steamer, I only have a shop vac, extractor and tornado classic to work with.. Still I'm worried if I use the tornado or extractor it will delaminate it.

[UltimateDetail]

OPC will take it out.......spray on mf and gently rub then repeat if needed then go over with damp mf.

I do this with the work trucks I do and it always works........

Could APC+ be a substitute? I'll have to try it with just APC+ until I get some OPC.. Also how do you like OPC? That's optimum right?

[Vegas Transplant]

Great to hear hand.
Black or classic?
I've learned to keep one hand on the tool and the other with a cleaning towel to immediately remove residue and overspray from glass...especially nicotine/APC.

Surprisingly, I have not yet run into any smokers here in Md.

[statusdetailing]

APC works ok if lightly misted on and wiped of with a cotton towel but I personally think Folex works better, and it's rinseless. You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes. Extractors don't work well on headliners at all, and they can definitely cause them to delaminate.

A lot of guys won't use steamers either, but I've found that when you put a towel over the end and use it on low, moving fast, it works great. If used incorrectly a steamer will definitely remove headliners.

APC or Folex (my personal choice because it's rinseless and won't attract more stains) and a cotton towel works 99% of the time and is safe. Good luck.

I'm sure there are a variety of rinseless spotters here on autogeek that would work great as well! :xyxthumbs:

[coop0589]

You can get folex at Lowes and possibly Home Depot.

[Vegas Transplant]

...I personally think Folex works better, and it's rinseless.


+1.
Recent OPC convert...just haven't done a headliner lately.

[UltimateDetail]

Great to hear hand.
Black or classic?
I've learned to keep one hand on the tool and the other with a cleaning towel to immediately remove residue and overspray from glass...especially nicotine/APC.

Surprisingly, I have not yet run into any smokers here in Md.

I was going to get the Black, but I read the bad experiences people had with it, and decided on the classic.:xyxthumbs:

Yeah I agree, i'm gonna always have a MF ready, I watched the tutorial for it and saw the guy did that..

But, isn't maryland one of the states with the highest amount of smokers? lol I vacationed there once and everybody was smoking.. Nevermind it was the boardwalk in ocean city:rolleyes:

[UltimateDetail]

You can get folex at Lowes and possibly Home Depot.

Ok cool, I'll have to stop by the depot in the AM. I thought someone said you could get it there.. Thanks! :xyxthumbs:

[UltimateDetail]

APC works ok if lightly misted on and wiped of with a cotton towel but I personally think Folex works better, and it's rinseless. You can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes. Extractors don't work well on headliners at all, and they can definitely cause them to delaminate.

A lot of guys won't use steamers either, but I've found that when you put a towel over the end and use it on low, moving fast, it works great. If used incorrectly a steamer will definitely remove headliners.

APC or Folex (my personal choice because it's rinseless and won't attract more stains) and a cotton towel works 99% of the time and is safe. Good luck.

I'm sure there are a variety of rinseless spotters here on autogeek that would work great as well! :xyxthumbs:


Ok, sounds good! Thanks for the help! I think i'll stop by home depot and pick up some folex, because I don't want more stains attracted..

I'll have to remember your tips for the steamer when I get one in a month or so. I was thinking of getting the one autogeek stocks. And I definitely am ruling out using an extractor! Wouldn't be fun trying to put the headliner back on:xyxthumbs:

[statusdetailing]

Good luck:xyxthumbs: