Chronicles of An Amateur Detailer - Always Use Protection - Cleaning & Protecting the Interior

[BrightonRT]

Previously on Chronicles of An Amateur Detailer...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-university/53385-chronicles-amateur-detailer-project.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-university/53462-coaad-introducing-patient-1-let-s-talk-about-order.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-university/53504-chronicles-amateur-detailer-dawn-wash-detailer-s-mri.html
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-university/53605-chronicles-amateur-detailer-suck-up-carpets-upholstery.html

Using Protection: Cleaning & Dressing the Interior

Editor's Note: Not much content tonight, so there will be less focus on technique and a little more on the products used

As with anything I do on the interior I usually start in the back seat and work my way forward. Because it's a 2 door and it gets a little tight I did everything you see here in the back first and then started documenting when I moved to the front.

Break 'em down and build them back up

First thing that needed to be done is getting the old dressing off so whatever we put on can adhere properly and last the longest. To do this I went back to the old standby of Meguiar's APC.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4616.jpg

This may be one of my favorite products purely for its versatility. You've already seen me use it on the engine compartment, carpet, and now the dash and interior panels, and we haven't even gotten to the exterior yet. I should add that everything I've done is 10:1, I have yet to strengthen all the way to 4:1 as can be done but it's nice to have that in my back pocket.

I applied simply by spraying it on an old microfiber and wiping down the dash, console and door panel.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4639.jpg


After getting the dash I took the APC to the pedals as well to clean those up.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4648.jpg


One thing to note is I DID NOT dress the pedals, shift lever or the rim of the steering wheel. Those are places where grip is crucial and you just can't risk compromising that with a dressing.


Dress to impress

Now that we've gotten the surface clean and prepped it's time to Armor it up...

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4651.jpg

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?!?!

Getting ready to protect the dash

We've talked about this, we got help, it was dark time in our history and we've moved past it.

You're right. I'm sorry

Do what we were taught...

*Sigh* Hello, my name is Bob, and I used to use Armor All.


Good, do you feel better?

Yes.

Now what are you REALLY going to use?

Well I have been using Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant. I've been very pleased with the durabilty but it's been a little too glossy for my taste and still a little greasy initially, so on the last BOGO I picked up some new stuff to try.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4637.jpg


I decided to do a quick comparison, it doesn't show very well in the picture (Megs on the left, BF on the right), but the Blackfire Interior Protectant delivered on the promise of a satin finish that gives a low rich shine that's much more to my liking. It's also not sticky at all. I still like that Ultimate Protectant is good for exterior as well so it will not go to waste.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4631.jpg


I applied the dressing by spraying the product onto a cheap microfiber applicator and using that to apply.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4636.jpg

Not much more to say here on how it was applied. A few places to remember to get:

Any nooks and crannies, including vents. I used a Q-Tip with soaked with product to get in those spots.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4642.jpg


The shift boot.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4643.jpg


All the door seals and the trunk seals, this is less for aesthetics and more to help condition them to keep them lasting longer.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4650.jpg


Crystal Clear

There's not much to say here that wasn't already completely covered here:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/49998-mike-s-glass-cleaning-tips.html

I pretty much followed that word for word. I'll only add 2 things. First, I used Meguiar's Glass Cleaner; again a big bargain at a 10:1 dilution ratio and it does a fantastic job.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4652.jpg

Second, I can't remember if I read this tip on here somewhere or on MOL, but it's not mine. When doing glass always do interior and exterior in opposite directions. By that I mean if you do the interior in a cross-car motion, do the exterior moving up and down, that way if you do see streaks afterward you can tell from their direction what side needs to be re-cleaned.


Finishing Touch


PHONE! It's Bob Barker, he wanted to call and tell you that you just got...A ... BRAND...NEW...CAR.......................smell

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4653.jpg

True Story on the CG New Car Scent: Right after getting it I sprayed 2 puffs in the empty trunk of the car. I put my golf clubs in and went to the course. I was able to smell the air freshener on my golf bag for the first 6 holes in open air. Moral of the story:This stuff is awesome and strong. One spray is enough.


Wrap Up

This concludes the interior of the car. I've got to try my first product from the Blackfire line and was really impressed, I'll be using 2 more later in the detail and I'm really looking forward to it. I have never been happier with the way the interior looks.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_4654.jpg

As always please offer anything you can think of that may make this a more efficient process, or any spot I may have missed, or even a different product to try.


Coming Next
Wheels off! Next we take off the wheels and give them the star treatment and tackle some built up tar on the plastic wheel liners.

[kmsdetailing]

"When doing glass always do interior and exterior in opposite directions. By that I mean if you do the interior in a cross-car motion, do the exterior moving up and down, that way if you do see streaks afterward you can tell from their direction what side needs to be re-cleaned.

Great idea. For something that should be so easy to do in comparison of detailing the rest of the car, it can sometimes be annoying to see this.

Thanks for the tips

[pointillistic_practitioner]

wow, great write-up. I enjoyed it and see you have a sense of humor! "brand...new...car....smell", "using protection: cleaning & dressing..." Made me laugh. I've heard people throughout the forum say that armor all is bad or shouldn't be used but no one seems to acknowledge why. I still use it on my own cars. The price is right, I like the way it looks, and I can buy it locally. Any one care to explain?

[BrightonRT]

I've heard people throughout the forum say that armor all is bad or shouldn't be used but no one seems to acknowledge why. I still use it on my own cars. The price is right, I like the way it looks, and I can buy it locally. Any one care to explain?

There's a myth that has been carried on the Internet that the use of Armor All had caused cracking on the dash of some older cars. I believe that was confirmed to be false.

The other reason is that, in general Armor All tends to be glossier than a lot of other dressings and on a lot of surfaces can leave behind a greasy feeling that a lot of people don't like. If you have no issues with it then by all means keep using it. If your looking to try something different that's still OTC, try Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant. I've had decent success with it, I just now have found something even better.

[Mike Phillips]

Bob for a more or less new guy on our forum you do awesome write-ups!

Well written
Pictures inserted, not attached
White space around your text to make it easy to read
Correct spelling, formatting and grammar.

Simply awesome. I like how you give credit where credit is due too...





Coming Next

Wheels off! Next we take off the wheels and give them the star treatment and tackle some built up tar on the plastic wheel liners.



That's the way to to do it.

If a person really wants to clean their wheels and their wheel wells then they need to get out the,




Floor Jack
4-way Lug Nut Wrench
Safety Jack Stands



Then break the lug nuts free, jack up one corner of the car, place the jack stand under the frame or a safe portion of the unibody, remove the wheel and then go to town.

I've never done wheel wells for a daily driver because they're just going to get dirty again and the time and work required to remove and then replace all 4 wheels PLUS understand how to properly torque the lug nuts down always seems to me to be more work than it's worth and if you're detailing for money the majority of your customers are not going to want to pay a fair price for the work required to do this kind of detailing that I call,

"Perfectionist Detailing"



But if you can get that kind of work/pay then go for it. Having a how-to article on the topic is definitely helpful.

At my last Detailing Boot Camp Class I thought about doing this but it's so time intensive and then again, I would be training people how to do something that in the real world they're likely never going to do, at least not for money on a regular basis.

But again, if a person really wants to get their wheels clean and their wheel wells and all the components inside the wheel wells cleaned and detailed, the way to do is to remove the wheels. I did that for my own rig here,

Old School Aluminum Slotted Mag Wheels - Extreme Makeover (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/27892-old-school-aluminum-slotted-mag-wheels-extreme-makeover.html)



And then after polishing them, had the tires installed and since then they've been on the truck as my daily driver.

Thanks for the awesome contributions to our forum. I appreciate them and I know others to to...


***Subscribed***


:xyxthumbs:

[Mike Phillips]

There's a myth that has been carried on the Internet that the use of Armor All had caused cracking on the dash of some older cars. I believe that was confirmed to be false.




I've worked with a chemist in this industry that knew or knows a chemist that worked on the early Armor-All formulas. He told me that in some of the early formulas there was an issue with the chemistry. That said, that was 30 years ago and once they figured out the issue, (had to do with plasticizer oils), the issue was resolved.

The problem is that once an urban legend takes hold it's hard to undo it.

Besides that... I've posted this before but here goes again...

Everything changes.

Heck my phone is more powerful than my first computers. That's called change.

The plastic or vinyl used to make dashes back in the 1960's and the 1970's probably doesn't even exist any longer. Modern cars are made using dramatically better plastic resin technology that resists cracking and fading.

When is the last time you saw the dash on any new car crack the way it did on a car or truck from the 1960's or 1970's?

Never?


Also, keep in mind, if you were to be standing next to a car from the 1960's or 1970's right now, outside in the parking lot and it had the original dash and the dash was cracked... it's 40 to 50 years old!

Just thought I would add a few things to this topic to put things in the right perspective.

I'm confident the Armor-All product you purchase today are vastly improved and superior than the Armor-All my dad bought and used on his "new" cars in the 1960's and the 1970's.


:D

[BrightonRT]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

I'm glad everyone's enjoying it, it's great motivation to keep the project going.