I've got the exterior part of detailing down, but what about the interior?

[AliMusa]

I've got all the tools, techniques, products, etc needed for detailing the exterior of my car but I haven't done much research about how to detail the interior of a car. I have a 2008 Lancer GTS and there's a lot of fading going on on the faux carbon fiber and the leather wrapping around the steering wheel. I also have some stains in the carpet/upholstery, but I'm not sure what any of them are. Also, the upholstery is very stubborn, especially the floors of the car. If anything is stuck in the fibers, it takes a good amount of effort to get it out. If anyone could please point me into the right direction to make my life any easier, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

[rustytruck]

The interior is what customers want. Get the tools you need and good luck. Very few people will ever ask about paint correction but everyone(especially female customers) wants a clean new looking interiors.

[VP Mark]

The interior is what customers want. Get the tools you need and good luck. Very few people will ever ask about paint correction but everyone(especially female customers) wants a clean new looking interiors.

Bingo. Paint correction is the rib eye steak of detailing but interiors and wash and wax are the bread and butter.

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[beamerstrumpet]

OK, Who becides myself HATES doing the interiors?

[custmsprty]

Me, it's just a weekend hobby so I only do friends / neighbors cars. Us guys we all care about the outside and how good we look getting there. They usually do the interior while I do the exterior. I bring my products so they get an idea of how much better the good stuff is. My favorite interior dressing, CG Silk Shine, great stuff and leaves a new car scent behind.

[Mach1USMC]

OK, Who becides myself HATES doing the interiors?

I'll second that. I can't stand interiors. I'm working on it though- I'm getting better but I still hate it.

[A1MobileDetailing]

I've got all the tools, techniques, products, etc needed for detailing the exterior of my car but I haven't done much research about how to detail the interior of a car. I have a 2008 Lancer GTS and there's a lot of fading going on on the faux carbon fiber and the leather wrapping around the steering wheel. I also have some stains in the carpet/upholstery, but I'm not sure what any of them are. Also, the upholstery is very stubborn, especially the floors of the car. If anything is stuck in the fibers, it takes a good amount of effort to get it out. If anyone could please point me into the right direction to make my life any easier, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

I have a 2009 lancer ralliart and I know what you mean be the carpet being terrible to work with. If you get to rough with it the fibers start wadding up and making it look bad. Get your self the pet hair brush they sell here, its worked the best on my carpet for removing white dog hair from the previous owner.

[Midnight1700]

The interior is what customers want. Get the tools you need and good luck. Very few people will ever ask about paint correction but everyone(especially female customers) wants a clean new looking interiors.

True interior detailing takes a lot of patience and time. In my shop it's very common to have two detailers work 4 - 6 hours detailing the interior. There are no cutting corners here, just a lot of hard work. Detailing all the nooks and crannies, instruments panels, consoles, vents, knobs, levers, seats, seat rails, carpet, cubbies, and the list goes on. Using the right products and techniques on every surface is critical to a successful interior detail. No petroleum products, no silicone's, and no greasy surfaces are key.

[Phathooddetail]

True interior detailing takes a lot of patience and time. In my shop it's very common to have two detailers work 4 - 6 hours detailing the interior. There are no cutting corners here, just a lot of hard work. Detailing all the nooks and crannies, instruments panels, consoles, vents, knobs, levers, seats, seat rails, carpet, cubbies, and the list goes on. Using the right products and techniques on every surface is critical to a successful interior detail. No petroleum products, no silicone's, and no greasy surfaces are key.

maybe I misunderstood you but I think you might need to rethink your interior process. It should not take 4 to 6 hours just 1 1/2 to 3 max unless the car is excessively dirty.

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[T3 AutoDetails]

OK, Who becides myself HATES doing the interiors?

I LOVE Interior detailing. It's my favorite part of detailing..Maybe i'm awkward!


maybe I misunderstood you but I think you might need to rethink your interior process. It should not take 4 to 6 hours just 1 1/2 to 3 max unless the car is excessively dirty.

Ummm? I have my process down pat..I don't ever get an interior job FULLY finished in that amount of time. I have all the big boy tools to do the job too! The closest I have done is in the show and shine if you search *Ford escape detail* and that was done in about 2!

It was not a comfortable detail and I worked faster than most would in a hurry..!! I have had interior jobs go for 25+ Hours and that time was not used slacking off or "not knowing" what I was doing.

Do you have any pictures of your work? Just curious to see what you qualify as a corrected and detailed interior in 1-3 hours.

[Harry Da Hamster]

OK, Who becides myself HATES doing the interiors?
Doing interiors seems like janitor work.

[silverfox]

A good interior detailer is worth ten who only know how to run a polisher. Paint polishers are a dime a dozen. People live in their cars sometimes hours a day.

The outside gets trashed within hours after you drive it out the driveway or the first heavy dew or rain.

[VP Mark]

maybe I misunderstood you but I think you might need to rethink your interior process. It should not take 4 to 6 hours just 1 1/2 to 3 max unless the car is excessively dirty.

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I would have to agree with this. Unless you are "restoring" the interior as in repairing scrapes and scuffs, doing massive stain removal I don't know how you could spend 10 hours+ on an interior.

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[Christopher.Brown]

True interior detailing takes a lot of patience and time. In my shop it's very common to have two detailers work 4 - 6 hours detailing the interior. There are no cutting corners here, just a lot of hard work. Detailing all the nooks and crannies, instruments panels, consoles, vents, knobs, levers, seats, seat rails, carpet, cubbies, and the list goes on. Using the right products and techniques on every surface is critical to a successful interior detail. No petroleum products, no silicone's, and no greasy surfaces are key.

:iagree:

Im siding here... this means getting EVERYTHING.... not just cleaning, then protecting also.... often times people have years of food, grit, dust, human oils, gd pet hair, spills on spills... etc etc

I, and i think im speaking for midnight in his original post, mean to restore the interior to as best possible condition as possible, IF NOT BETTER THAN NEW... hence the words "true interior detail" And thats what im talkin about...... i also include the sunroof and door jambs ans interior because most clients will call it 'inside'.... those damn sun/moon roofs can take a whole....cleaning and re-lubing all those damn tracks with the industrial grease on them

so thats why i can see it taking an excessive amount of time

[soarinsirg]

Agree that the "typical" everyday customer just cares about the interior. I've numerous done paint correction exteriors, and the first thing the customer does is look to see if the tires are shiny, then open to door to check out the cockpit.