Cleaning Interior

[drdelorean]

Alright so Im about to clean the interior of my DMC for the first time..(new owner)

So I know that the front of the seats, door straps, steering wheel and the shift knob thingy is leather and the rest is vinyl?

What do you guys recommend in form of products? just to clean out a few light smudges, dust and other normal wear and tear stains?

[David T]

Alright so Im about to clean the interior of my DMC for the first time..(new owner)

So I know that the front of the seats, door straps, steering wheel and the shift knob thingy is leather and the rest is vinyl?

What do you guys recommend in form of products? just to clean out a few light smudges, dust and other normal wear and tear stains?

Some of the products I use include:

Leatherique.com for the leather

Snap On cleaner for the vinyl

Windex for the glass

A damp rag for the carpet with no soap so it doesn't become stiff

Stay away from the stuff that leaves things oily/greasy/shiny like Armor-All

A good vacuum and for quick touch-ups a lint roller

[rileydawgg]

I use Lexol or gold class Meguiars for the leather, and the non-glossy Meguiars interior cleaner/protectant for the vinyl -- it's not greasy or shiny like Armorall etc so doesn't leave a residue. For harder plastics and moldings I use stuff called VRT from Adams Polishes -- it's especially great on all the ext moldings and louvres too.

[Jonathan]

If you're a new owner and this is the first time giving the car's interior a good cleaning, I'd recommend you consider taking the seats out.

Not because you need that kind of access to wipe them or whatever, but because there are probably some "things" under the seats or down the cracks beside them that you'll be happy you cleaned up. Then you can go to town on cleaning the seats with one of the cleaners mentioned but also inspect under it for anything unusual, vacuum the carpeting under the seats and address any other stains or things there that might not smell great in the summer heat.

Seats are very easy to get out, just four nuts you loosen from underneath. You don't need the car up in the air to do it, just somewhere clean that the car can be parked on that lets you lie down on the ground to reach the nuts and bolts without getting yourself filthy.

[drdelorean]

Thanks for all the tips!
Taking out the seats sounds like a good idea, even though the car looks clean and is low milage you never know whats hiding underneath!

Is there something I need to be were of/stay away from? In regards to damaging the interior or leave stains?

[mluder]

Seats are very easy to get out, just four nuts you loosen from underneath.

If the nuts aren't rusted in place. After all they are exposed to all manner of the outside elements. Get a good penetrating oil and let them soak a bit before going after them with a wrench.

Cheers
Steven

[Flicky]

I like to use Einszett Cockpit Premium. It is a good shine-free oil-free cleaner. It also smells good (citrus) and can be used to clean anything on the car. I generally follow up cleaning the seats with a conditioner like Meguiars D180 that I wipe again after 5 min, as it can make the seat slippery.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002Z2MZ4/ref=sns_myd_detail_page
http://www.autogeek.net/d180-leather-cleaner.html


I have to wonder if this stuff is any good, people say it cleans SS good too:
http://www.lastotallyawesome.com/html/Products_Degreaser.html

EDIT: ok, don't use that totally awesome stuff...it has 2-Butoxyethanol in it, a carcinogen.

[drdelorean]

Nice! Thanks for the heads up!

I'll pick up some of those and try :)

[Rich_NYS]

If you're a new owner and this is the first time giving the car's interior a good cleaning, I'd recommend you consider taking the seats out.


+1

I'm a big fan of taking the seats out...not sure what it is, but it feels productive and I felt more familiar with the car after the first time I removed/replaced the seats.

[5875]

If you're a new owner and this is the first time giving the car's interior a good cleaning, I'd recommend you consider taking the seats out.

Not because you need that kind of access to wipe them or whatever, but because there are probably some "things" under the seats or down the cracks beside them that you'll be happy you cleaned up. Then you can go to town on cleaning the seats with one of the cleaners mentioned but also inspect under it for anything unusual, vacuum the carpeting under the seats and address any other stains or things there that might not smell great in the summer heat.

Seats are very easy to get out, just four nuts you loosen from underneath. You don't need the car up in the air to do it, just somewhere clean that the car can be parked on that lets you lie down on the ground to reach the nuts and bolts without getting yourself filthy.

Hey Jonathan - when you took your seats out were you able to see the sliding mechanism underneath? No matter how much I try to budge the handle and driver's seat back and fourth it won't move. Tried looking under there, but not much clearance to see what's going on. I'm assuming it's a common issue.

[David T]

Hey Jonathan - when you took your seats out were you able to see the sliding mechanism underneath? No matter how much I try to budge the handle and driver's seat back and fourth it won't move. Tried looking under there, but not much clearance to see what's going on. I'm assuming it's a common issue.

It is common to see the seat tracks all rusty. Take the seat out and clean the tracks up and lubricate them. Could be something (loose change?) is jamming then too.

[Jonathan]

Hey Jonathan - when you took your seats out were you able to see the sliding mechanism underneath? No matter how much I try to budge the handle and driver's seat back and fourth it won't move. Tried looking under there, but not much clearance to see what's going on. I'm assuming it's a common issue.

Hey Eric, yea, you will get a good view of the seat sliding mechanism when they are out. It is completely attached to the seat mind you, so when it comes out of the car, the only thing left in the car will be the four holes in the carpet where the bolts go through the body to the underside.

I looked for a picture of my seats when I had them out but can't find one showing them upside down. Like David said, could be something jammed in it or just rusty and needing lube or a clean-up of some kind. The comment about your nuts possibly being rusty is a good one so go easy with some PB Blaster or the like until you know they'll come out without snapping anything.

There are a couple tricks with placing washers under the rails as you put the seats back in the car that can help raise them just a little to cut down on the sliding part interfering with the carpet. It will become pretty obvious what is going on with yours once it is out of the car. You're right about it being hard to see with so little clearance while in the car. Knowing you can get your seats out easily will help down the road too more than likely as taking them out before doing front speaker work, glovebox work, binnacle work, etc. really gives you a ton of extra room to work from.

[5875]

Thanks David and Jonathan. I'd like to get the slider working since I'm a little shorter than the PO and could stand to move the seat forward an inch or two. At first I thought they were fixed seats - at least that's what I told my wife who's 6" shorter than me and can't drive it at it's current position :shhh:

I'll take it out and see what's going on. I like the idea of adding spacers or washers to make the carpet clearance a bit better.

[Trstno1]

What does everyone lubricate their seat tracks with? My old ones were rusty and didn't move too much. I replaced them with the brand new ones from DMC, but they are still stiff and hard to move when installed. I figured they just needed to be broken in, but a little more lube would probably go a long way.

[David T]

What does everyone lubricate their seat tracks with? My old ones were rusty and didn't move too much. I replaced them with the brand new ones from DMC, but they are still stiff and hard to move when installed. I figured they just needed to be broken in, but a little more lube would probably go a long way.

To get it to move a good lubricant spray like WD-40 then a few drops of oil and a couple of dabs of grease. Also remember the steering wheel telescopes in and out and adjusts up and down. If it hasn't been moved in a long time it may be very stiff at first. Move it around a little and it should move easier when unlocked but it should NOT move at all once locked. Adding washers under the seat can help if you are smaller but you are limited by the length of the studs. Only one side of the seat track locks.