Interior Car Detailing Guide
Interior Car Detailing Supplies:
Wet/Dry vacuum with crevice tool attachment
Drill with dome-shaped brush head attachment
All-purpose cleaner
Carpet and upholstery cleaner
Chamois towel
Bin
Trashcan
Water Bucket:
Microfiber towels
Wire spoke brush
Soft bristle detailing brush
Firm bristle detailing brush
Medium bristle nylon sidewall brush
Interior Car Detailing Guide:
Preparation:
Remove all personal items from the vehicle and place them in the bin
Remove all large trash from the vehicle and place them in the trash can
Remove the floor mats from the car and place them on the ground outside, preferably somewhere relatively clean and free of dirt, grass, and debris
Vacuum and Blow Out:
Vacuum and blow out the interior using the wet/dry vac. Your wet/dry vac has two ports, the inlet for suction and the outlet for blowing.
Slide and lean the driver seat all the way back and vacuum the seat, carpet, door, and all compartments thoroughly. Make sure to vacuum the crevice between the top and bottom of the driver seat.
When there is no more dirt or debris readily visible, switch your vacuum hose to the outlet and blow air into every area you cannot easily see or reach into, including underneath and beside the seat, around the steering wheel and column, the space above the pedals, all pockets on the door, and all compartments in the driver area including the center console.
Thoroughly vacuum the driver area again now that you’ve exposed all of the hidden dirt and debris.
Slide and lean the driver seat and passenger seat all the way forward and vacuum the backseats, carpet, backdoors, seatback pockets, and the rear seat armrest.
When there is no more dirt or debris readily visible, switch your vacuum hose to the outlet and blow air into every area you cannot easily see or reach into, including underneath and beside the front seats, all pockets on the door, seatback pockets, and the rear seat armrest.
Thoroughly vacuum the backseat area again now that you’ve exposed all of the hidden dirt and debris.
Slide and lean the passenger seat all the way back and vacuum the seat, carpet, door, and all compartments thoroughly. Make sure to vacuum the crevice between the top and bottom of the passenger seat.
When there is no more dirt or debris readily visible, switch your vacuum hose to the outlet and blow air into every area you cannot easily see or reach into, including underneath and beside the seat, the space below the glove compartment, all pockets on the door, and all compartments in the passenger area including the glove compartment.
Vacuum the entire car one more time, making sure to move the seats as necessary to vacuum each area again as we did in the previous steps.
Shampooing and Brushing Your Carpets and Upholstery:
If the carpets and seats have dirt and debris stuck deep inside of the fabric and fibers, you’ll need to use the carpet and upholstery cleaner and either the drill brush or sidewall brush. Spray down one section of the car at a time as we move through the next steps. For cars with leather seats, do not spray down and brush the seats. We’ll cover them in the next section.
Slide and lean the driver seat all the way back and spray the seat and carpet with your carpet and upholstery cleaner. You can allow it to dwell for a few minutes, but don’t allow the cleaner to dry completely.
With either the drill brush or your sidewall brush, thoroughly brush all of the upholstery and carpet you can easily reach by hand. Some areas will be difficult or impossible to access with these tools.
Use the wire spoke brush to clean the crevices between the driver seat and the center console as well as the carpet between driver seat and the wall on the door side.
Slide and lean the driver seat and passenger seat all the way forward and spray the backseats, carpet, and seatbacks with your carpet and upholstery cleaner.
With either the drill brush or your sidewall brush, thoroughly brush all of the upholstery and carpet you can easily reach by hand.
Use the wire spoke brush to clean the crevices between the driver seat and the center console, the passenger seat and the center console, the carpet between driver seat and the wall on the door side, as well as the carpet between passenger seat and the wall on the door side. It is necessary to use the spoke brush in both directions (front-to-back and back-to-front) to get the area underneath the front seats clean.
Slide and lean the passenger seat all the way back and spray the seat and carpet with your carpet and upholstery cleaner.
With either the drill brush or your sidewall brush, thoroughly brush all of the upholstery and carpet you can easily reach by hand.
Use the wire spoke brush to clean the crevices between the passenger seat and the center console as well as the carpet between passenger seat and the wall on the door side.
Move over to the mats you placed outside and spray them with your carpet and upholstery cleaner and brush them with either the drill brush or your sidewall brush.
Wiping and Brushing Your Interior:
For this series of steps, use the all-purpose cleaner as necessary to remove stubborn grease and dirt, but be careful not to let it dwell on surfaces for too long, and don’t be afraid to clean with water only for much of the process. Water is an excellent cleaning chemical.
Start the car, engage the parking brake, sit in the driver seat, and adjust the seat so you can comfortably reach all of the areas you want to clean. While the car is running, you can clean the steering wheel and gear shifter more thoroughly because you can move them freely. Make sure to frequently dip your brushes and cloth into the water to clean off accumulated dirt and ring the cloth out thoroughly onto the ground.
While slowly turning it, wipe down the steering wheel from all angles with the microfiber cloth and make sure to clean off the back of the steering as well, paying careful attention to the 10-and-2 hand positions on the wheel where most of the grease and potentially make-up from your hands accumulates. Lean your head around as necessary to see all angles of the steering wheel and ensure they’re clean.
Use both detailing brushes as necessary to clean out the steering wheel, including all of the buttons, the crevice at the top, and the screws behind the wheel, turning the wheel as necessary to clean these areas.
WHILE KEEPING YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE THE ENTIRE TIME, clean around the gear shifter with the cloth and detailing brushes. You should shift the gear shifter into every position in order to clean it as thoroughly as possible. Make sure to shift the gear shifter back into Park when you’re finished cleaning it. DO NOT TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE WHILE CLEANING THE GEAR SHIFTER!
Open the center console, wipe it out with the cloth, and use the detailing brushes to clean the corners and edges. Wipe out the cup holders and surrounding area with the cloth and use the detailing brushes to clean out the crevices around the cup holders and the rest of the area around the center console.
Clean all of the buttons and knobs on the infotainment system and central control panel with the detailing brushes and wipe down the nearby areas and all of the compartments with your cloth. Limit the amount of water you use in this area. If you do get water inside of the knobs, they may not work properly until you give them a few hours to dry out (this is particularly noticeable with the volume dial).
Clean the air vents with the soft bristle detailing brush, moving it back and forth as necessary to clean all of the vent flaps.
Wipe down the dashboard and instrument panel with the cloth, and use the both detailing brushes to clean out the edges and crevices of the instrument panel.
Exit the car and stand by the driver seat. Wipe down the area around the seat recliner handles and use the detailing brushes to clean out the handles themselves, moving the handles as necessary to clean the area behind them.
Wipe down the door and jambs with the cloth and clean all of the door pockets and compartments with the detailing brushes. Wipe down the grab handles above the door.
Move to the backseat and clean the air vents, cup holders, rear seat armrest, and seat slider tracks with the cloth and detailing brushes. The seat slider tracks will have a lot of grease for lubrication and may attract a lot of dirt, dust, and hair. If you clean out a lot of the grease in the process of cleaning them, it may be a good idea to relubricate them with silicone grease or white lithium, but this is typically not an issue.
Repeat step 11 for both back seat doors and the passenger door.
Sit in the passenger seat and repeat step 6. You’ll notice certain angles of the center console and cup holders are easier to see and clean now that you’ve moved from the driver seat to the passenger seat.
Wipe down the glove compartment with the cloth and use the detailing brushes to clean each side of the glove compartment around the lift supports.
Lift each of the head rests that is able to come up and wipe down the area underneath them. Then replace the head rests back to their original positions.
Take a look at the headliner and see if there are any obvious spots or stains. If so, spray the spots or your cloth with the carpet and upholstery cleaner and wipe them off. If the headliner is hanging loosely or sagging, DO NOT CLEAN IT! Headliners are very delicate and expensive to replace. Once they begin to sag even a little bit, it’s very easy to make it worse.
For leather seats, firmly grip the thickest part of the seat cushion with one hand and pull on it to reveal the dirt in between the seams of the seat. Use the sidewall brush to clean out the dirt in between each of the seams of the seat. Once the water dries, you will likely see that you missed some of the dirt and may want to repeat this step.
Wet and ring out the chamois and wipe down the windows, rearview mirror, shiny plastics, and anywhere in the car that has water marks leftover from the cloth or brushes. The chamois is excellent for leaving a streak-free finish on these surfaces.
Vacuum out the car one last time as you did in the earlier steps but skip blowing air into the crevices.
