Interior cleaning

SteveX

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Hi Guys,

I'm hopefully coming to the list of things I needed to do when I purchased my old CLK.

An item that needs attention is cleaning of the interior. The leather is good, and general condition is good, I intend to clean and feed up all leather and clean carpets etc, but the interior smells a bit 'earthy' and like an old car really.

Any tips or hints on eliminating the old car smell? Although I don't mind it, my daugher got in today and drove with the window open lol. It really isn't that bad, but she is a bit of a drama queen!

I suspect it is just general damp from moisture and condensation in the carpets or interior over the years.

Is it best to wet Vac them? Or any other solutions / advice? :)

Thanks,
 
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SteveX

SteveX

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Great, thanks for the advice, I've not dealt with 'earthy' smelling interiors before. It just smells like an old MG or something to me lol, but aparantly my daughter doesn't appreciate it, it got me thinking that others may not either.

Talking of car smells, I went to the Beaulieu motor museam on Monday, (apart from being ill at the time) it was fantastic! The smell in the museam was really quite something, it just smelt like a combination of oil, engines, car polish, old leather, wood and cars - I loved it!!
 

Frontstep

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They do a Flash with febreze and it does as said work even on carpets.
Finishing your carpets with fabric softener works as well.
 
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SteveX

SteveX

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Thanks guys all carpets etc cleaned up nice and no more foust!

Also fixed the rear window rattle :D
 

peterwhayward

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I can second the white vinegar tip . When we got our CLS it smelt a bit like the previous owner was a smoker. The vinegar took at a guess 90% of the smell away. You shoul also try a "air con bomb" that will also help.:)
 

mxs

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+1 for fabric conditioner on the carpets, leaves the car with that just laundered smell!
 

television

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Never a good idea to get the carpets too wet, as they are never the same again hence the correct shampoo is best, for seats etc just soap and water as all human grease, never use the dash sprays, they just seal any dirt in
 
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SteveX

SteveX

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Yup, a damp cloth with mild soapy water removed stains and dried pretty quick.

Vinegar treatment than a misting of fabric fresh did the trick for me :)
 

television

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you are 100% safe with that, and the car always comes up like new :D
 

Rotorhead500

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Used to have a C63...
Just had to do mine as the garage I bought it from seemed to do nothing other then vacuum the interior. Loads of water marks & general grime all over the light coloured cloth seats.

Had some Autoglym Interior Shampoo to hand, so gave the seats a light spray with that, agitating (as per instructions) lightly with a not-too-hard nail brush, especially on darker marks. Then used a damp cloth to wipe down.

Left over night, and there was a definite improvement, but still not as I'd like it.

So went back out with the Autoglym..... and a Vax Hard Floor Steam Cleaner that my girlfriend has just bought. Another light spray, then used the steam cleaner with micro fibre cloth over the steam head..... Gentle use of the steam trigger (lots of short sharp squeezes), ended up doing seat bases, backs & headrests, worked the cleaner over fabric in two directions.

Huge improvement the following day - watermarks that were supposed to have been removed by the garage all gone; grime shifted; backrests & seat bases looking far more agreeable; car smelling quite nice (not sure what the garage used but it really did smell..... well..... Like something cheap & nasty). Added bonus is that the steam apparently sanitises the fabric too, so I reckon I wiped at least 30,000 miles of someone else's grot out of the seats!!!
 
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SteveX

SteveX

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Just had to do mine as the garage I bought it from seemed to do nothing other then vacuum the interior. Loads of water marks & general grime all over the light coloured cloth seats.

Had some Autoglym Interior Shampoo to hand, so gave the seats a light spray with that, agitating (as per instructions) lightly with a not-too-hard nail brush, especially on darker marks. Then used a damp cloth to wipe down.

Left over night, and there was a definite improvement, but still not as I'd like it.

So went back out with the Autoglym..... and a Vax Hard Floor Steam Cleaner that my girlfriend has just bought. Another light spray, then used the steam cleaner with micro fibre cloth over the steam head..... Gentle use of the steam trigger (lots of short sharp squeezes), ended up doing seat bases, backs & headrests, worked the cleaner over fabric in two directions.

Huge improvement the following day - watermarks that were supposed to have been removed by the garage all gone; grime shifted; backrests & seat bases looking far more agreeable; car smelling quite nice (not sure what the garage used but it really did smell..... well..... Like something cheap & nasty). Added bonus is that the steam apparently sanitises the fabric too, so I reckon I wiped at least 30,000 miles of someone else's grot out of the seats!!!

Nicely done :)

Was the steam cleaner easy enough to use in the awkward places? (such as carpet on the side of the foot wells)
 

Rotorhead500

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Used to have a C63...
Not too bad... considering it's meant as an upright for use on floors.

Fortunately it's not too heavy, and the head is a triangular shape, about 7-8" per side.

On my car, most of the ingrained dirt was on contact surfaces so quite accessible. Hoover, nailbrush and cloth sufficed for crevices & sharp corners.

My girlfriend has a hand steamer (for curtains I believe); no cleaning head though so would have to use steamer & micro fibre cloth in close proximity.

I really ought to have a look at motor factors... see what's actually on the market!

It may well get done again when rain stops - definitely a vast improvement on cleanliness and just a fresher odour. :D
 

taxii

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Reading with interest and not meaning to hijack the thread but whats the best stuff for the tan leather? The previous owner took no care at all of the seats and they are stained and a little cracked but I don't think past saving but it looks as id he's got white paint on them as well and I'm after a good cleaner that wont hurt the leather.
 

Rotorhead500

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Used to have a C63...
Various manufacturers (I like Autoglym personally) - I'd start with their leather cleaner to get the grime & marks out, then use leather nourishment to remove/reduce the cracks.

You can get leather treatment with colouring - not used it myself as the first two have normally worked okay.
 
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SteveX

SteveX

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Various manufacturers (I like Autoglym personally) - I'd start with their leather cleaner to get the grime & marks out, then use leather nourishment to remove/reduce the cracks.

You can get leather treatment with colouring - not used it myself as the first two have normally worked okay.

+1 for autoglym for general leather care, I've used their leather clean and feed and it's great stuff - it brings the leather up really well and restores the original like smell.

However, for small dark cracks or marks I haven't yet found the perfect solution. I guess it all depends whether it is ground in dirt or the actual coating is wearing off on where the leather has creased / cracked slightly.

I'd be interested if anyone else has any recommendations for small cracks and creases :)
 

television

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The idea years ago on leather was to add things like Neets foot oil and saddle soap, the idea being that the softer the leather, the less chance of it creasing in the same place, but with modern finishes this no longer applies.

Is it dirt or a crack, with warm water and soap with a gentle brush like a toothbrush you will soon know. The lacquers sold be firms like velocio are a perfect match and by just dabbing some on damaged or worn areas can work wonders
 
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SteveX

SteveX

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The idea years ago on leather was to add things like Neets foot oil and saddle soap, the idea being that the softer the leather, the less chance of it creasing in the same place, but with modern finishes this no longer applies.

Is it dirt or a crack, with warm water and soap with a gentle brush like a toothbrush you will soon know. The lacquers sold be firms like velocio are a perfect match and by just dabbing some on damaged or worn areas can work wonders

Good info, thanks :)
 

Ben Longden

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W203 220CDI. Silver with grey and black trim. 1992 W140 400SEL Silver. 1999 CLK430 (missus)
never use the dash sprays, they just seal any dirt in

But, wash the dash with soapy water a couple of times first... and then use the dash sprays (Meguires etc). It works.

Picked mine up from the garage today, and the once glass smooth duco was a rough as guts. So hit it with the clay bar, and polish. Now smooth as...

Also did the side and rear glass as well. Now it really is as smooth as glass.
 
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