LexTE

Hey guys. Before I bought my car, some inconsiderate mechanic was checking all parts of the car and I guess used his dirty hands to pull the moonroof shade open. There are light grease/dirt marks on the headliner that I want to clean, but I am not sure what type of cleaner would be gentle for the material. Since the material is kind of delicate, I want to use the appropriate cleaner. Any ideas? Thanks!

VirtuousE

The Secret Weapon

Why does this work?

No harsh solvents. The mechanic that put the dirt in your car should have told you this, I bet he had gallons of this stuff in his shop. Oh, by the way you will have a nice fragrance in your car when you are done.

BA_GS400

iTrader: (1)

true, should work well. I've done that before myself.


Also, the product called "Lifter 1" is most excellent for lifting almost any stain from interior. Follow the directions, as they have you let the product sit for about 1 min before blotting or tapping the spot out. Scrubbing can bring mixed results.

chuckb

simple green is good too. a mechanic did the same thing t my es before. I took it back to them and they rubbed it off with a rag and degreaser in like 30 seconds.

LexTE

Fantastic! Thanks a lot, everyone! I never thought of using hand cleaner.

chicagoblknazn

My headliner has a few spots on it as well, and I was wondering what to do to clean it. I was thinking about steam cleaming it to get the dust, dirt and spots out.

Gabeshell

I'm going to try to hijak the thread since the answer for grease was given.

The previous owner of my ES smoked in the car. On the headliner, right by the drivers side sun visor, she "ashed" her cigarette accidentally. Now, the cloth actually is not burned or melted, but it's got that unmistakable black cigarette mark. The cloth on the headliner is very delicate fiber and would be easily messed up by using a brush on it. Any suggestions on cleaning the black off and what type of tool to use. I'm just not sure that I want to try a brush on it.

Thanks in advance.

Guitarman

This applies to the cigarette stain and general headliner dirt;

Whatever you decide on using, you always want to avoid wetting the material down with any aqueous (i.e. liquid ) cleaner, because they can loosen up the glue that holds the fabric to the foam backing of the headliner, and then you have real problems.

Instead, try a foaming cleaner that lifts dirt, such as Blue Coral's Dri-Clean, as seen here;

http://www.autobarn.net/chdc19.html

Blot, don't brush. Cheers.

Gabeshell

Thanks man, I never thought about not using a liquid. Good idea. Thanks again.