I was not sure how to post this, so I figured a new thread was in order.

I recently posted some photos of the interior of my MINI to show off some new items I had installed. DON"T ever do this unless everything in the photo is very clean, and if it's not, don't bring it up.

Now I know how to take care of the rubber/plastic parts of the interior, but here ya go PepJetChili, I know wrong order, but it rolls off the tongue much more better


So while cleaning said floor mats, I noticed that the carpet under them is getting kind of packed down, not real dirty or worn, just that the pile is "flat".

So lets start a discussion on carpet cleaning/care, and general interior detailing.

Mark

 

wow, you sure got those floormats clean! what did you use?

i need to clean my a/s mats pretty soon myself when it gets warmer.
I was thinking about using Griot's RubberCleaner + my heavy nylon brush
and go over it with a 50:50 dilluted Nero?

as far as the carpeting, ive had much success using Griot's InteriorCleaner,
nylon brush to agitate, and paper towels to wipedown.

 

I used soap(dawn dish wash) and water. Let it sit on the mats for about 1/2 hour to lift the grim. Then scrubbed them with a sponge. Towel dried, and then sprayed 303 protectant on them, let that sit on there another 1/2 hour
then wiped that down.

Mark

 

I liked the way they looked before. More "rustic".

 

Poco is a work horse. I haul dogs, mulch, groceries, home improvement products, bricks, bags of soil and gravel in him. So yes his interior tends to look "rustic". I try to keep him clean on the inside(outside I'm pretty OCD) The boot is still dirty Looks like a warming trend here for next week, so I'll deal with that then

Mark

 

Blimey definitely has a "lived-in" look right now. I used him to haul a set of wheels w/tires to the tire shop and back last week (drop top, drop rear seats, insert 4 wheels, wrap in blanket, put top back up).

Problem is, the old moving blanket I used came over on the Mayflower, and it shredded and shed lint EVERYWHERE in the car and on my wool coat... and I haven't cleaned it up yet. My 8 year old lectured me about how much I needed to clean out my car... little OCD pain in the @ss...

 

Mark

 

WOW, Mark... are you sure those are even the same mats ?!?!?! I think you went out and bought new ones !!

Impressive, my friend. Very impressive.

 

My cleaning work horse is 303 Aerospace Cleaner. Great for carpet at 1:10 and rubber mats. If I got some really stubborn dirt I break out the Einszett Plastik Reiniger (Link). The stuff will clean the toughest stains, dirt and scuffs and smells of lemon. Then like Mark I use 303 Aerospace Protectant. Be sure to wipe off the excess or else they will be really slick.

 

lotsie- thanks for the trick. i'll remember to 'soak' the
soap and (in my case) Nero.

 

I let the soap mixture "soak" to lift the grit/gravel/crud out of the rings on my mats, makes it easier to wipe them clean.

Those are Canada issue rubber mats, not sure if you can get them down here, but they are very tough. 94k miles on them, and there is only a very small worn mark where my heel sits on my go pedal foot.

Mark