Motorcar Interior Repair: Helpful Tips for Restoring Your Car's Interior

Make your car new within again with these machine interior repair tips.

Introduction

Desire to go top dollar when you sell your automobile? Dealers know that spiffing up the interior of a used auto is the all-time way to control a higher price. Whether you're planning to sell your vehicle or only want to freshen up your daily driver, we'll show you how to slap the shabby off your vehicle's interior. It'south neither hard nor expensive, and you lot'll be amazed at just how new your car'southward interior volition wait.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Carpeting cleaner
  • Plastic adhesion promoter
  • Plastic and leather colorant
  • Plastic and leather training spray
  • Plastic and vinyl clear coat
  • Plastic and vinyl colorant
  • Plastic and vinyl soap
  • Vinyl preparation spray

Rejuvenate your car'due south interior!

You can recondition the plastic/vinyl on your doors, dash, seats and console areas, or practice it all, including the carpeting, velour and upholstery. You tin can recolor merely near everything in the interior. If you vacuum and shampoo your vehicle ahead of time, you can complete the whole rejuvenation process in a single weekend (assuasive for drying time between steps).

Meet the adept

Larry Trexler is the National Trainer and Technical Service Manager for SEM Products. He's been "hands-on" in the automobile body repair and restoration business organisation for 27 years. The following are Larry'south automobile interior repair tips.

Get the right materials and prep the vehicle

It makes a big difference

materials Family Handyman Several companies make reconditioning products, but we chose SEM because it's the make most professional person shops use. Plus, it'southward available at many auto parts stores and online sources (such as vinylpro.com and tcpglobal.com). SEM makes products to repair and refurbish plastic, vinyl, velour, leather and carpet. When practical properly, the flexible colored blanket won't chip, flake or fade.

We asked SEM'south restoration practiced, Larry Trexler, to show united states of america how the pros recondition vinyl, plastic, carpet and velour. For instructions on restoring leather, visit semproducts.com.

Friction match your colors

prep Family Handyman

SEM makes refinishing products in more than 50 colors, so go the colour chart from a local dealer and match color chips to your car'southward rug and plastic parts. This process isn't designed for changing colors in your car. You'll get the best results by choosing colors that are every bit shut as possible to the original ones.

Project step-by-step (5)

Step i

Car interior repair: Vinyl and plastic

Soap and scrub

Soap

Apply SEM Lather to vinyl and plastic surfaces and scrub with a scuff pad. Put extra endeavour into textured and recessed areas. Wipe the surface with a make clean, clammy, lint-complimentary fabric and let dry.

100 Car Maintenance Tasks Y'all Can Do on Your Own

Step 3

Add colorant

colorant

Spray on several light coats of colorant (Color Glaze is shown), allowing 5 to 10 minutes betwixt coats. Permit the colorant dry out for 24 hours earlier using. Information technology'south important to buy the correct "plastic adhesion promoter" with the kit, so take a minute to watch the training video at semproducts.com to decide the type of plastic you have in your car. Adhesion promoter helps the color coating "bite" into the plastic. You lot'll also demand the manufacturer's cleaner and prep materials, scuff pads, a nylon castor, masking materials, nitrile gloves, a respirator, centre protection and make clean, lint-free rags.

46 DIY Car Detailing Tips That Will Save You Coin

Step 4

Auto interior repair: Carpet and velour

Spray, scrub, dry out and vacuum

carpet

Spray Plastic & Leather Prep on the carpet or velour and scrub lightly with a nylon bristle castor equally you continue some auto interior repair. Let dry and vacuum.

How to Clean and Restore Car Headlights

Step 5

Employ, brush, dry out, brush and vacuum

brush

Apply colorant to the interior rug or velour and immediately brush in all directions with a nylon bristle brush to keep the fibers separated. Let dry out. Then brush over again and vacuum. Set the vehicle by vacuuming and cleaning all surfaces with household cleaners. Shampoo the upholstery and carpet and let everything dry completely. And then movement the car outside to a shaded area and ringlet downwards the windows (the coatings have a pretty potent solvent smell).

Mask off all areas you don't desire to recolor, and comprehend the seats and carpet with a tarp to protect against overspray. And, if you're coloring the carpet, consider removing the seats rather than masking around them—y'all'll save time and get improve results. Bank check out these 46 awesome car detailing tips.

Best Motorcar Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Originally Published: July 23, 2019