Car Interior Repair: Helpful Tips for Restoring Your Machine'south Interior

Make your car new inside again with these auto interior repair tips.

Introduction

Want to get height dollar when you sell your car? Dealers know that spiffing up the interior of a used machine is the best way to command a college cost. Whether you're planning to sell your vehicle or just want to freshen up your daily driver, we'll show you how to slap the shabby off your vehicle'due south interior. It's neither hard nor expensive, and you'll be amazed at just how new your car'southward interior will look.

Tools Required

Materials Required

  • Carpet cleaner
  • Plastic adhesion promoter
  • Plastic and leather colorant
  • Plastic and leather training spray
  • Plastic and vinyl articulate glaze
  • Plastic and vinyl colorant
  • Plastic and vinyl lather
  • Vinyl preparation spray

Rejuvenate your motorcar'south interior!

You lot can recondition the plastic/vinyl on your doors, dash, seats and console areas, or do it all, including the carpet, velour and upholstery. Yous tin recolor just about everything in the interior. If y'all vacuum and shampoo your vehicle ahead of time, you tin can complete the whole rejuvenation process in a single weekend (allowing for drying time between steps).

See the proficient

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

Go the right materials and prep the vehicle

It makes a big difference

materials Family Handyman Several companies make reconditioning products, merely we chose SEM considering it'southward the brand most professional person shops employ. Plus, it's available at many machine 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 applied properly, the flexible colored coating won't chip, bit or fade.

We asked SEM's restoration expert, Larry Trexler, to show us how the pros recondition vinyl, plastic, carpet and velour. For instructions on restoring leather, visit semproducts.com.

Lucifer your colors

prep Family unit Handyman

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

Project step-by-footstep (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 effort into textured and recessed areas. Wipe the surface with a clean, damp, lint-gratis cloth and let dry.

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Step iii

Add colorant

colorant

Spray on several light coats of colorant (Color Coat is shown), allowing 5 to 10 minutes between coats. Let the colorant dry for 24 hours earlier using. It's important to buy the right "plastic adhesion promoter" with the kit, so have a minute to watch the preparation video at semproducts.com to determine the type of plastic you have in your automobile. Adhesion promoter helps the color coating "seize with teeth" into the plastic. You lot'll also need the manufacturer's cleaner and prep materials, scuff pads, a nylon castor, masking materials, nitrile gloves, a respirator, eye protection and clean, lint-complimentary rags.

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Step iv

Auto interior repair: Carpet and velour

Spray, scrub, dry and vacuum

carpet

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

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Step v

Apply, brush, dry, brush and vacuum

brush

Utilise colorant to the interior carpeting or velour and immediately brush in all directions with a nylon bristle castor to continue the fibers separated. Let dry. And so brush once more and vacuum. Set the vehicle past vacuuming and cleaning all surfaces with household cleaners. Shampoo the upholstery and rug and let everything dry completely. Then movement the car outside to a shaded expanse and ringlet downwardly the windows (the coatings have a pretty strong solvent smell).

Mask off all areas you don't want to recolor, and cover 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 effectually them—you'll save time and become meliorate results. Check out these 46 awesome auto detailing tips.

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