How to Remove Tough Stains From Your Car’s Exterior and Interior

Keeping your car clean is important for both its appearance and in maintaining its value and longevity. Unfortunately, regardless of your efforts some stains are bound to occur, whether on the exterior or the interior. In today’s blog we will be providing some helpful information on how to remove tough stains from your car’s interior and exterior.

Exterior Stains

Bird Droppings and Tree Sap

These sticky stains are some of the most threatening to your car’s exterior as you risk damaging your paint should you leave them too long. To remove these stains be sure to use either a paint safe cleaner or a mix of baking soda and water. You should also be sure to use a gentle scrubbing implement like a microfiber cloth to avoid scratching the surface of your vehicle. If you are still having trouble removing these stains consider using a clay bar treatment to remove deeper or hidden impurities.

Hard Water Stains and Water Spots

With Vancouver’s regular rain it is highly likely that you will run into water spots. These can be cleaned with a simple home-made solution of equal parts water and vinegar mixed in a spray bottle. Be sure to use a gentle cloth to avoid scratching the paint and apply wax when finished to further protect your car’s paint.

Road Tar and Grease

For road tar and grease stains you will need a specialized product which you can get from any store that stocks a decent selection of automotive products, look for tar remover or grease remover. Then use it on your car and let it sit for a few minutes so that it can really soak into the stain before wiping it off with a soft rag.

Interior Stains

Fabric Upholstery

One of the most important things to remember when cleaning fabric upholstery is to blot the area with a clean cloth as soon as possible to prevent the stain from sinking in. You can make a home-made cleaner by mixing a little dish soap with warm water and then using a soft brush to clean the stain. Once everything has dried you can use a vacuum to pick up any remaining debris from the stain. If this isn’t doing the job you can make use of a commercial steam cleaner like you would use to clean stains on the furniture in your home.

Leather Upholstery

Leather requires a specific type of cleaner to both clean the stain and maintain the leather itself. You can find commercial leather cleaners made for vehicle interiors in most stores that sell automotive products. This is important as if you use harsh chemicals like bleach or ammonia you can cause a great deal of damage to the leather.

Floor Mats

Because of where they are positioned in the vehicle floor mats usually end up with a great deal of deeply worked in dirt and other debris, making them difficult to clean. One of the ways to remove stubborn stains on your floor mats is to use a portable steam cleaner which can help get the dirt and other debris out of the fibers. You can also spray them down with a pressure washer.

Plastic Surfaces

When you are cleaning stains on the plastic surfaces of your car be sure to use a gentle all purpose cleaner and a soft microfiber cloth for cleaning to avoid causing any damage to the plastic surface. Once you have finished with the cleaner you can make use of a dashboard polish to restore the shine and add further protection to the plastic.

Seek Professional Help

If the stains on your car are causing you grief you should consider using a professional car washing service to remove them. Professional car washing services have the experience and tools needed to remove any tough stains and keep your car as protected as possible.

We hope we have been able to give you some useful tips on how to remove tough stains from both the interior and exterior of your car.

Shine Auto Wash has been serving the Lower Mainland since 2009. With three convenient locations, Shine Auto Wash offers advanced automotive cleaning and protection technology and a service that is quick and efficient. 

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about car washes, we encourage you to call us in Vancouver at (604) 806-0800.