hey everybody! I was detailing my interior the other day and noticed that my headliner is beginning to catch some dirt spots here and there - particularly where the grab handles are on the roof - go figure, I drive a quattro-equipped audi and people grab on to those a lot :-)))
Mine is an 01 A6 2.7T with a beige leather interior, which happens to come with this beige or gray (I still can't figure this out) headliner - actually, I think ALL a6's my shape that I've ever seen had about the same color headliner...
Anyway, I've not been able to find anything that will reliably clean the headliner and am wondering, how does everybody else do it?

 

A good Hot water extraction unit running with a fine fabric rinse agent in it.

Get your hwe heated up.

Then work in a foam fine fabric cleaner,

then extract with the HWE and rinse agent.

Run two dry strokes per wet stroke and set up air movement to speed drying.

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now if you do not have all that.
http://www.interlinksupply.com/

type in "prochem fine fabric shampoo"

It should come up the second one down on the left hand side.

Mix it up in a 5 gallon bucket according to it's instructions.

Get 2 clean terry towels, and one super thick grout sponge from home depot.

dip the sponge in the shampoo, then wring 90% the water out. Massage the sponge into a lather, Work lather onto the headliner in 12x12" areas. Wip off/dry with a folded white terry.

Repeat this across the whole headliner, Then let dry. Assess if it needs to be done again.

 

I knew that it was gonna be hard, but daaaam )) I'll post results if I get through this without OD'ing on all the chemicals LOL
seriously, though, thatnk you very much for your help!

 

Use those car wipes.. I cant recall the name but its the most well known one.. leather/dash/etc cleaner wipes.. one of them is also for fabric... works well wont splotch up anything, but dont have it too wet when your cleaning with it

 

Headliners:
Require special care and attention, as cloth type headliners are assembled with foam backing and usually glued to a fibre roof panel. If the headliner becomes wet, it can cause the head liner to delaminate and fall down. An interior cleaner (303 TM Fabric & Vinyl Cleaner) should be used. Spray onto a terry towel and wipe very gently

Do not spray products directly onto head lining. Wipe lightly making sure not to leave headliner wet. Inspect and re-clean as necessary. It is better to clean twice, rather than to allow the head liner to get too wet. An alcohol based aerosol glass cleaner may also work for this operation because of its quick evaporation. Vinyl headliners should be cleaned the same way.
Methodology
•Lightly brush the headliner with a natural-latex sponge or a horsehair brush, they have very soft bristles that are gentle and is specially made for headliners or leather surfaces, this will loosen dust / dirt and make vacuuming easier (for very light dust or lint use a rolling lint brush)
•Do not use a stiff brush as you may snag or tear the headliner material
•Lightly vacuum the headliner to remove loose dust
•Spray 303 CM Cleaner & Spot Remover on to a 100% cotton terry towel
•Cleaning the headliner a quarter section at a time, use very light and even pressure on the towel to work the cleaner into the fabric. Do not saturate the material or use much pressure on the towel
•Use a fresh, clean damp, 100% cotton terry towel to remove the soil / dirt
•Frequently rinse the towel in clean warm water to ensure all dirt I soil is removed
•If the vehicle is fitted with a sunroof, open it a couple of inches, as dust build up at the front edge.
•Clean this area before closing the sunroof and proceeding to the rear of the sunroof.

 

I seem to have some water marks on the pillars of my rear headline (behind rear seats), seems as though someone left the windows slightly open while driving through some rain. Should I go about cleaning these the same way, or is there an easier approach to this type of stain?

 

The way i outlined is a good way to aproach watermarking

 

sounds good, thanks