My lancer has a felt-like headliner - almost like the gamuza shoes I used wear in HS - and it has been touched by dirty hands too many times. See how dirty it has become.
3 years ago - I had my engine swapped in Evangelista (the path to a more powerful engine was horrible - let save that story for a different day) and a street peddler sold me a gallon of "heavy duty cleaner". It can be used to clean everything from headliners to seat covers and to dashboards - you name it :) Costs less than 200 and has lasted me for years (though I think its made up of mainly just soap and water)
I use this spray bottle to make things easier - just a couple of sprays in the headliner . . .
. . .and wipe with a clean cloth - this technique has served me well in the past and I was confident that this will do the trick.
As you can see - it cleans quite well but for some reason - Im not satisfied with the results. (Seems the above method is for moderate cleaning - I want to go a step further!)
So I decided to use a more aggresive route - some dishwashing liquid, water and foam.
After scrubbing it LIGHTLY using the foam (same one used in washing the dishes) - I wiped it down with chamois soaked in clean water. TIP: Dont be too aggressive in scrubbing as you might ruin the entire thing.
Before scrubbing down everything - test your solution in a little corner first. See if the results are okay. TIP: Be sure that it is sunny outside - you have to bake the car under the sun (windows down) afterwards. Failure to do so will leave your car musty and smelling awful! :)
Spot the difference :)
The results looks decent :)
Clean as it can be. (The headliner was still wet when the picture was taken - marks are still there...)
You can also see some dirt formation in the door panels - I think this is a result of too much armor all :)
They can easily be cleaned by the same soap solution used in the head liner. I used an old toothbrush to clean all the crevices.
Since were detailing the car - every nook and cranny of the door and the door jambs needs to be cleaned.
I used a soft scouring pad to clean them thoroughly.
See the brown line going down the pillar?
Starting to fade with some elbow grease - you have to repeat it several times to thoroughly clean them. You could also use some rubbing compound if its too stubborn :)
After a days work and some very tired elbows (scrubbing the headliner is quite a daunting task - take my word for it - but worth it :) ) - It looks pretty nice :)
Everythings coming together now! :) Wohoo!
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING THREADS:
http://www.mitsulancerph.net/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1223347101
http://www.mitsulancerph.net/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1207426968
