Non Staining Headliner Cleaner
 

Okay detailers, what options do I have? My lovely wife decided to eliminate a moth from inside my car by smashing it with her hand against my headliner. Yeah. Not happy. Now it needs to be cleaned. What do I use to clean as best as possible without leaving a water stain, or any stain? I have the seacoast interior which has the very lightly colored trim.

Hahaha Oh man thats funny...Im sure not to you but anyways what I usually do and have success with is too dampen a soft cloth or microfiber...not soak it just a little water..and then gently wipe the bug residue away. Honestly I would first try to vacuum it because typically moths leave almost a powder substance when you smash them. Just an FYI I have used paint thinner and cleaners for different stains on headliners with success. The key is to NOT spray anything directly on the fabric with the stain and do not scrub too hard. Spray it on a towel first. Good Luck

Thanks. Those who I tell the story to who are not car nuts, such as myself, think this story is hilarious. My wife didn't think it was a big deal. She should have known better since I go nuts when she leaves snot rags (tissues) in the door handles. I'm not anal, but I do take care of my rides.

I'll certainly try to do what I can without drenching the liner. I knew that was not a good idea. I'll report back with the results.

Hahaha don't worry, my wife throws everything on the floor, After I detail her car its in the same condition a week later and blames it on the kid.....My kid knows to respect Daddys ride-Keep us updated

tide pen? :ponder:

my co-worker recently mentioned he uses a glass cleaner for any carpet stains and swears it works on his car's headliner as well, yes that's correct a glass cleaner.
I have yet to verify it myself....

Plenty of good ideas here. I'll try one once I get some time. Maybe I'll find a spot I can test first. The unfortunate thing about this is you only get one shot. Once you screw it up, game over.

Just wanted to chime in with my cleaning success. I used "LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Concentrated Cleaner/Degreaser Spot Remover" to clean my headliner of dirt and water marks a few months ago. You can buy it at dollar tree. http://www.lastotallyawesome.com/shop/all-purpose/awesome-all-purpose-concentrated-cleaner-24oz/ here is a link to the product, not sure if it will allow me to put a link up but it's in a yellow spray bottle. I used a microfiber and sprayed just a bit of that stuff on the microfiber and lightly bloted it in the dirty spots, you don't want to scrub super hard because it will smugge itself deeper into the fabric. I did a very light scrub until it was noticably foaming and slightly damp. After it dried it did not leave a water mark and it was definitely clean. You may need to make a few passes if the stuff got deep into the fabric. But like I said do not scrub hard, youlyo have a bad time. Now I'm wishing I would have took pictures because it really turned out great.

The cleaner I mentioned in my earlier post is called Bon Ami, co-worker swears by it

I've been using Super Clean diluted 10:1 to clean the interior of my cars. It's what I've seen professional detailers use and it's strong, but gentle enough to work on headliners. You could dampen a microfiber towel and scrub, or you can lightly spray directly onto the headliner and gently agitate with a nylon brush, even a toothbrush will work. That should do the trick.