Caring for Your Antique Car?s Interior

The truth about antique cars is that they can be a little more temperamental than present day cars. After all, the cars that most people drive around in every day can mostly trace their ancestry back to some of the classics that survive to this day. The changes that have been made to those old cars have made the cars of today what they are, so it should not come as any surprise, or as any annoyance to us that they may perform differently and have specific requirements. After all, what we know today is a lot more than what we knew yesterday – repeat that for a few decades and you will see why a classic car requires more work inside and out than a new one – and why it is worth it. 

We all know about the exterior of a classic car. Those of us who own one know an especially large amount about them, having spent a large amount of time washing, drying, waxing and buffing their antique automobile to a finish of which they can be proud.

But if you plan to do anything at all with your classic aside from simply looking at it from a distance, then the exterior is simply one part of the process, and you will need to give at least equal attention to the inside. The seats, for example, were made a long time ago, and different fabrics have been developed since then which are a lot more durable and ready for anything. Caring for the fabric will stop it from splitting or tarnishing easily. 

Fortunately another side to the technological development that we have seen over the years is that there are so many cleaning products that can be used to ensure the protection of the interior of your car – products which even with repeated use will not damage the interior.

Non-abrasive cleaning products are to be desired for this kind of work, as even the gentlest abrasive cleaner can cause damage to the delicate materials which make up the interior of an antique automobile – materials which will have aged, remember, and done so through times when the cleaning products were a little less gentle on an interior. Find the right product to use on your seats, dash and all the detailing in the car. 

Making the interior of your classic car look as wonderful as the exterior is a two-part process – cleaning and protecting need to be given equal priority. Not only are you looking to remove stains, but you also want to ensure all residue is removed before you apply any kind of polish or finishing compound. And as importantly as any of these others, you must ensure that the car is stored in the appropriate way, so as to keep the interior protected from extreme, harsh weather conditions. Cleaning as you go along is a worthwhile tip if you are using the car regularly – do not give stains or marks a chance to become damaging, because once a mark sets in it can lead to ageing that cannot be reversed.