North American Motoring

Mini Cooper: How to Clean Your Interior

Everyone wants their car's interior to be clean. This article will help you make sure that's exactly what you get.

By Ryan Christian - May 27, 2016

This article applies to the Mini Cooper (2001-present).

Your car is where you spend a great deal of your time, and because of this you want your interior to be as attractive as possible. Nothing is more annoying to a careful car owner than a messy interior, and with how much time we spend in our cars on a daily basis, it is impossible to ensure that the interiors never encounter the occasional mess. Whether you're dealing with a spill on your beautiful leatherette seats or tough dirt on your headliner, it's important to use the right products. Keep reading to learn more about what you should use to clean up your Mini Cooper's interior.

Materials Needed

  • Handheld vacuum cleaner
  • Lint roller
  • 1Z Einzett Plastic Vinyl cleaner
  • 303 Aerospace protectant

All of the cleaners and products listed here can be found online. Some readily available cleaners, such as Armorall, can harm your interior and make for a very unpleasant experience. No matter how tempting it is to use brands like these or cheap store brands, the products listed are the best for interior treatment.

Step 1 – Sweep up the dirt and debris from your car

The first thing you want to do before using surface cleaners is make sure that you don't have dirt or debris to worry about. If anything is left on a plastic or vinyl surface when you're rubbing that surface down, it could scratch the material and leave it looking worse off than when you started.

Vacuum off the floors and seats, and, if necessary, brush out the harder-to-reach corners to bring any additional dirt into your view.
Go over your headliner with a lint roller to get anything that might be clinging to it off.

Figure 1. A handheld vacuum cleaner like this one is ideal for tight spaces, which are standard in a Mini Cooper.

Pro Tip

Dirt can be hiding in the most forgotten parts of your interior. Take your time on this step to make sure you don't miss anything.

Step 2 – Wipe down the seats and panels

Spray a small amount of the 1Z Einzett onto your seats and gently wipe them down with a soft towel. Spray some of the cleaning solution onto another towel and use it to wipe down the plastic portions of your interior, paying special attention to the hard-to-reach and out-of-the-way interior panels.

Figure 2. Carefully wiping down your interior may take time, but the results are well worth it.

Pro Tip

Make sure that your car's interior is cool, and has not been sitting out in the sun. Using cleaning products on hot surfaces never ends well for your interior.

Step 3 – Go over your interior surfaces with protectant

Once you have cleaned your plastic and vinyl surfaces, it is time to go over them just once more, this time with the 303 Aerospace protectant. Using protectant on these surfaces will help keep them looking new.

Figure 3. Following these tips will help keep your Mini Cooper's interior looking practically new.

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