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ICYMI: Secondary hood prop positions

Today’s article might score a little lower on technical difficulty and higher on automobilia esoterica, but I make no apologies. In my salad days, I worked as a dismantler at a salvage yard. Pulling motors was commonplace, so I learned quickly about this tip I’m sure...

Automotive terms that differ in other English-speaking countries

As a public service to all of our readers, we thought it would be helpful to take a look at some of the common (and not so common) differences between everyday automotive terms used in different English-speaking countries, as this can easily come up when reading or...

LT-series vs. P-series tires

The truck and SUV have never been more prolific than they are today. These vehicles need remarkably different tires depending on a few different factors. Be honest: are you selective about what tire you offer your customers who qualify as “fringe cases?” P-series...

If you have a soldering iron, you need a solder sucker (VIDEO)

Description When an automotive repair involves solder, it often involves desoldering too. Removing old solder is a crucial part of preparing a component for a new soldered connection, and a desolder pump (often called a solder sucker) is the ideal tool for the job. It...

A different type of timed event: the Bobby Bosch Relay Race

I’ll hazard a guess you’re familiar with the 24 Hours of Lemons. If not, it’s endurance racing for Joe Sixpack on a severely tight budget ($500). Ridiculous paint jobs are de rigueur. Costumes are encouraged. Everyone sandbags and cheats and tries to fudge the budget...

How to use a lockout kit (VIDEO)

If you work on cars for a living or you’re a diehard gearhead, odds are excellent that people look to you when some basic automotive snafus need to be handled. I’m sure those who know you have asked you to help with the following items: Reviewing an estimate Jumping a...

The very best way to remove grease from auto upholstery

by | Oct 10, 2024

I try to keep my customers’ cars at least as nice as they keep them. You probably do, too. The only problem is that I am perpetually filthy. I have a trick I’ve used for a long time on the occasions I’ve sullied a nice interior with grease or dirt. (I will never understand why people choose those light tans and sand colors.)

The first thing I reach for now is a surprising item: brake parts cleaner. I know, I know. You probably think it’s insane that I would reach for such a strong solvent, as I did when this tip was revealed to me decades ago.

But it works, and it works mint. Now, the usual caveats apply. Don’t use this on anything like leather or vinyl or alcantara; this is a cloth-only trick.

To this day, I still take a cotton swab and test the stuff out on an “invisible” spot. (Under the seats is a good bet.) I have never once run into any issues with modern-ish auto upholstery cloth, but I still check, and you probably should too.

Water pumps are often replaced because of a little coolant loss at the weep hole.
Photo: istock.com/memoriesarecaptured.

Blast a white rag with cleaner outside the vehicle, then dab the spot out. Colored rags often leach color in the presence of brake parts cleaner. I have found this out the hard way. Brake cleaner will also happily melt and discolor all sorts of plastics and other interior surfaces, which is why you shouldn’t spray anything directly in the vehicle.

The aggressive solvent gets to work almost instantly, carrying away grease and dirt and all mixtures thereof that your paws find daily.

After you get the interior looking good again, you better plan on airing out the car. The brake cleaner stinks to high heaven, and of course there are all the attendant health problems that come along for us now for your customer to deal with if you don’t allow that stuff to offgas for a bit. More acutely, your customer probably does not want a car that smells like your work shirt after a clean-and-adjust on a set of drum brakes.

I know it sounds crazy, but it really works. Try it on a beater with a shot interior, an old floor mat, or the next time you’re in a bind.

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