So.. I bought an Octavia VRS as a cheap runabout earlier this month. 
It's only got 41k miles on the clock, it's got FSH, body work is mint (apart from a few stone chips which I'll sort later).. but the interior.. well, that's a different story.
 
After using the state of it to knock the seller down, it was time for the transformation.
Here's what I was tackling:

 

 

The driver's seat was (as you can see) completely minging. It looks like it could be water stains mixed with 12 year's worth of grime. Especially as it's mostly near the window, I can only assume it was left open in the rain..

 

2013-08-05 18.57.20 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

 

2013-08-05 18.07.17 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Problem is, it wasn't just the driver's seat that was filthy..

 

2013-08-05 18.07.29 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

The previous owner had also used a cheap dash trim (Back to Black probably) as it was a dust magnet.. and I'll try not to mention the fingernail that I found when I extended the steering wheel column - 

 

2013-08-05 18.07.36 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

2013-08-05 18.08.48 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

More evidence of what I hope was just water staining!

 

2013-08-05 18.08.53 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Damp interiors also breed mould - 

 

2013-08-05 19.09.32 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

So, there was only one thing for it.. disinfectant, a strong APC solution and trusty George!

 

First up were the mats, just to see how effective my technique was going to be:

 

2013-08-05 19.24.43 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

50/50 

 

2013-08-05 18.29.27 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Encouraged by the 50/50, I cracked on..

 

Gave the carpet a blast as well..

 

2013-08-05 18.51.16 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

To be fair, I was quite happy with this - 

 

2013-08-05 18.57.30 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

So I moved onto the passenger side - 

 

2013-08-05 19.14.29 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

2013-08-05 19.14.34 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

2013-08-05 19.36.12 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

This is just from the carpet!

 

2013-08-05 19.53.07 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

 

Problem is, I'm a bit of a perfectionist.. I wasn't totally happy with the carpet and I knew the seats would be a pain to do properly if left in.. so this happened:

 

2013-08-08 17.46.38 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Now we're talkin'.. proper cleaning access!

 

2013-08-09 17.52.33 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Much better!

 

2013-08-09 18.31.16 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Carpets sorted, all plastics APC'd and treated with Poorboys - 

 

2013-08-09 18.31.27 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

No let's tackle these!

 

2013-08-08 17.46.50 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Same technique, a mixture of APC, soft brushes to agitate the pile, then the wet-vac:

 

2013-08-08 17.46.57 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

2013-08-08 19.00.54 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Gave it two passes as the soiling was so heavy.. this was the water after the front seats!

 

2013-08-09 17.21.52 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Treated the leather and the seats were looking much more respectable - 

 

2013-08-09 17.31.48 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Box Fresh and smelling good!

 

2013-08-10 10.58.07 by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Final Interior by Chris.Bibby, on Flickr

 

Fabulous job. Well done.

Top job

Nice work! What's APC?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

APC - All Purpose Cleaner, a car detailer's best friend!

Good skills! Time well spent

Thanks for sharing Zukabak, I would have taken the seats out too! Especially when the interior was like that!

 

Great job! 

nice job.

Great guide, just brought a octavia vrs myself and the seats, door panels and carpets are all very grotty and dirty. Just a quick question which all purpose cleaner is best or is any ok? Also when using a wet vacuum is it best to hire out an industrial one or are the cheap karcher ones ok?

Fantastic work

Awesome work, that must have been very satisfying! 

Great guide, just brought a octavia vrs myself and the seats, door panels and carpets are all very grotty and dirty. Just a quick question which all purpose cleaner is best or is any ok? Also when using a wet vacuum is it best to hire out an industrial one or are the cheap karcher ones ok?

 

Any APC should do the trick to be honest.. 'Daisy' from Tesco is really cheap and does a good job. Diluted properly, you can use Flash (with Fabreze) if you want your car to smell like clean linen.

I used a good ol' Numatic 'George'.. I imagine a cheap Karscher one would be fine too. You're only really agitating the dirt in the fabric then lifting it off, the water is just a 'carrier' for it.