I am restoring a 1972 Camaro that has been sitting under the trees for several years, and most of the vinyl interior has mildew along with the dirt and grime.

Anyone out there have a successful method to knock this stuff off and return the vinyl to some semblance of it's former glory?

Ditto the original steering wheel, now a black sticky mess along with the green grime.

Thanks in advance for any helpful insights!

"Simple Green", mixed liberally with plain tap water, will remove mold and mildew.
follow-up with any brand of upholstery rejuvenator..
anything is better than muther-nature.. :yes:

Dish soap and warm water and a soft scrub brush is about the best thing you can use.As some cleaners can cause damage to the vinyl and dash.

I would disagree with plain soap and water as that won't kill the mildew. Only bleach will get rid of that permanently. Use whatever your cleaner of choice is, but use 10% bleach solution to keep it from coming back. Also, use it liberally all over the area.

I would disagree with plain soap and water as that won't kill the mildew. Only bleach will get rid of that permanently. Use whatever your cleaner of choice is, but use 10% bleach solution to keep it from coming back. Also, use it liberally all over the area.


Dawn dish soap will do the job,as for the bleach your asking for trouble there no matter how much you use. I have done it for 20 years now and never had any issues with it coming back after using soap and water.

Bleach WILL NOT kill mold on porous surfaces (wood, drywall, etc.) because the chemical structure of the bleach prevents the chlorine from penetrating these surfaces and killing the "roots" of the mold. On the surface, sure, but a couple of days later it will be back. Because the vast majority of bleach is water, the water penetrates these surfaces; thereby, "feeding" the mold. The things that tend to work, believe it or not, are vinegar (use straight in a spray bottle...the smell will go away in a few hours), tea tree oil and grapefruit seed oil (about two tablespoons oil and 2 cups water). The tea tree oil has an odd odor but will go away in a 2-3 days and is relatively cheap and can be bought at WalMart. Grapefruit seed oil has no smell, but this stuff is expensive. You can also use hydrogen peroxide (straight or a 50/50 mix with water). I have NO IDEA what these solutions might do to an interior so make sure you test in an inconspicuous area first.

My interior used to get moldy in the summer from being in a basement garage. I would clean the mold off with some Clorox Wipes, the ones you'd use in the kitchen. They have a little bit of bleach in them, but the interior never suffered any harm from them.