Secret Cleaning Techniques From a Retired Retailer; Lipstick, ink and shoe polish stain removal

So you have found this page by searching the internet and want to find a way to remove lipstick stains from car seats. I bet a certain former president wishes he could go back in time and remove all traces of any lipstick stain from anywhere. Why are lipstick stains so difficult to remove? Not that you’re trying to ditch the candy cane strips in something so personal. But when it comes to fabric, it can be a real challenge, as you well know. What does the lipstick contain? Well, the basics are pretty simple;

“Colorants and oily substances”

is the easy answer. The most complicated answer can best be said by experts in the Cosmetic Industry. This is what we were told, don’t quote me and you might want to think twice the next time you kiss someone or something using Tangerine Lipstick or lipgloss: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Octodecanol, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Tocopheryl Acetate, Quaternium-18 Hectorite, Propylene Carbonate, Silica, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben. May Contain: Mica Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Blue 1 Lake, Red 6 Lake, Red 7 Lake, Red 27 Lake, Yellow 5. Yuk! And you can see why chemists in the auto detailing and on-site detailing industry have a hard time doing it. Any dermatologist will tell you that’s bad news;

[http://www.med.nagoya-u.ac.jp/Environderm/…vol8/81-601.htm]

Now you have this on a customer’s car seat. Why? Well, they didn’t kiss the seat, his bag fell and spilled and the lid came off and it was a hot day and the lipstick melted onto the fabric of the seat. Now it’s her problem as a member of the professional car wash and detailing industry. Then what do you do?

First, we recommend using a plastic razor blade and discarding as much as you can first. Then you need fast drying solvent, we choose lighter fluid, it evaporates quickly and dissolves quickly with little odor. If you don’t have plastic razor blades, use a business card to scrape it off. If you fold your business card in half, it works best. This way you get a close double edge shave and can scrape off most of the lipstick first. Many high-end car manufacturers like Audi, Porsche, BMW, Cadillac, Volvo, Mercedes recommend their own brands of interior cleaners, which are generally powder to foam cleaners. Well let us warn you that your wonderful intentions will not work on Lipstick. Then you can kiss that idea goodbye. If you find that a fabric is a little faded, you can rub the solvent or put it on the corner of a towel first, not a paper towel, use a towel. Then gently pat the stain and see if you are removing the stain without removing the dye.

By the way, this will also work on shoe polish sandwich stains from Afghanistan on your car seats. The shoe polish sandwich is one way locals can get an alcoholic buzz, by putting BLACK shoe polish (only) on a piece of bread and letting it soak by straining the alcohol to get high. The bread is then disposed of in a local Humvee owned by the US Armed Forces. The black bitumen when heated melts in the vehicle, Great!!! But remember that rear shoe polish can leak when you take it up on a vendor’s road trip in the back seats or in the trunk. We cleaned it out of a golf bag once when the driver of the car forgot to take it to his locker at the local Country Club, it leaked all over his favorite golf club, Loud golf shirt, wild socks and inside area from the truck. We were able to get it out of the trunk and out of the golf bag for a nice tip.

Felt markers can also leave stains, and these procedures will work well on them as well. Best of luck, you are starting to become a great professional detailer.