How to Protect Your Car from Faded and Cracked Interior

Living in California has its perks, namely the amazing roads and highways to test our car’s performance on, and there’s nothing like driving down the coast in a convertible with the windows down. Unfortunately, the California sun can be harsh on us, and our cars—especially on the interior materials. Excessive sunlight can cause the interior fabric or leather to become severely damaged over time. The sun’s harmful rays deplete the materials of their moisture and elasticity, causing them to become cracked and irreparably damaged. Fortunately, there are ways around this.

There are several different solutions one can implement in order to avoid a faded or cracked interior cabin, and they’re all relatively inexpensive options. No matter what type of car you have, protecting the interior is in your best interest. Of course it keeps the car looking nice, it makes it more comfortable to be in, and above all else, it retains the value of your car. Cars generally depreciate in value; however, if your interior is kept in excellent condition, you’ll likely be able to get the highest value upon its resale. In this article we’ll talk about a few ways to keep your interior in great condition and what you can do next.

Maintain and Polish the Interior

This might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s always best to keep your interior clean and as dust-free as possible. This includes cloth or leather seating and all center console and dash materials. When dust collects inside your car, it begins to harden in the sun, adhering itself to surfaces and becoming extremely difficult to remove. Furthermore, fine dust and debris particles tend to accumulate and scratch smooth surfaces, damaging them irreparably. Cleaning your interior with the appropriate products and materials is an important step in maintaining it.

Tint Your Windows

This is possibly the most efficient solution to preventing interior damage to your car. Window tinting comes in a range of different levels of darkness, depending on what is appropriate for you and your car. Tinting windows does several things for your interior:

Reduces Direct UV Rays Significantly

Tinting all the windows in your car makes a huge difference in the amount of harmful UV rays let into your interior. The sun’s direct rays that beam down on your leather or cloth seating and lining aren’t just damaging to the interior components, but they’re harmful to our skin. Tinting your windows will make those stand-still moments on the freeway more bearable, and will make those drives along the coast much more enjoyable. Goodbye farmer’s tan!

Reduce the Interior Temperature

Besides the direct sunlight that tends to bleach the interior components, the real harmful component to the materials is the temperatures that your interior cabin experiences. High temperatures well into the triple digits strips the interior of any moisture keeping it intact and elastic. On those hot summer days there isn’t much we can do once the car is parked, besides keeping it inside a covered area or a garage. However, by tinting the windows your car can remain cooler, even on those hot summer days.

Don’t Forget the Windshield

Do you currently use a sun visor to keep out sun rays while your car is parked? While many people don’t consider windshield tinting, it’s an essential process to undergo if you’d like to achieve the most optimal results in protecting the interior. It also helps you avoid the other inconvenient solutions, like sun visors and window screens. You might even find yourself not needing your sunglasses anymore after a windshield tint.

How We Can Help You

Conejo Auto Detail Window Tinting has provided tinting services for drivers and homeowners since 1989 in the areas of Thousand Oaks, Westlake, Agoura Hills, Camarillo, Simi Valley, and Newbury Park, CA. We take pride in our work and view every project we encounter as an opportunity to show our commitment and attention to detail—after almost 30 years in business, we certainly have the process down. If you’re concerned about preserving the interior of your car, or would like to know more about the other tinting services we provide, please contact our shop directly.