Despite not being the most urgent job on the long to-do list for the Nocturne Blue Aero, I couldn’t resist spending a few hours giving the interior a bit of a clean and a few treats.

First off, replace the terrible blue / white LED interior bulbs for the factory standard, warm white ones, then replace the broken gear gaiter for a genuine leather Saab one, finally replace the missing lighters for completeness and then on to the cleaning.

The Hirsch steering wheel had such a build up of dirt, that parts of the perforated leather sections were actually hidden, I wrapped it in damp clothes for a few hours, and then used a leather cleaner and a soft brush to scrub off the grime, finally, I gave it two applications of leather feed. 

Because it had been smoked in, it had a stale smell and a build up of surface dirt, I’ve used an Autoglym interior foam cleaner, an old nail brush and a bunch of micro cloths to get the worst off, and then applied the different surfaces with suitable Autoglym treatments, including moisturising the leather. The roof lining needs a good clean still, and I need to source a new set of A pillar covers, as they have cigarette burns in them.

I removed the worn out rubber mats and have ordered new dark grey carpet replacements, sadly not genuine Saab ones as I can’t find them any more, but decent quality ones that should fit nicely and are made to order.

My overriding thought, is just how well these Saab interiors clean up, I’ve owned and cleaned many marques, and Saabs are genuinely some of ones that stand the test of time. This Aero has covered 236,000 miles, has visibly been roughly treated, not cleaned often enough and yet, with some hard work, comes up beautifully.

I have a spare driver’s seat I’ll use to replace the current one, as it has a serious squeak, but decides that, the interior still feels solid, rattle free and beautifully put together, it has once again been returned to the state it deserves.