How to Repair a Cigarette Burn in Your Car's Carpet

Crikeys! You dropped a cigarette on the floor board of the car and now there is a huge carbonized hole staring you right in the face. Come on now, you really need to learn to hold on to that cigarette or stop smoking in your car! Now What? Now it's time to learn a simple little trick on how to fix a cigarette burn in the carpet of your car. Okay, okay, so let's get the ball rolling on this deal. First and foremost, you are going to have to find yourself a little bit of glue. If you've got kids, surely they have some Elmer's (or similar) glue? Well, go get it. If not, it's only about $0.67 at your local retail shopping center such as Wal-Mart or Target. You are also going to need to find a razor blade or a utility knife. That's it! Two tools will be all that you need to be successful in getting rid of that nasty cigarette burn that has been on the back of your mind all day.

Prepare your cigarette burn by first scraping out the carbonization (black burned carpet) by scraping in a side to side and - alternatively - up and down motion making sure that you do not cut through the carpet board. Once you have cut through the carpet board your glue will just run through and drip on down to the sheet metal below - so make sure that this does not occur. Once you have the carbon scraped out of the burn you will need to fill the hole with the glue that you opted to use. Allow the glue to sit in the hole for a minute and let it soak in. Fill the hole again with the glue so that it is level with the rest of the carpet. Next you are going to want to find a spot on your carpet that is not visible such as a spot under your seats, under your trim or under the dash. Typically, under the seats would be the ideal location because of its ease of access. When you have found a location that you are comfortable with simply cut a small patch of the carpet fibers out of a small spot no more than an inch. The best method of doing this so that you do not cut through the carpet board is to angle your razor blade and pull it toward you diagonally. You will see the fibers start to gather and from here you can start filling in your hole. Tap on the top of the filled in fibers to push them into the hole and make sure they will be partially embedded in the glue. Apply more fibers as needed until the cigarette burn has disappeared.

Yes, indeed, it is truly that simple ladies and gents! My detailing and interior restoration experiences have surely taught me that simple and nifty quick fix. On the other hand, if your cigarette chooses to land in your seat you will have much more trouble trying to fix it yourself. There are professionals; however, that can restore your seats if they are past the point of one cigarette burn or if you just chose not to do it yourself. Either way, you should keep your cars interior at its best - it will be worth more!