Get the best from your boot liner. It starts with ten minutes and a bottle of Autoglym

Your Hatchbag liner is built to last the lifetime of your car. But there’s one thing that determines whether the Velcro fitting kit performs the way it should from day one — and it’s a step that’s easy to miss. 

This guide walks you through what to do, why it matters, and how to get the best fit from the start.

Jump to:

Before You Fit | What You'll Need | The Fitting Process | Long-term Care | Why AutoGlym | Where To Buy

Before You Fit

Does your car need this step? Check first.

Most Hatchbag liners attach to the plastic surfaces inside your boot using a Velcro fitting kit. For those models, the preparation on this page is essential. However, a small number of models attach directly to the boot carpet instead — and those customers don’t need Autoglym for the liner itself.

Before you buy anything: check your fitting instructions. They will tell you clearly whether your liner uses the Velcro fitting kit or the carpet-fit method. If you’re not sure, you can also contact us at [email protected] and we’ll confirm for you.

If you have a tailgate cover — or are ordering one alongside your liner — you will need Autoglym regardless of which fitting method your liner uses. Tailgate surfaces are almost always plastic, and the same factory silicone layer applies. The prep process is the same.

Your boot looks clean. For Velcro, it isn’t.

When your car left the factory, the plastic surfaces inside your boot were coated with a silicone and wax layer. It protects the plastic, gives it a polished finish, and is completely standard practice. It’s also completely invisible — and it’s the single biggest reason Velcro fails.

A household cleaner won’t remove it. A damp cloth won’t remove it. Even a thorough vacuum and wipe-down won’t touch it. The silicone is bonded to the plastic at a molecular level — it needs a solvent specifically formulated to cut through it.

This isn’t about cleaning. It’s about chemically stripping a factory-applied layer that prevents adhesive from bonding. That’s why your usual products don’t work — and why this one step makes all the difference.

This also applies to used cars. The silicone coating is applied during manufacturing — it doesn’t wear away with age, and it won’t have been removed by previous owners cleaning or valeting the car. If anything, cleaning products applied over the years can add further residue on top of the original layer. Whether your car is brand new or ten years old, the prep process is the same.

Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover is the product we use in our Birkenhead factory before every fitting kit goes out the door. We’ve tried alternatives over the years. We keep coming back to Autoglym — it removes the silicone layer completely, leaves nothing behind that could interfere with adhesion, and is safe on every boot plastic we’ve worked with. That combination is harder to find than you’d expect.

What You'll Need

Keep it simple. Two things.

Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover — available from Halfords, Amazon, and most motoring retailers. Links at the bottom of this page. Pick it up before your liner arrives so you’re ready to fit straight away.

Two lint-free dry cloths — one for applying, one for drying. Old cotton t-shirt material works well if you haven’t got dedicated cloths to hand.

The Fitting Process

How to do it — step by step

Follow these steps in order. The whole process takes about ten minutes. Your liner will stay exactly where it should be — through muddy dogs, wet kit, and years of adventures.

1.  Warm the boot up first

Cold plastic resists solvents. If you’re fitting in winter or on a cold day, run the car for ten minutes beforehand, or fit the liner after a drive. You want the boot at room temperature before you apply anything.

→  This is the step people most often skip in winter. It’s worth doing.

2.  Apply Autoglym generously to your first cloth

Don’t be sparing with it. You’re not polishing paintwork — you’re breaking down a bonded silicone layer. Give the cloth enough product to do the job properly.

3.  Scrub the areas where your Velcro tabs will sit

Put some elbow grease in. This is the most important part of the whole process. It won’t damage your car. It will, however, make all the difference to how well the Velcro bonds — and for how long.

→  Not sure where the tabs will sit? Lay the liner loosely in the boot first to identify the contact points, then remove it before you start.

4.  Dry the area thoroughly with your second cloth — and keep going

Here’s the test we use in the factory: when the cloth starts to drag slightly across the plastic rather than glide, the silicone is gone. That drag is exactly what you’re looking for. Dust away any loose cloth fibres before moving on.

→  If the cloth still glides smoothly, there’s silicone left. Repeat steps 3 and 4.

5.  Test one Velcro tab before committing to all of them

Press a single tab firmly onto the prepared surface and try to peel it back. If it grips well and resists peeling, you’re good to go. If it lifts too easily, do another pass of steps 3 and 4 — there’s still silicone present.

6.  Fit the remaining tabs

Working somewhere cold? Warm the adhesive backing gently with a hairdryer before pressing each tab down. It makes a real difference to the initial bond.

7.  Leave it alone for 72 hours

The Velcro adhesive reaches full strength over 72 hours. We know it’s tempting to test the liner straight away — please don’t. Leave it in place undisturbed and the bond will be exactly where it needs to be.

→  You’ve done the hard part. Just let the adhesive cure.

Long-term Care

What to know over time

Our fitting kit is engineered to be removable. That’s intentional — we want your liner to hold firmly during use but come out cleanly when you need it to, without leaving adhesive marks or causing any damage to your boot. That balance means the Velcro isn’t a permanent industrial bond, and over time, factors like heat and temperature fluctuation will gradually reduce its strength.

If you park in direct sun regularly, or if you’re somewhere with significant seasonal temperature swings, you may find the tabs need replacing after a year or two. This is completely normal — it is not a fault with your liner. The liner itself is designed to outlast the car. The Velcro strips are a consumable part of the fitting system, and replacement kits are available at hatchbag.co.uk/accessories.

When fitting new strips, please go through the full Autoglym process again from scratch. Silicone and wax build back up over time from cleaning products and general use. Skipping the prep on a replacement fit is the most common reason we see customers come back to us with the same problem twice.

Why AutoGlym

Why we’re specific about this product

We get asked fairly often whether other products will work. The honest answer is: we don’t know, because we haven’t tested them against our Velcro kits — and that’s exactly why we won’t recommend them.

Different solvents have different formulations. Some may not cut through silicone effectively. Others might lift it but leave behind a residue that’s just as problematic for adhesion. Some products that work brilliantly on paintwork can discolour or degrade boot plastics. We’ve seen all of these outcomes from products that, on paper, looked perfectly reasonable.

Autoglym is what we use in-house, on every liner, before it ships. It removes the silicone layer completely, leaves nothing behind, and is safe on the plastics inside every boot we’ve worked with. That’s a combination we’ve verified across years of production — which is why we’re specific about it, and why we’d rather point you firmly towards something we know works than give you a vague “any suitable solvent” recommendation that could go wrong.

Where To Buy

Find Autoglym in your market

Pick it up before your liner arrives so you’re ready to fit it the day it lands.

United Kingdom

→  Direct from Autoglym: autoglym.com/intensive-tar-remover-500ml — 500ml, £17.99

→  Halfords: halfords.com — 325ml and 500ml, in store and online

→  Amazon UK: amazon.co.uk — search “Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover”

Germany

→  Direct from Autoglym (DE): autoglym.de/intensive-tar-remover-500ml — German-language site

→  Amazon.de: amazon.de — search “Autoglym Intensiv-Teerentferner”

^{If Autoglym isn’t available locally: SONAX TeerEntferner (sonax.com) is a widely stocked German equivalent. Please note — Hatchbag uses and tests Autoglym only. If using an alternative, test on an inconspicuous area first.}

Netherlands

→  Direct from Autoglym (NL): autoglym.nl/intensive-tar-remover-500ml — Dutch-language site

→  bol.com: bol.com — search “Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover”, 500ml

United States

→  Amazon.com: amazon.com/dp/B01D0TXZZO — 500ml with microfibre applicator

_{Note for US customers: we say “boot” — that’s what you’d call the trunk. Same liner, same prep process}

Find your car and order in minutes at hatchbag.co.uk. Pick up the Autoglym whilst you wait for delivery — by the time your liner arrives, you’ll be ready to fit it properly from the first day.

hatchbag.co.uk  →