$700 140k mile 99 tahoe interior, how would you conquer this beast?

Friend picked up a $700 tahoe from an estate sale that sat for 2 years after fuel injection system failure, simple fix to get it running then he's fixing some minor body damage.

It was abused on the inside, it's a beater but he wants me to try and clean it up the best I can. I figured this is a good truck to do some more serious detail work on instead of the new car prep I do at my normal job (lexus dealer). Should be fun, I like a good challenge when I can take my time...at work it's always "rush rush get the car outta here"

Picture album

Truck is pretty simple to disassemble on the inside, I plan on removing all the seats and a lot of trim first and foremost to make it easier.

From looking at it, there appeared to be about 4 dogs worth of hair inside! haha

This is my first time doing a car this nasty and he is cool with that, but I'm curious if you more experienced folks have some tips to share!

Thanks in advance

-Andre

 

dynamite.

 

I agree with this man.

 

there is a company called JC whitney, buy a new carpet kit, and the seats.......... just buy new ones........

I would not try to salvage anything.


Looks like the dogs pissed and shit all over it.

 

lmao @ dynamite. well darn I'll certainly suggest that to him and see if he's up for it.

 

i love these kind of jobs. if you don't want to do it, then send it my way...haha

it looks like you have pretty good access to all areas even without removing the seats, but definitely take them out, it'll make for even easier cleaning.

for the carpet, it might be better to replace as Karl (Kilo6) suggested. you have a great canvas (i.e. the vehicle) to make artwork from.

it'll definitely be an improvement, but some stuff might be beyond repair. you'll definitely need an extractor for the job and lots of cleaner...several passes just to get rid of the odor and dirt.

see how much time you are willing to invest and compare it to the cost of replacing some items like the carpet.

lol...

definitely gonna be some odor in that vehicle. yuk.

 

Thanks man...I knew off the bat it would never be perfect but it seems like something good for a novice/hobby detailer like myself to practice on haha. I'll try and convince a new carpet purchase.

 

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autocustomcarpets-carpet-kit/p2029695.jcwx?filterid=d334y1999g211j1

 

a lot less than I had expected, thanks for the link

 

BigDreZ28,

Welcome to the Forum !

Wow looks like your friend needs to spend at least $700 to get you to bring this thing back from being a Direct Violation of The Pure Food and Drug Act !

There is serious damage on all the carpeted areas alone - and then the cloth seats are just trashed.

Looks like dogs and homeless people lived in there or something.. I am sorry you have to do this.

Please wear a respirator or a good filtering mask, not one of those cheap ones that Michael Jackson wore - a good 3M mask that will filter out all the tiny nasty spores that are flying all around out of that filth.

My Steamer and Extractor would be working Overtime to try to get this mess out and I'm not sure it would get it all out anyway without seeing it. ( and I hope I don't have to

Well, hope the outside and engine and compartment are in better shape than that Interior. Is there mold in there too ? Was it damp inside ?

If you end up replacing the carpeting be sure to replace all the padding also, as it is probably ruined too, and then if you have it all out, it would be good to clean the flooring with a disinfectant, and let it really dry completely before putting it all back together..

Where do you live - there might be someone on the Forum that works for a Haz-Mat company and they can come by and put the required "Quarantined" sticker on it.. J/K...

Where do you want to start ?
Dan F

 

I have replaced several carpets in 88-94 trucks that I owned many years ago, its not hard.

 

That was the one good thing, it didn't feel/smell damp on the inside! I just wanted to start by learning first hand the best way to try and clean cloth seats.

 

I bought a beater '94 Integra for a work car last year. It wasn't as bad as this, but it was pretty nasty. I pulled the cloth seats and carpet completely out of the car and used the same method to clean both: 1) Pressure wash to remove as much loose dirt / crud as possible (you may want to vacuum first because of all the loose hair and debris); 2) Spray down with Folex and scrub with a carpet brush; 3) Pressure wash again to rinse the Folex and grime; 4) Extract with the shop vac; 5) Repeat. It was a 100% improvement when I finished, but there were still a few small spots that wouldn't come out. But for a cheap DD it was fine. Removed all the musty odor too (car had a water leak that I had to fix also). I put ziploc bags over the seat belt buckles, secured with rubber bands, before pressure washing the seats to keep water out.

 

This is a great well thought out idea here ! It doesnt require a bunch of expensive equipment (steamer, extractor,etc..), and the improvement will be huge>

How does this sound to ya' ?
Dan F

 

ya ive pulled carpet before as well, just not a reinstallation.

sounds fun! I told him no matter what we try it's gonna be drying out for quite awhile.

once again thanks everyone for helping out a rookie...mom has a red is250 she bought from my job...interior ain't bad but swirled all to hell...wheels caked with dust....you will definitely see me in the exterior section sometime soon

 

These are the best kind of jobs! Love interiors.

And I've ordered tons of carpet from http://www.stockinteriors.com/?gclid=CJSlnJPz5bICFYs7Mgod1x0AOA and have had no complaints. Excellent customer service and product (carpet). You can have them send you some samples too if you want.

 

thanks for the tips

 

Power wash/extract than repeat until you get it looking better. Also some strong apc and a lot of elbow Greece will get it cleaner

 

Hello fellow marylander! I just picked up some folex and a bunch of spray bottles for dilution of that and other cleaners, now I'm just waiting on my friend's final word of what he wants to do.

 

Pull it out and power wash the crap out of everything that doesn't have electronics in it. Then get some good carpet dye and dye what doesn't come out. Just make sure you let it dry very thoroughly before putting it back in the car.