Some Interior Work Pics

[DLB]

Back at the end of April a Tornado destroyed my hometown (Ringgold, GA) and I have worked on a few of the cars from the storm. It's pretty crazy to go through an interior and throw away the pieces of shingles, pipe, and lumber before you start on it.

Anyhow, here's a few of the pics from a couple of the cars I did. I can't remember how many I worked on, but they were all getting body repair and repainting, so they were interior only jobs pretty much. I did do a couple of full details on them after repair, but nothing out of the ordinary.

All pics are Before then After of a similar shot. This car is a Ford Taurus.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0001B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0001A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0002B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0002A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0003B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0003A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0004B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0004A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0005B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0005A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0006B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0006A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0007B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0007A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0008B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0008A.jpg

(Random After)
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0009A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0010B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0010A.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0011B.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/T_0011A.jpg

Some things that applied to these cars (tips and such).
#1 - A Shop Vac was pretty much essential. I have a Metro Vac-N-Blo Sr. that does my normal vacuuming, but I didn't want to be throwing glass, sticks, and everything else in it. It was still however the king when it came to the final vacuuming stage.

#2 - I wouldn't want to detail without a pressure washer. I seldom read about people using a pressure washer on interior parts, but there isn't a better way to get things clean IMO. An extractor is good when you can't take anything out - but when you can - wash it! Several of the cars I did had the ENTIRE interior stripped (which is a job in itself) then the carpet, mats, seats and other parts were pressure washed. The things to be aware of here are drying time, power seats, and knowing how to disassemble and reassemble an interior without breaking all the plastic and lose the hardware. But a pressure washer has been part of my detailing equipment since day 1, and it will always have its place.

#3 - Plastic that has been through a tornado is 10x harder to make look good than plastic that has been subjected to kids/messy people/neglected cleaning/whatever. I remember I used to think that when you took APC to an interior panel and the dramatic difference was cool. Well, all you did was took the dirt off. Not too big a deal. Still looks amazing, but nothing crazy. Well, panels that still look like heck after they are clean are a chore to make look good. All I can say is, lots of brushes, lots of APC+, a few Mr. Clean Power Erasers, and lots of towels and time.

#4 - My last tip/observation is something I have said plenty of times before. In order to get an interior totally clean, you have to at least take out the seats. Once you have a routine, taking out and replacing seats will add maybe 20 minutes to your time - no more than 30. Is it worth it? How clean are trying to get a car? I have done plenty of interiors that didn't need the seats removed to get them properly clean - but something like the ones above - don't kid yourself. And if it has never been detailed (and is at least 3 years old), chances are the seats need to come out.

DLB

[DLB]

These are from a Jeep Grand Cherokee (at random):

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110506_190016.jpg

Headliner 50/50
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110506_185950.jpg

That's not a french fry, it's a piece of a 2x4 or something...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110506_191039.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110506_191031.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110514_123036.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110514_123042.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110514_123057.jpg

A note on headliners -
The headliner on every car I worked on that had the windows blown in was extremely dirty. Therefore, you have to clean it pretty thoroughly. The best thing I found to do it use a Shop Vac (they have less suction power than my Metro) with the wide angle nozzle (looks like a big wide fish mouth or something) and keep it on a steep angle while cleaning. DO NOT let it pull up tight to the liner. I didn't screw any of these up, but that is a sure fire way to do it. Also, any areas that are already loose will have to be brushed out or something else - don't put suction where the glue is already loose. Also, skip any exposed edges.

Hope someone picked up something from all this. Nothing fancy - just trying to help someone pick up a tip.

EDIT: Just to add some flair - here's another little something I worked on not too long ago :D

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1211/medium/IMG_20110407_194946.jpg

DLB

[CEE DOG]

Dalton, its great to see you out here again. You've been missed. I hope all your loved ones made it out of the tornadoes ok. The work looks incredible and I'll be checking back for the other pics later.

[mdb917]

DLB - Incredible turn arounds. I'm positive that the owners having survived a tornado will appreciate your efforts. :xyxthumbs:

Sharing your knowledge on how to do an interior will be useful to several of us.

BTW: Nice ZR1 you got to take care. :hungry: Hope he/she took you for a ride in it afterwards.

[reality33]

Amazing job on the interiors. Really great work!

[rwright]

:applause:Great thread Dalton! Thanks for sharing. By the way, did you enjoy the ZR-1?

[BobbyG]

It was nice to see those cars brought back to life. Certainly one of the more outstanding cleanups I've ever seen....:props:

[Bunky]

Thanks for the write up. You provide some very good tips.

[pointillistic_practitioner]

props! the cars look amazing!!! I'd be nervous that I was leaving microscopic shards of glass in the carpets/upholstery but I suppose that's why you use a shopvac AND pressure washer.:wow:

[Jimmie]

Very nice work to get those looking the way that you did. You did those headliners which is a little too scarey for me. They turned out great.

[2kredbb6]

Outstanding, Huge difference in the before an after..

[ScubaCougr]

A note on headliners -
...The best thing I found to do it use a Shop Vac (they have less suction power than my Metro) with the wide angle nozzle (looks like a big wide fish mouth or something) and keep it on a steep angle while cleaning. DO NOT let it pull up tight to the liner.

Perfect timing. I'm doing a very nasty interior on Friday, and cleaning the headliner is going to be a major part of the process.
Thanks for the great advice, especially your last point!

[Jenn1270]

Man....that is impressive.

[Scarelane]

Really great work!!

:props:

[Mobile detail]

Wow is all I can say