Big Black Chevy Gets the Business Inside & Out

**TTQ B4U** · 04-12-2021, 12:42 PM

So a friend of mine who is a broker for private planes had me work on his loaner vehicle that customers use. Very cool set up as he's a former military guy who purchased this Chevy Tahoe from the Secret Service after only 7,000 miles of use. Still has the Kevlar lined doors and 3 layer bullet proof windshield along with some nicely done mounts for guns and radio equipment in the console area. Anyway, it's a vehicle he lets prospective and current customers use as they land at the airport and being it's a 2014 with now close to mid 60's on the Odometer it was time for an inside and out spruce up.

Good news is he's pretty meticulous with keeping the vehicle clean. No trash or dirt at all inside. In fact it was pretty dust free too. However, years of dirt and grime turned the carpet to a dirty grey and the seats were layered with grime too. Goal here was to fully clean the interior from top to bottom as in a full Elite Level Cleaning covering carpet, seats, and headliner along with the all the interior panels, console, dash, doors, etc.

Exterior wise it goes through car washes all the time to keep the dirt off it which means swirl city but that's okay as at least he keeps it clean. Goal here was to remove all the layers of car wash waxes and embedded grime and while not worrying so much about swirl, but rather give it a good polish to shine it up and make the paint smooth as glass and ready to be the limo it is set out to be. This is my Basic Polish & Protect Exterior Package.

Overall it turned out great and even the exterior saw a huge 75% plus reduction in swirls and outside a few stone chips up front, the vehicle is like brand new. Wheels are all perfect and even the underside came out like new.

Exterior Wise involved SONAX Hybrid NPT Cleaner Wax being applied with my Flex 3401 and XCE Polishers wearing Lake Country Orange Flat Pads. Meg's hyperdressing on the tires and Solution Finish on the Running Boards.

Let's look at the interior shots first. Note, I've definitely seen worse but the good news is while the leather in Tahoe's isn't he most supple and it definitely holds onto dirt, it also does come clean pretty well and stands up to wear and tear far better than a lot of interiors I see.

Exterior Shots

Thankfully mother nature held off on rain this morning but unfortunately she didn't pop any sunshine out to help with the lighting.

**2black1s** · 04-12-2021, 01:03 PM

Nice work! And like always, great photos.

Mike Phillips · 04-12-2021, 04:17 PM

Nice work as is your norm.

These large SUVs are so much work!

And black paint shows everything. Good job!

**PaulMys** · 04-12-2021, 04:27 PM

Nice job!

Fire any rounds into the glass to test it out?

**TMQ** · 04-12-2021, 04:37 PM

Jeepers...You are good!

Tom

**Sizzle Chest** · 04-12-2021, 05:58 PM

Nicely done on that armored machine! His customers will think that it's brand new now!

**Skier404** · 04-13-2021, 12:02 PM

Let's look at the interior shots first. Note, I've definitely seen worse but the good news is while the leather in Tahoe's isn't he most supple and it definitely holds onto dirt, it also does come clean pretty well and stands up to wear and tear far better than a lot of interiors I see.

What products did you use on the carpet, and what was your process?

**TTQ B4U** · 04-13-2021, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by Skier404

What products did you use on the carpet, and what was your process?

Trio of products shown here.

Process starts with a Tornador Velocity Vac Cleaning. Pulls out deep down dirt so the extractor won't create mud. It also stands up the fibers of the carpet. I then pre-treat with the cleaning solution shown above using a garden sprayer. I'll use a soft brush to agitate the fibers working the solution into the carpet and focus on spotted areas. if it's really bad I'll do so with a drill brush, otherwise but hand. I put a little Tornador enzeyme solution at a low dose ratio into the canister and blast out around the edges and under the pedals with a low setting of mist from of the enzyme. Really loosens the dirt and while it seems to push it down, it will in-turn be extracted pretty easily. The idea here is to get the tough stains in hard to reach areas off the fibers of the carpet.

Next I move to the extractor unit. It's a huge time saver and a 210* hot water/steam extraction tool that definitely does the job. The Key is to balance the pH levels of your soap and rinse agents. Always use a de-foamer too to protect your machine. You never know what is in the carpet, especially those that may have been improperly cleaned prior.

Last step when done is to go over it all quickly with the Tornador to help once again, stand up the fibers and help it dry.