(Richmond, VA) Interior detailing needed

effgee · 10-14-06, 12:39

First things first ... howdy everyone!

I recently bought a "new-to-me" 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee and would like to get rid of the "traces" the previous owner left on the cloth seats ... they're not necessarily filthy but there's definitely quite a few unsightly stains. Methinks I'm also going to need a bit of "consulting" as to what can be done to prevent recurring stains - there's a TSB (technical service bulletin) from Jeep that talks about this problem in a bit more detail ... link (PDF file, 111kb).

I'd most grateful for any names/recommendations/pointers/etc. you guys could provide.

Cheers + thanks in advance!

calgarydetail · 10-14-06, 07:45

welcome to autopia, what are the stains like and what products supplies do you have on hand? if we know this we can help you a little better. and of course pics, we do love out pictures here.. But welcome to Autopia, soon enough youll be an adict lik the rest of us lol

effgee · 10-14-06, 11:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgarydetail

welcome to autopia, what are the stains like and what products supplies do you have on hand? if we know this we can help you a little better. and of course pics, we do love out pictures here.. But welcome to Autopia, soon enough youll be an adict lik the rest of us lol

Hi Calgarydetail, thanks much for the friendly welcome!

And right away ... apologies for phrasing my first post rather oddly (note to self: "Do not hit the 'submit post' button after 11pm"

). What I meant to say was actually that I am looking for someone to detail the interior of my Jeep for me - for one because I'm no good for anything that goes beyond the scope of a regular car wash/vacuuming job and secondly because work doesn't leave me enough time to care for my car as well as I'd like to.

In that sense, the only "product supply" I have on hand is my wallet/credit card.

According to the local yellow pages, there seem to be quite a few detailing shops in the Richmond area but I'd much rather go by the recommendation of someone who actually has some experience in the field.

brwill2005 · 10-14-06, 12:21

Check out Carpool Detail.

effgee · 10-14-06, 02:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by brwill2005

Check out Carpool Detail.

Thanks for the tip brwill2005! I had actually driven past their West Broad location before and thought it was more like a "regular" car wash - I'll definitely stop by there on Monday.

brwill2005 · 10-14-06, 02:53

No problem, it is run by a leader in the detail industry.

effgee · 10-15-06, 03:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaSuperShine

..., but keep in mind they do not spend much time on a vehicle. not to mention the "detailers" are teenagers who are paid min wage. youd probably be better off ordering a few products and trying yourself or having a pro look at it.

Uh oh, that's exactly what I don't want - "assembly-line" detailing. The 2005 Grand Cherokees with cloth upholstery have a problem in that the fudgepickles at Jeep used a fabric that has some kind of "chemical coating" on the inside which, when wet (e.g., rain drops or even from a person sitting on it and sweating), causes watermark like stains to appear on the surface of the fabric. The technical service bulletin from Jeep I linked to in my initial post talks about that in a bit more detail.

What I need is someone who knows what he/she is doing to give my seats a "deep cleaning" to get that crap out and, if at all possible, "seal" the whole shebang with some kind of protectant a la Scotchguard.

What do I do now, where do I go?

gbackus · 10-15-06, 03:31

I think forum member tdekany is in richmond, might want to PM him.

effgee · 10-15-06, 04:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbackus

I think forum member tdekany is in richmond, might want to PM him.

Unfortunately (for me, that is) he's in Fairfax, VA outside of DC ... on a weekday that's almost a 2hr drive, one way. Not sure that'd make too much sense for him since he could almost "finish up" another customer in the time it'd take him to drive down here and back up to Fairfax.

brwill2005 · 10-15-06, 07:05

Wow. Maybe that person should not have won Professional Carwashing and Detailing's award for "Detailing Person of the Year". Apparently there is a Carpool Carwash, and a Carpool Detailing center next door. I saw a picture of her and her staff and none looked to be teenagers.

effgee · 10-15-06, 08:23

<-- poor noob (= me), completely confused now ...

effgee · 10-17-06, 08:58

Well, I stopped by four shops here in town yesterday ... one I didn't go inside because the outside of the shop looked, uhm, a little run-down, in the scond one the manager (?) seemed rushed and made me feel like I was being a nuisance, the third one seemed surprised that someone who owns a car as cheap as mine could possibly want to have it detailed and then there was Carpool, where Gina (the manager) was quite friendly, looked over my car and was quick to give me a price for the work I needed.

So far, so good, dropped the car off this morning and will get it back this afternoon - am curious how it turns out. I'll report back with my experience, hoping that it'll help others looking for detailling services in the Richmond area.

Thanks for the tip, brwill2005!

P.S. I think I saw most of the employees working on cars yesterday - didn't look like there were any "$7/hr. teenagers" among them. I am speaking of the detailing shop in the 5000 block of West Broad, not the car wash in the 8/9000 (?) block.