1979 Mercedes 450SL - Complete Interior & Mold Abatement

[Junebug]

David, that was just nasty! I'm amazed that it turned out so well. Except for the normal wear and tear on seats that are 29 years old, it looked like new inside. I've got your technique jotted down just in case I get a "moldie oldie" some day.

 

[porta]

Great job David!

 

[TSC17]

Very nice work David...you are a brave man indeed!

 

[David Fermani]

Very nice work David. I will book mark this one for future reference.

Thanks Brian.

Awesome Job David.





Hope you wore a face mask...:nervous2:

Thanks. I sure did. I wore a chemical resistant mask with filters designed for mold.

Awesome come back David.....



That is nasty. I am sure I would have wanted to tackle that one...

Thanks Pat. Because I didn't inspect the vehicle ahead of time, I wasn't sure what to expect.

Great Job. Not only did you take care of the problem, but you were able to diagnose the root cause.

Thanks David. Yes, I'm glad I was able to help the owner prevent this from happening again.

Very nice job, I found myself taking notes as I read. When I first saw the steering wheel, I thought it was a ugly cover for it, not mold!! Great job once again.



Brandon

Thanks Brandon. I wish that was a cover on the steering wheel. :help:

:shocked WOW! :goodjob David!



I am sure the owner was very grateful of your accomplishment while also providing the underlying issue.



Great work man! I also appreciate the write up about the matts. I am going to have to remember this one. Thanks.

Thanks Twitch. I'm pleased with how the matts came out. Especially without powerwashing them. These would have been destroyed if I did that.

Very thorough job on the interior! Your process on the mats seemed very effective.

Thanks Connor.

David Fermani- Wow, what a great job :bow



Hope I never need 'em, but it's great to know what products and processes worked on something like that.

Thanks Accumulator.

Wow, that was just nasty. That was an amazing deep cleansing job David. The afters look like a totally different car. Superb Work!

Thanks Ryan.

nice work Dave!

Thanks for all your help Phil. I would have been lost without your assistance.

I had a problem like this on my other car. I don't think it was ever 100% gone/cleaned but someone else bought it.

How good does the Mark V odor elimiator work? I have been trying to find something that will kill smoking odors from a clients vehicle but nothing yet.



Oh yeah, very very nice job and write up. Thanks for sharing

Thanks Jay. I like the Mark-V Odor Eliminator. It's not too stronge smelling and eats up/neutralizes odors pretty well. I'll definately keep using it.

Same here. In fact, it should be archived. First rate write up and very useful information. :bow

Thanks alot Scott. I'm honored by your acknowledgement.

"Brave" is the best word I can use to describe this job. What a colossal undertaking.



Beautiful results. Great that you were able to find the source of that mess.

Thanks gamby. I can't remember the last time I spent 6 hours on the interior of a 2 seater!

Amazing work. Hope you got paid a VERY nice amount for all that cleaning. Did you wear gloves and mask? That is dangerous work.

Thanks SilvaBimma. I did asbestos abatement for 5 years & know how important it is to be protected. Mask & gloves were worn at all times.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no proven health risk due to exposure to mold.

Yes there is! Certain molds(like black mold) can destroy your nervous system and cause cancer. I wouildn't take chances in any case.

Great job, David!



FWIW, the owner should consider using DampRid in the future.



D A M P R I D - The Original Non-Electric Moisture Absorber



I use two containers of the stuff in my RV and I pull a couple of quarts of water from the air every month. (As you know, this Benz lives a couple of hundred miles south of me... even more humidity.) I'm surprised that this is not a more common problem in the Southeast for vehicles that are stored for long periods, with or without roof leaks.



Based on my RV detailing experience, I wonder if this vehicle could benefit from an ozone generator treatment. (The machines used for mold/mildew abatement are the $1K+ models, not the $119 specials.) Your work on the MB interior is amazing; however, I suspect that mold is lurking in the concealed areas.



Hey, thanks for posting! Very informative.

Thanks John. I agree that anything possible should be used to pull out the dampness from vehicles in these types of situations. I definately think an ozone treatment *could* help, but I'm hoping that the mold wasn't circulated throughout the HVAC system. It just started recently and the vehicle wasn't driven. Unfortunately, I no longer have my generator, but have one from a local detailer (joyriide) that I'm sure I can rent. The owner is aware at any rate.

David, that is one amazing turnaround!!!



I have done a few of these in the past and find it amazing how quick mold grows. The wholesaler I used to detail for bought a few cars at an auction during the summer which had been recently detailed. The cars sat in the sun for about a week with wet carpets and the mold growth was incredible.



Great job bringing that interior back and finding the cause!

Thanks alot Rick.

Great read with the morning coffee. Thanks David as always. Very informative.

Thanks. I actually drank coffee while doing this job.

David, that was just nasty! I'm amazed that it turned out so well. Except for the normal wear and tear on seats that are 29 years old, it looked like new inside. I've got your technique jotted down just in case I get a "moldie oldie" some day.

Thanks JuneBug! Yup, this is a moldie, but goodie......:chuckle:

Great job David!

Thanks porta. :bounce

Very nice work David...you are a brave man indeed!

Thanks TSC17.

 

[safetyman2010]

To the best of my knowledge, there is no proven health risk due to exposure to mold.

When airborne mold spores are present in large numbers, they can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, asthma episodes, infections and other respiratory problems for people. Exposure to high spore levels can cause the development of an allergy to the mold. I've dealt with this several times with boats and cars coming out of storage (had a guy ruin his 911 cab by storing it in a wet barn) and would highly recommend wearing at the very least eye protection and a ventilator. Full body protection would be even better.

 

[Eisen Hulk]

Holy hell!! That is amazing, David!

 

[Slik560]

Yowza, what a mold-fest. In that climate, he might be wise to use a drying agent inside the car while it's stored. I use a product called Dri-Z-Air that came from Performance Products. It's basically a granular product that absorbs moisture and comes with a container to keep in the car. I use it in the winter to keep the inside of the 560SL dry while it's in the garage (windows up). However, moisture does collect inside the container, so it has to be checked every month or so. This might not be practical for your client but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[sacky zg]

great job:wow:

 

[Deep Gloss Auto Salon]

WOW.. I love to see when profesionals take a job seriously enough to actually research products/methods to suit a job... Kudos!

Great work as usual!

 

[imported_Grouse]

Glad to see it turned out well David, my consulting bill is in the mail.











j/k

 

[Apollo_Auto]

Tastefully done, sir! Congrats!

 

[Jay Slay]

Great work.but seriously, that dude should just have burnt that car!.. Too much work.:LOLOL

 

[David Fermani]

When airborne mold spores are present in large numbers, they can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, asthma episodes, infections and other respiratory problems for people. Exposure to high spore levels can cause the development of an allergy to the mold. I've dealt with this several times with boats and cars coming out of storage (had a guy ruin his 911 cab by storing it in a wet barn) and would highly recommend wearing at the very least eye protection and a ventilator. Full body protection would be even better.

Thanks for the info. I wore a 1/2 face respirator (with approved mold filters) and rubber gloves. I brought my Tyvek suit, but it was too hot to wear it.

Holy hell!! That is amazing, David!

Thanks EisenHulk!

Yowza, what a mold-fest. In that climate, he might be wise to use a drying agent inside the car while it's stored. I use a product called Dri-Z-Air that came from Performance Products. It's basically a granular product that absorbs moisture and comes with a container to keep in the car. I use it in the winter to keep the inside of the 560SL dry while it's in the garage (windows up). However, moisture does collect inside the container, so it has to be checked every month or so. This might not be practical for your client but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Thanks for the recommendation. They actual tried something like this prior to my clean up hoping it would cure the problem, but obviously it didn't. We discussed using these as a maintenance option for the future and they will most likely keep using them. Thanks.

great job:wow:

Thanks sacky

WOW.. I love to see when profesionals take a job seriously enough to actually research products/methods to suit a job... Kudos!

Great work as usual!

Thanks for the kind words Jason.

Glad to see it turned out well David, my consulting bill is in the mail.

I just mailed the check out Aaron. Thanks again for your help. I'd love to see pictures of the one you did sometime.

Tastefully done, sir! Congrats!

Thanks Apollo_Auto!

Great work.but seriously, that dude should just have burnt that car!.. Too much work.:LOLOL

Thanks! I'll suggest burning if the mold comes back for sure.

 

[tom p.]

Good God. I've never seen anything like that.



Great documentation. I assume you'll go back and inspect it in a couple of weeks to see how it's doing?

 

[safetyman2010]

Thanks for the info. I wore a 1/2 face respirator (with approved mold filters) and rubber gloves. I brought my Tyvek suit, but it was too hot to wear it.

:goodjob



Gotta make sure you're always protecting yourself. I remember when I got into the biz cleaning a back seat out of a cab that someone had been stabbed in and didn't wear any protection :doh Not the brightest thing I ever did.

 

[alowe]

Simply amazing work. Extreme attention to detail! Great review for leather care as well.

 

[Barry Theal]

I have never seen mold that bad, I heard of hrror stories of guys who soak interiors with extractors. Wow thats just insane to see the mold make it to the steering wheel. Just disgusting. Nice work David!

 

[rcrobbins]

I had a run in a few weeks ago with a bad mold problem on an old E type Jag. The rear plastic window in the top ripped in the summer and created a horrible mold problem, even worse than this! I tried a variety of cleaners, but to no avail. I'll have to try this process next time I get back to the car. Thanks for the write up and great job!

 

[Apollo_Auto]

Looks like you had a nice "cultural" experience with that one... OK I'll get my coat . Nice work buddy!

 

[IkeRay]

at first I thought that was just a fuzzy steering wheel cover....didn't realize that was mold :gross:



that carpet looked so plush and I bet those seats feel like an old recliner or old baseball mitt...just so comfortable.



great job.