carpet stripes

Getting to the point where I only stripe the mats. Used to do it all. the plush carpets of Caddy's really make the stripes stand out though so I still do it those.
 
I started "striping" with my carpet extractor about 7-8 years ago, and got a few complaints from high end car owner... Never again !!!



I personally think that the striping looks very cheap and make the car look like it was detailed at a high volume shop. I prefer the look of a vapor cleaned carpet with the nap standing tall and lightly brushed to attain uniformity.
 
Clean Dean said:
I started "striping" with my carpet extractor about 7-8 years ago, and got a few complaints from high end car owner... Never again !!!



I personally think that the striping looks very cheap and make the car look like it was detailed at a high volume shop. I prefer the look of a vapor cleaned carpet with the nap standing tall and lightly brushed to attain uniformity.
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agreed....plus with the traffic the carpet/mats see, it gets ruined rather quickly, so I dont do it anymore...all one way!
 
I've never striped carpet. But I do use a fabric brush for the mats. I

just brush a few diaganol lines in the mat and call it good.
 
David Fermani said:
I like to return each vehicle as close as possible to the way it rolled out of the factory ~ no stripes.



http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/103110-fascination-making-lines-carpet.html
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David, that's the way I was always taught. Return to its original settings. The thing I try to do with my carpets is to raise the grain. I brush them all one way and then lift them with an air compressor! The one thing I think Looks good is the sticky mats " Do not Remove Dealer " I need to get soome of these. I just think paper looks bad. Anyways thanks for your comments guys.
 
For me, I wonder if the detailer is charging the customer extra $ for the time it has taken him to stripe the carpet. I've never done it, reminds me of this!
bufferbarry said:
David, that's the way I was always taught. Return to its original settings. The thing I try to do with my carpets is to raise the grain. I brush them all one way and then lift them with an air compressor! The one thing I think Looks good is the sticky mats " Do not Remove Dealer " I need to get soome of these. I just think paper looks bad. Anyways thanks for your comments guys.
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I used to, but a few customers didn't like how after a few days the combination of stripes and footprints made the carpets look pretty bad. Now I only do it if the customer specifically asks.
 
I don't know I think the stripes add a little pop to certian cars really. And to me it looks a LOT better than random vacuum lines. I can see going back over and brushing all the lines out but it's the same amount of effort to brush the entire carpet in one direction than it is to add the stripes. Some people love it others don't. It can be a huge debate for a number of reasons. But it simply comes down to the fact that if your customers like it... do it.. If they don't then don't. Now I've seen detailers get real fancy and brush in logo's and such that makes it look real nice. To me that's just to much effort and time spent on it. But again if it's something that impresses the client so be it. And it's really a fad to phases in and out every so many years... I remember back in the mid 90's it was a huge way to seperate yourself from every other joe schmuck detailer on the block... Then it phased out almost completly for a few years there and now I see it popping back up.
 
I dont do it, its a waste of time imo and get ruined almost instantly. I just "fluff" the carpets with my crevice tool and leave whatever "lines" it creates. I have had multiple customers come back to me and say that they love the way that I do the carpets because it has the "just cleaned look" and the "It doesnt matter if the stripes are here or not look." example:



carpets just finished on a yukon denali(no interior plastic/leather cleaning and dressing done yet)

IMG_1722-1.jpg
 
On the past couple of details I have not, I also feel as it is a waste of time.. Since I have just started detailing couple of months ago, i would rather spend the extra couple of minutes cleaning something else then adding stripes, but if the customer asks for it, well then that is a different story
 
I used to do it all the time, but like others have said, most Roll's owners wouldn't think so much of it, but some cars I think it adds a nice touch, and some people who have never experienced a detail just love it. Now that I only do mostly high end autos, no more than 5 a week, I try to just make it look like it did when it was new.
 
i dont do it. mainly bc most of the cars are already clean and only need a vacuum attention. and the wet/dry vac i have doesnt give stripes like an extractor would. i just vacuum each section in one direction.
 
I like to just fluff the carpets when done. I really don't care for the striping...it looks too much like a ref's uniform. However, I do like the striping on my lawn when I cut it back and forth with a push mower :)



DSCN2886.jpg




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There was a poll about this quite a while ago and if I remember, most liked the stripes. I personally like a "never been cleaned look"
 
This little dealy...hand carpet rake, will *really* bring car carpets and carpeted mats back to factory new.



I've been studying up a lot lately on the whole carpet cleaning thing, as I've had to do quite a bit of carpet cleaning in houses, and I'm also going to add interiors to my detailing services once I feel like I'm educated/qualified enough to do interiors to Autopian standards.



Anyway, this hand carpet rake is a great tool. Use it after extracting to "reset" the carpet pile; it'll make the carpet look brand new.



A bit OT, but... my carpet process now:



1. Vacuum thoroughly



2. Pre-spray with Prochem Ultrapac Trafficlean, or for really nasty stuff, Prochem Traffic Lane Cleaner. Make sure the carpet is *thoroughly* sprayed, so it won't dry up while it's dwelling.



3. Agitate it with the hand carpet rake



4. let it dwell for ten minutes



5. Extract the carpets using Prochem Liquid Slurry. Repeat until water comes up clean.



6. Re-extract it using Prochem All Fiber Rinse, then go over them using multiple dry passes with your extractor or wet vac.



7. Brush the carpet thoroughly with the carpet rake, then dry.



I've used this method on house carpet and car carpets. It works great. Huge thanks to Grouse.



The kind of cleaning you get using this method and chemicals is nothing short of amazing.
 
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