Detailing car with tons of animal hair. Need tips..

B

BradUF

New member
I am going to be detailing a car that has animal hair all over and need tips for getting it out 100%. I haven't really had to deal with animal hair before so I don't know if there will be any extra tools I will need for the job. I want to go prepare so if anyone has any suggestions that would be great :)



Another thing is that the car smells like animal so if there is anything that you all can suggest to help remove the smell without spending hours on getting it out or having to pull the carpet up. It is not animal piss but just that dog/cat smell. I would prefer something OTC but if there is anything fairly cheap online I could order that.



Last thing I notice about the car is that all the dash/trim inside has become a dull gray. Now I have poor boys trim restorer but I have never used it on a dash before and was wondering how long this stuff lasts on the inside and if I might need to use a cleaner on the dash before I use the trim restorer on it and what type of cleaner?



Thanks everyone..



Oh, I wanted to post this in Car detailing forum but I can't make threads there anymore for what ever reason.
 
I like those brushes with the rubber bristles for pet hair. Lint brushes will just clog up too fast.



For the dash, use a good APC or plastic/vinyl cleaner first and then apply a low matt dressing such as NL, 303, or Megs #40. I think TR will be much too glossy for a dash.



A very thorough shampoo of the carpeting/upholstery and cleaning of all the interior surfaces, followed by spray deodorizer will greatly improve the pet smell.
 
We have three big dogs who shed quite a bit, and we drive them somewhere almost every day regardless of the weather....



Besides the rubber brushes, there are "pet sponges" that are made out of a grabby rubbery material, they work well. You can also try adhesive tape; it gets the hair up and seldom (IME) leaves any adhesive behind on the carpets. Once you get most of it up, a good extractor oughta get the rest.



I'd just steam/extract the carpets/etc. but I dunno what to tell you if you don't have the steamer/extractor available. I can say that with those and the right chemicals (stuff that eliminates odors as opposed to masking them) it's possible to keep dog-cars smelling like new (nobody can tell which ones we haul the dogs in :D ).



For the chemicals, look for "odor eliminators". TOL and AutoInt sell them and I'm sure other places do too- look to places that sell pro-level products. Locally, check with autobody/paint supply places and carpet extractor dealers (check the 'net, there are a lot of these dealers around- I'd never realized that there were a few in my area until I did a google).



You'll probably have to get the chemicals down into the padding...it they've allowed wet dogs to really soak the interior then the padding will have the pet smell in it and the chemicals have to contact the source of the odor to kill it.
 
Where can I get one of these rubber brushes? Also, I don't have an extractor. The reason I was thinking about the Trim restorer over NL because the dash has really dulled out to a gray color but I will start off with NL and if that doesn't work I suppose I will move up to Trim Restorer.
 
Go to Walmart in the Automotive section. They have these little rubber brushes with teeth. They look really cheap but the best thing that I have ever used. They are $2.97. I bought 4 of them to keep in various rooms in the hose.
 
Yep "static brushes" will be your best freind in this situation. Still a PITA to deal with but with the rubber static brush and a shop vac it makes it go about as easy as it's going to be able to go. I suggest a citrus based frangrence of choice to do a good job covering the smell up. (better yet just eleiminate it with an enzyme based solution)
 
Don't promise 100% pet hair removal. You will drive yourself mad trying to get every single folicle of hair out of the upholstery, carpets, headliner, floor mats, and crevices.



Just agree to offer your very best effort, and stop chasing the final 5% of pet hair when you've reached a reasonable amount of time invested (1.5 - 2 hours on the pet hair alone).



Pet brushes and sponges are great in open spaces, but don't fit in tight spots. We don't use anything but our hands wrapped in three layers of latex gloves. They get everywhere and we have full control of our 10 fingers. Process: drag, drag, drag, into a ball and vacuum out. Drag, drag, drag, into a ball and vacuum out. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.



The dog smell is the accumulation of oils, dead skin, slobber, and hair throughout the car. The only way to remove it is to remove as much hair as possible and thoroughly shampoo the car's upholstery and carpets--paying particular attention to areas where the dogs rest in the car. Search for methods of shampooing using Woolite and a wet/dry vacuum on this forum.



Frankly, you won't be able to eliminate a heavy dog smell. You can lessen it, for sure, but there are surfaces (headliner and tight, un-shampooable carpet) that the smell just cannot be removed from. The owner will have to treat the smell by spraying a pet deoderizer from a pet store as needed--daily, weekly, or monthly.



Don't promise 100% hair and odor removal. Your customer will be disappointed with such expectations. Just promise and demonstrate your very best effort. Don't be afraid to ask for a generous payment. You are performing ugly, back breaking work for your customer. We ask for $150 - $350 for pet hair jobs, depending on the size of the vehicle.
 
I am not a pro, but I also own 3 decent sized dogs that we take with us on vacations. I have found those lint rollers with the adhesive sheets that you rip off after they get real dirty to be helpful - they are like $2 at Wally World.



Another thing I do is to put a MF towel in the dryer for a few minutes with no dryer sheet. That seems to generate a charge to it, then I wipe it over hard surfaces in the car, and it seems to attract hair.



Lastly, I don't know how smelly the car you are doing is, but I have had good luck with Febreeze in our cars.
 
Ductape!



use strips and press onto the surface w/ animal hair, then remove/repeat... easiest way i have seen so far!
 
JBs said:
Ductape!



use strips and press onto the surface w/ animal hair, then remove/repeat... easiest way i have seen so far!
Click to expand...





Isn't duct tape a bit strong? Im not going to hurt the carpet?
 
BradUF said:
Isn't duct tape a bit strong? Im not going to hurt the carpet?
Click to expand...





LOL Umm no.. in fact when you use it you'll very quickly realise that duct tape on a lot of dog hair will actually not be near enough. Don't worry about the carpet. It's made to take the abuse of your feet in and out all day long. It's not fragile by any means of the imagination.
 
I was going to mention the roller lint brushes but duct tape is cheaper.



I have a big dog, and Febreeze anti-microbial works wonders on his dog bed. Its seems to work better than regular Febreeze.
 
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