Fender Wells with Carpet

Van185

Van185

New member
I seem to be getting more and more cars in my detail shop with carpet inside the fender wells. I have tried everything from APC and a brush, using a vacuum cleaner, presser washer, carpet brush and still I'm having trouble getting the carpet inside the fenders clean. Just wondering what other detailers area doing with this same problem. :angry:
 
Van185 said:
I seem to be getting more and more cars in my detail shop with carpet inside the fender wells. I have tried everything from APC and a brush, using a vacuum cleaner, presser washer, carpet brush and still I'm having trouble getting the carpet inside the fenders clean. Just wondering what other detailers area doing with this same problem. :angry:
Click to expand...
I do most of those things also..........any left over stubborn things embedded I use a rubber gloved hand and go over it and seems to get the last bit out ,sometimes you have to work it a bit to get it all out .
 
I now have one of those cars. In my opinion the idea is a horrible idea. I'd be interested to know if anyone understands the mindset behind this idea. Sound deadening, yes and.... ?
 
For daily drivers driven in rain or snow: Folex, Meg's APC, or Griots Interior. Dwell, high-pressure hose rinse or electric PW. It takes several rinses before the water flushes out clear. I usually turn the hose trigger upside-down for the upper part of the fender lip to get all the grit removed (where rust can start). Just a brush and car wash soap doesn't quite do it for our daily drivers. Sometimes I'll even force the rinse water out with the Blaster.
 
Carpet on the outside? Never seen that... Any pictures? I've tried Googleing it but only found pictures of carpet in the trunk above the fender wells.
 
4u2nvinmtl said:
Carpet on the outside? Never seen that... Any pictures? I've tried Googleing it but only found pictures of carpet in the trunk above the fender wells.
Click to expand...

Not my picture but here's what it is.

2015-04-26%2016.44.45.jpg


I have these on my car in the fenders as well as underneath the engine as a cover.
 
I really don't know if I could live with those...don't they wear badly over time? Between all the [stuff] that'll happen in normal use, and the apparently aggressive measures required to clean them, they look like "deterioration over time" waiting to happen.

I've only dealt with them on a few Service Loaners that I just had to clean up, and I always thought to myself that they'd be a deal-breaker for me.
 
I'm ocd but getting everything out 100% is not and should not be the number one priority. I get out as much as I can (usually the rest isn't visible) and then move on anything more is a waste of time and short changing the customer on what they really pay me for, paint work.

If they are really that crazy then it will cost more, just like a leatherique process it's above an beyond what a normal leather cleaning conditioner requires of a detailer... thus surcharge.
 
Fabric-like material for fender wells is sort of a strange application, but they do hold up pretty well from my experience. Road paint can just be scraped off without gouging anything. For me, getting getting those rinsed out is just part of the total cleanup process. Definitely not a highly-skilled process, and I'm a weekend guy, so I put some time aside for this type of stuff. Plastic front wells can be more frustrating to me, trying to get all the tar and other junk out of there without using stuff that fades out the black abs (I guess) plastic.
 
Concours wanna b -

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You !

Finally, someone knows how to spell the word Concours correctly !!!

As in Concours d"Elegance - YES !!!
Dan F
 
Concourswanna b said:
Fabric-like material for fender wells is sort of a strange application, but they do hold up pretty well from my experience. Road paint can just be scraped off without gouging anything. For me, getting getting those rinsed out is just part of the total cleanup process. Definitely not a highly-skilled process, and I'm a weekend guy, so I put some time aside for this type of stuff. Plastic front wells can be more frustrating to me, trying to get all the tar and other junk out of there without using stuff that fades out the black abs (I guess) plastic.
Click to expand...

When you get to faded out black plastic or even just dead black plastic in fenderwells, I have found that a few coats of C/G Black on Black works wonders, and lasts longer than say - Meguiars Hyper-Dressing....

I am sure you have your favorite/s too...
Dan F
 
I have that junk in my rear wells. I use hose pressure to get the big stuff (if I'm using he pressure washer I use that but I rarely do), then I use the same APC I use on the tires on the wells, use the Daytona wheel brush to comb it out, the APC acts a lube, and it rinses pretty clean. If you get a trashed car it may take more work but the process should be the same.
 
Stokdgs said:
Concours wanna b -

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You !

Finally, someone knows how to spell the word Concours correctly !!!


As in Concours d"Elegance - YES !!!
Dan F
Click to expand...

Yep, I try to make make it to a few Concours every year, especially Keeneland, KY, Ault Park in OH, and Radnor, in PA. There used to be a nice show at the Penn State Berks Campus near Reading, PA that my Dad used to take me to every year, and that's what started it.

But we just like to drive a nicely cleaned-up daily driver to the show, just to park in the "regular folks" field as spectators, hence the "wanna b" part of the name. We're not bringing like a vintage Islero or something, but we wish it were true:P.
Sometimes you see some interesting stuff just in the show spectator parking... like an Aston Lagonda or a DD 550 Maranello.

Pebble Beach is on the bucket list. Some day...
 
Stokdgs said:
When you get to faded out black plastic or even just dead black plastic in fenderwells, I have found that a few coats of C/G Black on Black works wonders, and lasts longer than say - Meguiars Hyper-Dressing....

I am sure you have your favorite/s too...
Dan F
Click to expand...

Thanks Dan, I'll have to try the CGBOB. I'm a fan of Adam's In/Out spray, for ease of use. I've tried the old-school method of using Lemon Pledge, also, lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top