When seats are so bad they need to be powerwashed!!

I am a Detailer at a Ford Dealership, Every F-150 05 or older with cloth seats is a nightmare...I've gotten them stark clean with extractors...but the problem is, when their wet, they look awesome, and I don't get to see them dry (I run the nightshift, 2pm-9pm. The other team opens at 7am) so we never get to be sure about the quality. I've found that pressure washing F-150 seats, because of the massive amounts of foam, is counter-productive. I just don't have the time necessary to allow the foam to dry thoroughly.



Awesome job on the Cruiser tho, and that Escalade is gorgeous.



Why aren't we putting lines in carpet anymore? My boss is big on it, so i've never been told otherwise
 
That's a Terrific job on the interior of the PT. I have only powerwashed my own seats, never a clients. I worry about getting them back in correctly. Also how long does it take to remove the seats, and what's an adverage price for a detail like that. Also the time involved? This is serious good work. Thanks
 
Invigor said:
Ahhh I don't feel so bad about pressure washing seats anymore. If David can do it, so can I! I wasn't sure if it would pass the Autopian standards council tho, so I've never made mention about doing it.
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It's definately not an Autopian way of doing things, but sometimes you have to think outside of the box to makes things right. As long as you take your time and cover all the potenial risks up front, you'll be fine.



VaSuperShine said:
I don't think anyone would agree it's common practice, but if you can get the foam or synthetic 100% dry then more power to ya, it's super absorbent stuff is the problem with using so much water.
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I'd kill myself if I had to do this on a regular basis! The key is minimizing the extent of saturation, drying immediately & extensive dry time. Plus, only do a seat that isn't power, or remove the electronics from it before hand. Cloth seats are usually manual anyways.



JoshVette said:
Wow, very nice work on that interior. Great job.
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Thanks Josh. I appreciate it.



baseballlover1 said:
wow looks great! I am going to be doing my moms PT cruiser when i go to florida and have enouph time to next week. Hopefully its not THAT bad... i havent seen it in a while. My grandma borrowed it and likes it better then her VUE (which BTW is a nice car... not sure about durability though!).
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Thanks Daniel. I can bring my powerwasher over if you need it. My parents live in Jensen Beach.



BigAl3 said:
excellent job david!
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Thanks Al.



Danase said:
You hack! LMAO



Kidding!
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:cry: Stop with your freudian slips. :D



JustinDetail said:
Amazing....
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Thanks Justin. The owner was happy too.



SmackTard said:
I am a Detailer at a Ford Dealership, Every F-150 05 or older with cloth seats is a nightmare...I've gotten them stark clean with extractors...but the problem is, when their wet, they look awesome, and I don't get to see them dry (I run the nightshift, 2pm-9pm. The other team opens at 7am) so we never get to be sure about the quality. I've found that pressure washing F-150 seats, because of the massive amounts of foam, is counter-productive. I just don't have the time necessary to allow the foam to dry thoroughly.



Awesome job on the Cruiser tho, and that Escalade is gorgeous.



Why aren't we putting lines in carpet anymore? My boss is big on it, so i've never been told otherwise
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Have you ever seen the 90's Ranger seats. Worse than these seats. Time is definatley a benefit when powerwashing. If you turn the heat on them to dry, it will create more problems (stiffness & browning) Can you walk the lot to see the outcome of your extractor cleaning?

I just did the Escalade last weekend and the outside was just as bad as the inside of the PT Cruiser! I'll post pictures ASAP.

Here's the thread on making lines:

http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/103110-fascination-making-lines-carpet.html



Showroom Shine said:
That's a Terrific job on the interior of the PT. I have only powerwashed my own seats, never a clients. I worry about getting them back in correctly. Also how long does it take to remove the seats, and what's an adverage price for a detail like that. Also the time involved? This is serious good work. Thanks
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Thanks. Getting them in can be a challenge at times. Especially when they switch positions. Every front seat is usually bolted in with only 4 bolts, but every rear seat is different. Alot of them are clipped in & can easily be yanked out. dry time will depend on the outside temp, but git it atleast 2 full day.
 
Very nice! Next time I'm doing a new M5, I'm ripping out the interior and powerwashing the whole damn thing!!!
 
David Fermani said:
Have you ever seen the 90's Ranger seats. Worse than these seats. Time is definatley a benefit when powerwashing. If you turn the heat on them to dry, it will create more problems (stiffness & browning) Can you walk the lot to see the outcome of your extractor cleaning?

I just did the Escalade last weekend and the outside was just as bad as the inside of the PT Cruiser! I'll post pictures ASAP.

Here's the thread on making lines:

http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/103110-fascination-making-lines-carpet.html
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I don't see alot of early to mid 90 Rangers at the dealership, but I do know how horrible they can be. The bad part about where I work is that we're flat rate, so I don't get the time to do a vehicle that I can take at home. Yes I can and do frequently walk the lot 1 or 2 days later to see the results of my cleaning, I just have a boss who likes to tell us how much we suck at our jobs whenever we make the slightest mistakes. Doesn't give us much incentive to find problems...know what I mean?
 
SmackTard said:
I just have a boss who likes to tell us how much we suck at our jobs whenever we make the slightest mistakes.
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Someone should tell your boss that his people skills suck.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
"her" actually...and she can barely wash the outside of a car, let alone polish or shampoo. She's just there because no one else is willing to stand up to her...I'm going to school for AutoBody in the fall now though...so I don't have to deal with her for too much longer.
 
todd@bsaw said:
I've never pressure washed seats before, but if I knew I could get results like that I may have to start! Excellent detail. It blows my mind how dirty a car can get in less than 4000 miles...
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I have done the powerwash thing a few times. It is unreal how much dirt and grime it takes out of seats. Where the water hits the seat it just runs out brown with filth. I've bought a couple cars to clean up and resell, and I usually have to do this due to the un fathomable filth in the vehicles. I take it one step further and actually remove the carpet and then have at that with 2000psi for a while. Ungodly amounts of dirt comes out. Shampoo and vacuuming could never come close in these cases.
 
Looks great! So how close did you get with the pressure washers wand? I'd be afraid of going through the fabric?
 
lawrencea said:
What is wrong with the people that owned that car. Anybody that treets a new car like that should be shot.
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Yes, because small children can just be told not to make a mess and they'll comprehend and listen :rolleyes1: I do agree that this is an extreme example, and I wouldn't personally see myself or my kids doing this to a vehicle, but none the less, it happens and that's why we all have work out there.
 
I had a customer that had a new Tacoma with a coke bottle that spilled on his Passenger seat. He told me that a "detailer" told him to remove the seat and soak it with a hose and watch the stain come out. Needless to say thats not the way to do it, soaking the seat totally? REALLY?! Any way our Mytee Lite cleaned it perfectly.

Also Automagic Special Cleaner is crazy awesome, removes the hardest of stains from what I have found.

Hydro-Shine is good for a quick shine, but I noticed it contains isopropyl alcohol and mineral spirits, so i don't think I should apply it to already nicely waxed surfaces, it sounds like it would compromise the wax already on? Am I wrong in thinking that. I use Hydro Shine a lot to, but I used it on a vehicle that I prepped and waxed with 3M paste. Recently I noticed after about two washes and useing Hydro Shine it doesn't bead like it used to.
 
salty said:
Very nice work David and i know it helped resale value.



Sorry, but i must make a side note. I detail a lot of Chrysler products and this fabric is a PITA. This includes some Ford 1/2 tons to. If there is any dirt or dust in the fabric, even water will stain it. You go to shampoo it and you must clean an entire section of the seat or the whole seat to make it clean.



I have cleaned many, to find that after it drys, there might be a ring or line, that looks bad. Most times a damp MF rubbed on THAT SECTION of the seat will remove it, usually twice. "That section" means the whole seat or the portion of the seat that looks bad.



Chrysler is fabric guarding their new vehicles with this fabric, i hope it helps.



I also tell my customers that it might help to fabric guard the seats, after the shampoo.



I'm sure this topic will be brought up again.
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I have just started to do a few interiors and right at the start I had a Ford cloth interior that wouldn't take to spot cleaning. I found that a whole panel or seat had to done at one time to prevent spotting. At first I blamed the use of my Bissel LGM as the culprit until reading some with a lot more experience than I were having the same problem. I haven't had one as nasty as the one David has presented here but its good to know if necessary there is a solution. So until I can justify the purchase of a professional machine I'll keep chugging away with my bissel.
 
thanks for the idea! just pulled out my seats from my work truck. The seats were so filthy that everytime I spot cleaned a stain it would just cause a larger ring/stain. I did as you did and added a step...I filled up my weed killer pump spray with vinegar and once overed the seats. The vinegar acts a as a softener, deoderizer and anti fungal as it dries. Not to mention you'll know its dry once it stops smelling like vinegar
 
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