Joined: Jun 11, 2005 Posts: 825 Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 8:00 pm Post subject: How-To: Make stock carpet like new
Keep in mind that any trim panels use retainer clips which should be removed using the tool, otherwise buy a pack of them to replace them when the break. You run the risk of breaking the panels etc without the tool of course.
Needs:
Metric socket set, screwdrivers
SIMPLE GREEN cleaner (I used about a half gallon of it, buy it buy the gallon & buy a spray bottle) $10
Aerosol vinyl & carpet paint/dye (I used 1.5 cans of Duplicolor) $5/can
(color of your choice, I got some tan that matched my factory carpet fairly well)
1. Remove seats, front & rear
2. Remove console & door jamb trim
3. Unscrew seat belts from front (torx bits needed here)
4. Cut center portion by console (stock carpet runs under dash & would require removal of center dash section...not worth it, just cut the edges loose)
5. Remove carpet all in one piece (fold it up before removing and all the loose crap will come with it), dump crap out & shake out any loose bits.
At this point, here's what mine looked like (got the car from a very untidy woman with 4 kids...melted crayons, old cookies, spilled coffee & sodas _everywhere_, actual mold growing in places, you name it). Sadly, this was just the stuff under the seats etc...we had already removed a trash bag full of -goodies-.
I chose to remove the foam padding & cut new ones from extra padding I had. You can clean them in place, or peel it off & clean it separately.
6. Soak carpet with a hose for a while
7. Drain off excess water, SOAK everything in SIMPLE GREEN (this is the key)
8. Get a stiff nylon scrub brush and scrub until you start to see the original color...then scrub some more.
9. Rinse off with the hose for a while. Be sure to get all the cleaner out so it's not sticky.
10. Find somewhere to hang the carpet & leave it out in the sun. I setup a folding ladder in the driveway & just draped the whole thing over it. Took a few hours to dry reasonably.
Here's what mine looked like at this point
11. Be sure it's dry; mine was still a little wet in spots & it worked fine anyways. It was 90+ degrees out tho, so it was drying really quick.
12. Shake up your paint & get to work. I sprayed the entire thing in two full coats. Any bad spots I soaked with it. It helps if you take your nylon scrub brush between coats & fluff up the pile a bit.
Mine looked like this after one coat of paint
WOW!
Now reverse the assembly steps in the car to get the carpet back in.
TADA!! Looks like new!
I also removed the seats & shampooed them all, and removed the rear seat belts & soaked them & all the trim in a solution of SIMPLE GREEN & hot water for a few minutes. All good as new, and all the melted candy came right off.
The smell is a little rank from the spray paint at first. Leave the windows down overnight if you can. It airs out pretty quick.
Last edited by coldblooded on Wed Jun 22, 2005 1:14 pm; edited 2 times in total
highanddry Paying Member - Feb 05 COTM
Joined: Jun 14, 2004 Posts: 8474 Location: Port Elgin, Ontario (where?)
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 8:52 pm Post subject:
Nice job! The way you guys treat the aesthetics of your cars simply amazes me. I just don't have the patience for that.
Two questions:
1. When are you coming over to do mine?
2. Why did you waste your time on an automatic? All automatics should be shot .
_________________
major wrote:
Life ain't for everyone.
crazy_sumo wrote:
it remember me my center refletor before i paint it.
Monoxide Paying Member
Joined: Jan 10, 2005 Posts: 269 Location: nashville, tennessee
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 8:54 pm Post subject:
wow nice...
_________________
coldblooded Paying Member
Joined: Jun 11, 2005 Posts: 825 Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Sun Jun 19, 2005 9:00 pm Post subject:
Contrary to popular belief...patience _is_ a virtue. Cleanliness ain't bad either.
highanddry wrote:
1. When are you coming over to do mine?
2 part answer:
a. You're in Ontario...I'm in TX...hmmm
b. I was traumatized enough by the things living in this vehicle to not want to do it again any time soon. The drainage trough for the trunk actually had algae...{shudder}
highanddry wrote:
2. Why did you waste your time on an automatic? All automatics should be shot .
I've heard the same about Canadians, but whatever
Seriously though, just picked up the car for my 60mi commute for a daily beater, looking forward to the nice gas mileage. Mebbe when the auto dies I'll go 5 speed, but it is awfully nice to eat my muffin & drink my coffee in the auto on the way to work.
Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 769 Location: St Petersburg, Florida
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 3:49 am Post subject:
What brand of dye did you use and where can I find it? Nice job. I was planning on replacing my carpet but now....
_________________ Pete's Pride
1991 Escort GT
Lowered 1''
coldblooded Paying Member
Joined: Jun 11, 2005 Posts: 825 Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:47 am Post subject: Re: Make stock carpet like new
Hate to bust out the RTFM on you, but as stated before, Duplicolor is the brand I used (I think VHT makes some as well), and it is not dye, it's spray paint for vinyl & carpet. You can get it at pretty much any auto parts type store (Autozone, Pep Boys etc). I'm sure there are plenty of online sources too (not worth shipping on something like that IMO).
coldblooded wrote:
Needs:
Metric socket set, screwdrivers
SIMPLE GREEN cleaner
Vinyl & carpet paint (color of your choice, I got some tan that matched my factory carpet fairly well) - Duplicolor is good stuff
Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 769 Location: St Petersburg, Florida
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 6:37 am Post subject:
Cool thanks. I live in a small place, I'll have to plan a road trip to the big city and do some shopping. Our Autozone is terrible. Nobody knows anything about cars in that place. Our Napa store is pretty good but unless you drive an F150 you need to order parts.
_________________ Pete's Pride
1991 Escort GT
Lowered 1''
coldblooded Paying Member
Joined: Jun 11, 2005 Posts: 825 Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 7:21 am Post subject:
{NOTE: these vendors are not necessarily recommended, they just turned up as a good example of acceptable products to use}
Joined: Feb 27, 2003 Posts: 5276 Location: Thunder Bay / Brantford
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:09 pm Post subject:
coldblooded wrote:
Mebbe when the auto dies I'll go 5 speed, but it is awfully nice to eat my muffin & drink my coffee in the auto on the way to work.
I used to think the same way. I now have a 5spd and still eat and drink while driving, just requires more timing
Matt
_________________ http://www.cardomain.com/profile/fixitmattman How to fix your car:
1. Buy a Haynes manual
2. Read Haynes maual
3. Read and search appropriate threads, trust us, it's been covered before
4. Fix car
5. Consume beer of job well done
96EscortLX Moderator
Joined: Jun 11, 2004 Posts: 10865
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:22 pm Post subject:
I have cruise control in my grand prix, and she drives straight as anything... do I can eat, drink, and air out my feet while driving! Hell, I can even accelerate with the touch of a finger! braking can be dangerous with feet out the window though...
_________________ 2007 Jeep Wrangler - Current
2006 Honda Civic - Current
1992 Honda Prelude 4WS - For Sale
1992 Ford Escort - Sold for parts - I still have the ownership though!
1992 Pontiac Grand Prix - Donated to charity
1993 Chrysler Dynasty - Sold for parts
highanddry Paying Member - Feb 05 COTM
Joined: Jun 14, 2004 Posts: 8474 Location: Port Elgin, Ontario (where?)
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 5:35 pm Post subject:
Now that this thread has been completely hijacked, I wonder if that stuff could get the skid mark outta my boxers...
Ok, back on track. Good job with the carpet.
_________________
major wrote:
Life ain't for everyone.
crazy_sumo wrote:
it remember me my center refletor before i paint it.
Fatty95LX
Joined: Oct 17, 2003 Posts: 91 Location: Las Vegas
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:28 pm Post subject:
Excuse my language here but that is simply **** amazing. There is practically no remains from the **** that was on the carpet to begin with. Wow i must do this now! Anyone know if the dye/paint will re-color bleached spots. Long story short i spilled bathroom cleaner behind passenger seat.
Joined: Mar 23, 2005 Posts: 481 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject:
Looks a hell of alot better than before! Good job!!
When I first received my wagon, my carpet looked alot like yours did. There were melted crayons, old pieces of half sucked candy, spilled soda and just about everything else you could imagine, including lots of dog hair. I took all the seats out as well as the console and soaked all the candies and crayons with goo-gone and let it sit till they dissolved. Then I soaked the carpet with warm soapy water and proceeded to scrub the hell out of it. After a good soak, I took the garden hose into the car and let the water run on low all over the carpet while using a wet/dry-vac to vacuum up the dirty water before it had a chance to accumulate. I easily dumped 60 gallons of black water down the sewer using this method. The carpets looked almost brand new when I was done and I was pretty impressed. Mind you, I recieved the car in the winter and waited till summer to do this otherwise the carpets would have never dried. After a good 48 hours in the summer heat with the windows down, the rug was soft, clean and smelled nice and fresh
coldblooded Paying Member
Joined: Jun 11, 2005 Posts: 825 Location: Austin, TX
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:10 am Post subject:
kar2n101 wrote:
Looks a hell of alot better than before! Good job!!
When I first received my wagon, my carpet looked alot like yours did. There were melted crayons, old pieces of half sucked candy, spilled soda and just about everything else you could imagine, including lots of dog hair. I took all the seats out as well as the console and soaked all the candies and crayons with goo-gone and let it sit till they dissolved. Then I soaked the carpet with warm soapy water and proceeded to scrub the hell out of it. After a good soak, I took the garden hose into the car and let the water run on low all over the carpet while using a wet/dry-vac to vacuum up the dirty water before it had a chance to accumulate. I easily dumped 60 gallons of black water down the sewer using this method. The carpets looked almost brand new when I was done and I was pretty impressed. Mind you, I recieved the car in the winter and waited till summer to do this otherwise the carpets would have never dried. After a good 48 hours in the summer heat with the windows down, the rug was soft, clean and smelled nice and fresh
This is actually real similar to what I did (we had the hose just running over it for about 30 mins w/ dirty water just flowing off of it), I just sprayed it with the aerosol dye when I finished to really freshen it up.
Fatty95LX wrote:
Anyone know if the dye/paint will re-color bleached spots. Long story short i spilled bathroom cleaner behind passenger seat.
This carpet had bleached spots, crayon'd red spots, unidentifiable colored/dark spots...95% covered and unnoticeable. The dye, however, did not match perfect (I think the Simple Green & mad scrubbing may have bleached it a bit lighter), so I just sprayed the whole thing. You could likely recolor your carpet completely if you used enough coats of this stuff.
Joined: Jun 02, 2005 Posts: 2619 Location: Vancouver, Washington
Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 10:46 am Post subject:
Quote:
Keep in mind that any trim panels use retainer clips which should be removed using the tool, otherwise buy a pack of them to replace them when the break. You run the risk of breaking the panels etc without the tool of course.
ok, i really want to do this to my car now, but i have a few questions.
1. what is this tool you're talking about?
2. where can I get it?
3. how much does it cost?
4. where are the retainer clips placed on the car?
thanks a lot, i just hope mine turns out as good as yours did.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Powered by The Ford Escort Owners Association
engines, turbos, underdrive pullies, clutches, intakes, exhausts, suspensions, wheels, tires, brakes, drag racing, autocrossing, audio
.
