My '90 ZR-1 project update thread

[bdw18_123]

Originally Posted by Z51JEFF

Car looks great.Any idea when it will make some noise?

Hopefully in the next couple months. I just got a new job, so I should be making pretty good money in the next month or so. Once I got some extra to spend, progress will be faster.

[Dynomite]

Just tell me exaclty what carpet cleaner you used (picture would be nice)
Exactly how did you use the carpet cleaner and what kind of brush/process did you use? How much time did you spend on that rear carpet to get it back to mint condition?

It appears most of those spots are oil spots? Did you use SIMPLE GREEN on those spots following up with carpet cleaner?

Very impressive........put these pictures back in your response and I shall reference that single response post as a "how to clean Z carpet"

Your work is better than "Very Impressive" .....your work is PERFECTION

Originally Posted by bdw18_123

The carpet in the rear cargo area was just absolutely filthy, it was probably the dirtiest place in the whole interior. I don't know how someone can let their car get this dirty, but the previous owner apparently didn't care! :ack:

Here is a before picture (took these 2 pics with a different camera which is why the red has a different hue than the other pics). That one white stain was a mass of some kind of sticky, gooey substance. I sprayed some of that electronic contact cleaner to loosen it up, combed it out with one of those small flea combs for animals, then vacuumed the area. Repeated that process several times, then finished off with the carpet cleaner. I'm surprised I was able to remove it! The rest of the carpet I just vacuumed, then used the carpet cleaner.






And here is the after pic, rear carpet installed.

[bdw18_123]

Originally Posted by Dynomite

Just tell me exactly what carpet cleaner you used (picture would be nice)
Exactly how did you use the carpet cleaner and what kind of brush/process did you use? How much time did you spend on that rear carpet to get it back to mint condition?

It appears most of those spots are oil spots? Did you use SIMPLE GREEN on those spots following up with carpet cleaner?
...

This is the carpet cleaner I used. The can on the left I bought 2-3 months ago, it is 22oz. I used 2 of those cans for all the carpet (including the doors) starting from the carpet behind the seats, forward. But the brush kept coming off when trying to scrub, that was the only issue with this design.

The can on the right is the new, redesigned one (as of 8/24/2010). Unfortunately, it is now only 18oz for the same price . But the brush is designed better and does not come off when scrubbing. I went through almost 2 and a half cans of the these for all the carpet in the cargo area. Granted, the stains were heavier so I probably used more.




I did not use any Simple Green on the carpet, not even on the cargo area carpet. Most of the lighter stains I think were maybe some type of soda beverage or something similar. The darker ones were definitely oil, as the PO had put some oily engine components in the cargo area.

Another good thing about the carpet cleaner I used is that it has odor remover in it. When I first got the Z, it had the dreaded "old cigarette" smell to it. Now that all the carpet is cleaned & plastic/vinyl stuff is cleaned and detailed, it smells much better and the cigarette smell seems to be gone.

First, I vacuumed the whole carpet really good to get rid of all the loose stuff. Not with a floor vacuum, but the hose-type shop-vac.

Second, I scrubbed the carpet using the brush on the can vigorously side-to-side then up-&-down (not in a circular motion, doesn't work well) after applying the carpet cleaner, in approximately 6-inch square increments until clean.

Finally, using an old, clean rag (make sure it won't leave lint pieces behind) blot or press down on the cleaned area to soak up the excess cleaner. This also helps to remove some of the dirt/oil/etc. that will be suspended in the cleaner. You can also vacuum the cleaned area again (says to on the can), but I didn't.


If the stain is really heavy, you will have to repeat the 2nd & 3rd steps several times. Also (I didn't think of doing this until just now), immediately after cleaning the carpet with the cleaner, you could spray the carpet with a pressure washer to get all the dirt that is deep at the bottom out.

Some areas in my carpet are slightly darker (they don't really show up in the pics) because some of the stain is still under the fibers. I'm sure if I soaked these areas in carpet cleaner (or even Simple Green might work, though I haven't tried it) and then pressure washed the whole thing, these darker areas would probably be removed.


Before:




After:

[bdw18_123]

Made a little more progress on my ZR-1.

Cargo area of the interior is all back together now. Just have the seats and console lid to do and the interior will be pretty much done. Here is a before and after of the rear speaker grills.




And the completed cargo area.






I've also pressure washed the LT5 and ZF6, turned out pretty good. Some more before & after pics.

Before:

[bdw18_123]

After:

[bdw18_123]

[Jagdpanzer]

Great results especially on the LT5 and ZF clean up.
What prep did you do before using the power washer?
And did you use just water with the power washer or with a cleaner solution?

[bdw18_123]

Originally Posted by Jagdpanzer

Great results especially on the LT5 and ZF clean up.
What prep did you do before using the power washer?
And did you use just water with the power washer or with a cleaner solution?

Before powerwashing I taped up/plugged every opening that I didn't want water getting into (cylinders, oil passages, etc.). I used some tape called 'Gorilla Tape', it looks like black "duck/duct" tape but is stickier and stronger. I also remove most of the remaining sensors.

I then soaked all the oily/dirty areas with engine degreaser to loosen the grime. For some of the heaviest soiled areas, I had to spray degreaser then powerwash several times. I just sprayed the degreaser separately then used the pressure washer with just water, I didn't spray a mixture of water/cleaner.

[LGAFF]

Car is looking great....keep up the good work!

[todesengel]

Last time I cleaned the carpet in my car really well my wife got the grand idea that I could do the carpeting in the house as well. Needless to say we now have hardwood throughout.

Car looks great man, lot's of hard work, but looks like great rewards as well