Professional Detailers: NEED HELP CLEANING INTERIOR *WARNING* PICS MAY CAUSE CRINGIN

S

Saigon

New member
Hey Guys/Gals,



I wanted some input on cleaning the interior after picking up a used 2007 335 convertible. I love this car but these stains make me irritated everytime I see them! Also, the car was previously owned by a vietnamese female that overused perfume and caused the interior to smell like perfume everytime I stepped into the car.



As of right now I have these products on the interior that has helped:



-Clean Air Genie Fogging Freshener Auto interior odor Eliminator

-Steam cleaned w/ CG Lightning Fast

-Folex (for deeper stains)

-CG Leather Cleaner/ Zaino Z10 Leather Conditioner



So far, the perfume scent is semi-gone. There is still a hint of it left. The carpet is much cleaner, but there are still spots I cannot get rid of even with these products I have used.



Problem:

-There is a very dark red spot on the passenger side seat and there are still black marks that I cannot remove. I tried using Folex on the dark red spot under the passenger seat with heavy agitation, as it helped, it did not remove the red spot completely.

-There are black spots all over the car, I have not used Folex on these spots yet but it has seemed to help.

-Also there are black spots on the driver seat that I cannot remove w/ Lightning fast.



Solution:

-What else should I do to get rid of the female scent that has been in my car? I want my car to smell like BMW leather again like the ones at the dealership, even their used vehicle has that nice leather smell.



-I am thinking about re-steaming the carpet because the solution I used (CG Lightning Fast mixed with water) was not strong enough and there are still black spots on the carpet

-What should I do for the interior smell? (I still have a bottle of Clean Air Duct treatment that I have not used, will that help?)



Pictures: *WARNING REAL NASTY!*



Red stain under passenger seat:



1-10.jpg




2-10.jpg




3-8.jpg




Black Spots:

4-4.jpg




5.jpg




Any input would be greatly appreciated, come on detailing experts you can help me fight this! Thank you.
 
Seems pretty simple and straight forward really. Like David suggested the "Red stain remover" is probably the best option available for that nasty red stain. The scuff marks will wipe off easily enough with a wetted down Magic eraser. The smell will probably need to be delt with by a Malodor product that will eleiminate the bacteria that is causing the smell. There are literally thousands of options in that department. You can even try an ozone treatment to see that cures the issue. Then once the smell has been eliminated you can use a leather treatment (like leathertique) to not only condition your leather but bring back that new leather like smell that is more what your after.
 
car interior does not look bad at all. I have never tried that red stain remover but since Mr. Fermani posted it up i'm assuming it works and am looking to possibly pick up a bottle for myself.
 
maybe i should pick up a bottle of BMW leather conditioner? I really want that new car smell back the ones like the used cars and new cars have at the bmw dealership :(
 
If you want to try the Red Release type products stop any more cleaning attempts. It can make the stain permanent.



If you live in a large center, a janitorial supply place might have red stain remover.



If that doesn't work, SEM (there are others) sells spray paint type aerosols that will mask 50% or more of the stain if you follow the directions. There are a few other dyes, some are water based that you need to dye the entire carpet.



If the black spots are on fabric try a solvent, like mineral spirits.



On the plastic try your finger nail first, then a mild APC with a dwell time and terry towel, then IPA with short dwell time and terry towel. In that order. If you see it working then continue.



Then if they do not come off you can move to more abrasive measures like the magic eraser. I have done and seen damage done by this method, so be careful.



As far as the smell, it will dissipate with time, but you can speed it by cleaning and wiping the whole interior with a diluted APC (driver seat probably worst) and then spray/wipe again with a deodorizer like Febreze.



A more specific deodorizer or ozone could be used if that doesn't work.
 
salty said:
If you want to try the Red Release type products stop any more cleaning attempts. It can make the stain permanent.



If you live in a large center, a janitorial supply place might have red stain remover.



If that doesn't work, SEM (there are others) sells spray paint type aerosols that will mask 50% or more of the stain if you follow the directions. There are a few other dyes, some are water based that you need to dye the entire carpet.



If the black spots are on fabric try a solvent, like mineral spirits.



On the plastic try your finger nail first, then a mild APC with a dwell time and terry towel, then IPA with short dwell time and terry towel. In that order. If you see it working then continue.



Then if they do not come off you can move to more abrasive measures like the magic eraser. I have done and seen damage done by this method, so be careful.



As far as the smell, it will dissipate with time, but you can speed it by cleaning and wiping the whole interior with a diluted APC (driver seat probably worst) and then spray/wipe again with a deodorizer like Febreze.



A more specific deodorizer or ozone could be used if that doesn't work.
Click to expand...



What would be a good APC? What does APC stand for? Thanks!
 
Also, George@DI suggested I use this for the odor, the odor is somwhat gone after the magic genie, but I want to try this as well:



Odor Bombs



I don't think the ozone is really needed, as it is just perfume?
 
You might want to replace the cabin filter before you try to remove the odor.



I have done a few cars in the past that have a strong odor and replacing the cabin filter has helped a lot. Perform a good interior cleaning/extraction and your odor might be completely gone.
 
I actually have several of those exact odor bombs, They do a good job of smell removal but they will make a mess. They are made for sizable rooms. And when you concentrate it down the the cabin of a car it can't dissapate like designed so it will produce a white powdery foam that makes a terrible mess
 
Jakerooni said:
I actually have several of those exact odor bombs, They do a good job of smell removal but they will make a mess. They are made for sizable rooms. And when you concentrate it down the the cabin of a car it can't dissapate like designed so it will produce a white powdery foam that makes a terrible mess
Click to expand...



I agree with Jake ... I used one on a Ford Explorer and it had so much pressure that all the white foam ended up covering my headliner ... and I placed the can on the floor.
 
Since I'm a gal...I absolutely hate any stain or mark on anything, so I make sure I have an arsenal of things that remove any stain completely. And, there is no such thing as a stain that is permanent IMO...some stains are "set' (and it appears that this one is in the carpet), but that doesn't mean it cannot be removed.

Try a bottle of Ultra 'stain-z-out'. Believe it or not, the stuff disolves/removes pen ink from my white cotton lab coats...it's unbelievable! From looking at the red stain, yet not knowing what it is, I believe that it will take that chemical red stain out of your carpet...pour (actually saturate) it onto the stain and start rubbing/massaging it in (you might have to do this a few times)...the BMW will smell like bananas for a while afterwards, but that's probably better than the perfume scent and the red carpet stain. Look at the utube video for this product (google it)...I use it, and always and keep a bottle of it handy, so I can promise you that it works just like the infomercial says...it even removes permanent ink without damage to the fabric/carpet/plastics/paint. Because it's biodegradable, and organic (made from banana oil), it will not damage surfaces like other chemicals will.



If stain-z-out, would fail (and I don't think so from looking over the stain), then try powdered oxyclean diluted, and let it sit on the stain....it may lighten the area of the carpet, but then you will only just have to use diluted oxyclean in the carpet cleaner on the entire car carpets to make it uniform in color...the carpet might be lighter in color, but that's better than having a red stain...oxyclean will also remove the perfume smell.



Good luck.
 
While personally I have used many different odor bombs over the years, the best being from TMP, which I can not find any more and was $22 a bomb, the concept is still a cover up.



Most are made for 5000 cubic feet of space. I have let an entire bomb go off and the results were less than desirable. From the solvent saturated head liner, to the film left on all surfaces and the overpowering smell. Personally citrus smells is the only one I found bearable.



With any smell or odor you must remove as much as possible before you start to deodorize. Not the other way around. It is a waste of chemical to saturate the surface before cleaning first.



If the lady was perfume soaked herself then the driver seat/area needs to be addressed. If she sprayed perfume on the interior then it must be cleaned with a fairly strong cleaner first, then try a deodorizer.
 
Just took a closer look. The seats are leather, so to use chemicals to break down the oils in perfume may cause some damage. The stain-z-out also has wipes that can remove and break down anything that is in leather (including perfume oils), and since it is banana oil, it will also condition the leather as well. The stain-z-out will remove the scuffs from the sides of the seats as will the magic eraser mentioned earlier.



Shampoo the car's carpets after removing the stain. I think that all detailers need a bottle of this stain-z-out (IMO)...takes graffiti off car doors, etc, without damaging the finish. Take a look at the informercial...it will also show you how to use it on leather. I bought my first batch of this stuff from the shopping channel here in Canada, but I can get it at other stores around here now.



And just think of your profit margin if you can remove graffiti off someone's car door for around $1.:getdown



Good luck.
 
Why do you feel the need to mention that the owner was a vietnamese female....has nothing to do with the post. Let's all try to be professionals here....
 
For the odor, you can try ohogwash.com.



As Salty mentioned, you can get the red stain removers from a janitorial supply house.



For the scuff marks, you might want to test whatever you use. I seem to remember some BMWs having a thin coating on their hard plastics which could come off with scrubbing.
 
For the scuff marks, you might want to test whatever you use. I seem to remember some BMWs having a thin coating on their hard plastics which could come off with scrubbing.[/QUOTE]



That is kind of the problem with giving advice over the net. Many different plastics and materials and the heel marks could be from rubber, synthetic or natural etc.



And anyone that has used the Magic Eraser on different cars know that it can damage some materials.
 
I know I am late on this but the best way to remove a red stain is with a heat transfer remove the seat lay a white cloth down over the red stain take a hot iron and go over the red stain it will remove about 80 per or more make sure not to go to slow.the dye frome the stain will transfer to the cloth
 
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