TLR at end of post

As I have a 06 F-150, and the detailing section is not as busy as it is here (in terms of readers and responses) i wanted to ask here.

I have at least 6 hours tomorrow, from 6-6:30 am to 1Pm, and the day after the same time.
I have at least 10 hours I can waste cleaning my truck, I figure tomorrow I can clean the outside and engine, and Thru for the inside.

I figure 2 hours to clay bar and 2 to wax, that gives me plenty of time to let the engine soak and then hose it off.

The day after I can take all day to give the inside the TLC it needs.

I am dealing with both inside and outside, so it would not really fit in one or the other anyway.

I have $50-70 to spend on buying what else I need.

Firstly,

I plan on wiping the truck down, its already clean and then its time for my one a year clay bar cleaning and follow up waxing.

I plan on buying some QD today and the wax, as well as what ever I will need to clean the inside.

After that I am going to use my Megs back to black on all my outside plastic/black trim. The area under the wipers at the end of the front window, and my bed rails (factory liner) and top of my bumper.

After that I plan on trying to dress the engine up a little, nothing to harsh on the engine.

I was thinking of spraying it down with purple power, let it soak and then hose it off with light pressure.
Is there any places I should look out for/not get wet?

Then the normal tire/wheel well and mud flap cleaning.

The major things for me at least, is the inside.

Here are my issues, sorry no pics atm.

Headliner, my headliner has some black spot on it, like if you had dirty/grease hands and touched it.
How do i clean this?

My seats, I have the tan insides, and my seats have several spots on them, spot cleaner has yet to remove them, and my 20 out of 40/20/40 is really dirty on the top/back where the cup holders are.

I also managed to get a small blood spot on my seat from a cut I did not know i had

I thought about taking the truck to the $0.25 wash, they have a carpet shampooer there and trying it.

I really just want something that is going to bring the stains out of my seats.

Next, the carpet. I have several spots on the carpet and I want to get it back to spotless (or as close as I can get anyway) because i am going to order some weather tech mats front and back.

Normally, no one sits in the middle seat up front, and I already have a built ford tough mat I can use for the center, unless it is worth ordering a husky liner center cap. I don;t think it is, but I would like your thoughts.

What I was going to do is get my carpet really clean, and order the weather tech mats front and back in black, (I like how they look better than the huskys) and use my built ford tough mats to cover the center hump in the front.

Will that give me good coverage?

TL;DR

1) My interior and headliner is really stained, what do I clean it with?

2) is megs back to black safe to use on my bed rails (factory liner) and black on my rear bumper.

3) can i spray purple power on my engine and hose it off?

4) what is the best way/product to remove stains from my carpet? and the 20 center seat where the hatch and cup holders are?

Here is my current list of products, anything else I might need? I know i will need something to clean the stains from my carpet, I really want to get it looking as close to factory new as I can, before the floor mats go in.

(edit) I just ordered the WT mats, should be here in 3-5 days.

What should I do with my old factory carpet mats and built ford tough ones?

megs tech wax 2.0
Clay bar and QD
Armor all cleaning wipes
Spot cleaner (not effective)
Megs back to black
Tire black
Purple power (needs to be bought)
towels and MF towels.
Rags
Q-tips for inside cleaning.
Crome polish
Window cleaner
Good smelling stuff in a bottle. likely cherry.

Thanks for your time.

I will be sure to take pics and videos tomorrow before I start and after i finish.

Please, any advice is very welcome.

 

I may also buy some paint or something to repaint my under side, dad has a rack and I want to re paint or linx-x or something the scratched places under the truck.

Thanks for the move!

 

to answer some of your questions...

there is nothing better you can do better by yourself to clay bar and wax the truck, other than getting your whole truck professionally buffed but it can get a little pricey.

as for the inside (door panels, dash, door trim, pretty much anything plastic) take any type of interior cleaner

(i prefer a non shine spray, because I hate the greasy film alot of cleaners leave behind such as armor all)

and spray down the whole section that you are concentrating on, and take a paint brush that is taped off so only a 1/2" of the bristles are showing and use it to clean the section you are concentrating on.

after you are done cleaning the section you where working on, take an air compressor (hopefully you have access to one) and blow out everything you just worked on and wipe it down with anytype of rag or towel, make sure you concentrate on all the cracks and crevases (i.e. door trim, A/C vents, etc...)

it takes a while but this is how i use to do it when I worked as a car detailer up in buffalo NY

as for your carpet and headliner, the best way to remove pretty much any spot is to rent a steam cleaner or get it steam cleaned, if you dont have access to one, I use "resolve carpet cleaner", after I spray my truck floor I just scrub everything down thoroughly and then vaccum it out using a shop vac.

hope this clears up some questions you had, and good luck

 

I believe it's Mother's Back-to-Black...and it sucks! Almost anything else is better than that crap. Black WOW is the best, but you'd have to order it.

Claying is fine, but you will undoubtedly have swirl marks that will need correction before you apply an LSP. For an over the counter paint correction, try Megs Ultimate compound followed by SwirlX (available at Wally-World). You will also need a DA buffer to get the swirls out unless you have arms like Popeye. Then use an LSP...NXT 2.0 is OK, but there are better ones out there (Blackfire Wet Diamond).

Jim

 

I dislike the grease left behind my self, I quit using armor all for that reason.

I will likely do this at my dads garage, so I will have use of a compressor and plenty of psi if I needed it, as well as any tools i may need.

I will look for that at the parts store today on lunch, i have from tomorrow to monday, to my self away from work. I should be able to get the truck as close to factory new clean provided the inside stains and spots come out.

So I can use the air to blow the dust out of places i can not reach? I have a whole new box of Q-tips for smaller spaces that I have done before last year.

Its just time for my yearly bumper to bumper/ top to bottom clean.

The dash and doors are not really dirty, its just the headliner and carpet.

What I might do is remove the front seats and fold the rears up after moving my amp and rent a rug doctor at lowes, its $20 a day plus the cleaners.

would a rug doctor work? I could afford that, if it would work.

I might be able to get it all cleaned up tomorrow, i can start at 6:30 Am and work until its done, doing the clay and waxing first, and anything else that needs to be done when its cool, and do the inside after it gets hot.

I figure 6AM to 4 or 5PM would be plenty enough time to do the entire truck.

If the rug doctor would work, what cleaners should I buy with it? or would it be to much water? I think I can rent the hose attachment and use that.

 

Watch the detailing vids at www.adamspolishes.com

They're pretty good and cover the basics.

- NCSU

 

thanks for the advice and comments everyone.

I am going to try the rug doctor with the hose attachment to clean my headliner and carpet.

I have already clayed the truck once, and as far as i can see/tell there are no swirl marks. Either I am luck, or my paint color hides them well.

I am just going to do what i did last time, but I will look for the wax jaymz listed.

Thanks for the video links! can't watch them at work though.

 

The best way to clean the carpet, etc. that I've seen is Folex and a Bissell Little Green Machine.

 

MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE!!!!! whenever you go to hose your engine off that the truck is running! If it's not running you run a risk of water getting in numerous places that it shouldn't be. I learned the hard way the first time I ever cleaned an engine without it running. Some people might say they've never had a problem without the engine running but don't risk it.

 

ok, so I stopped and got some simple green + purple power in spray bottlees along with some brushes and QD.

The SG I guess can be used on my carpet? if not I can use it with the Purple power to clean my engine bay and under truck as well as my mud flaps.

i got some bleach white to clean the tires with.

I also got some megs interor shine/cleaner as well as some syn turtle Ice wax.

Heck the ice wax said I can use it on plastic, not that I trust that.

 

You can use it on plastic. It doesn't leave any residue. I like that product actually. Nothing like Zaino. But i wouldn't bad mouth it.

 

I use Rug Doctor all the time and thats a good choice to keep from getting the carpet too wet. All the other carpet cleaners I have used just leave too much water behind.
*Make sure you remember to also rent the upholstery attachment. It's useless without that attachment.

Use the products they sell for the RD machine.
The new RD carpet cleaner detergent will say Oxy something....the old cleaner does not. It will do fine on your carpet and headliner and if you pull the seats out it will be that much easier. I also get the stain remover and pre-treat spots that the first going over will not get out. Be prepared to do hard to get to places by hand, scrubbing with a damp sponge and detergent followed by a damp clean sponge, followed by a towel to get it as dry as possible. In this summer heat things should dry out pretty quickly.

As for engine cleaning...do a site search for your year model and read what to watch out for and not get wet.

Good luck!

 

gonna post the pics in the 04-08 area, thanks all!

 

Just a note on vinyl and trim care.

For the very best in reviving and protecting your exterior and interior trim you need to check out Meguiars new "Ultimate Protectant". This is the best trim and dash protectant that I have used bar none. It has some light cleaning abilities but this is a protectant first and formost, so applying to a clean surface yields best results. Applied sparingly it will yield long lasting results and revive and darken your faded trim to that factory new look or better, as well as leaving the very best in UV Protection. Goes on easy and dries quickly WITHOUT leaving a greasy finish. This stuff actually bonds to your trim and dash just as Wax/sealant would to your paint, so you can expect it to last on the exterior trim through multiple car washes and rain days. Check it out it will be the best $8.95 you ever spent

Oh and in case you were wondering I'm not affiliated in any way with Meguiars !!