1998 Chevy Astro Van - Blah Brown and NAS-T - EHUTH1

[ehuth1]

Well it's been about a week for me since I've posted a S&S. Everyone looks to be pretty busy and hope things stay the same for them! I couldn't pass this one up, even though I wanted too after the first glance... I know I would have lost some customers in the long haul, so this was my chance to show out. This was a referral from someone who knows someone that I cleaned their vehicle..... Weird, yea I thought so too?

Time was about 11am today and I waited for this cream puff to arrive (tick-tock...) Ok they were 30min late, but no problem they were referred to me right... OK know that we all are figuring this out, and know I'm kinda getting sorta P'O'd that their late I'm just going to chill cause this is all I have to do today, no other appoinments.

Well, here they are rolling up. At first I was thinking oh great this thing is going to need 8+ hours... Then my attitude changed when I remember I haven't quoted a price just as of yet. So I took a look, and so will you >>>>>

Lets look around at this Supersized Lunch Box....

Well you and me both are thinking wow not to bad... until (duhhh nu nu nuhhhh < horror movie)

After rear seat removal

This is just what I expected a turn for the worse. I'm talking Koo-laid, mustard, tea, hell all of the food groups was in the floor of this beast. I'm going to go ahead and tell ya I hate doing one of these, but with this one will get me 10 more details. So lets regroup and fine pick the vehicle and set a price....

Oh here is the cracking clear on the hood

and the other side you didn't see.... straight blah..blah..and more fade

Well as you can see the work is going to be tedious and time consuming and being I'm probably going to spend at least 5-8 hours on this one I set the price @ $300 just because of the filth. Guess what.......

They handed me the keys

 

[ehuth1]

First we gotta hit the wheels, tires and wells with the new pressure washer This is a bad boy right here!!

Same one Justin uses and it has the juice to get loose, so I gotta be careful and only run it about half throttle during car washing. It's a commercial grade Honda 9hp with cat pump that puts out 3200 psi ! Foaming through this PW is amazing, bye-bye karcher

After I blasted the wells and all with B52 "The Brown Stuff" I moved onto foaming the Van. I let my dad do this, so that he can get some experience due to the fact that he wants to pick up on the new times and start doing a few on the side his self "Just Washes."

The soap was a mixture of DG901 50% / DP EXTREME FOAM 45% / Dawn 5%

After the wash and scrub with the long handle brush!

Next I moved onto dressing the tires and wells. The tires received some (DT) Street Appeal Tire Shine. The wells recieved AA tire foam. Oh yea I used some wire and chrome wheel acid on the exhaust pipes to bring the aluminum back to new too.

Next we worked on the inside and scrubbed and scrubbed..... I was beat after all the kneeling and bending, so I said lets just give the paint a quick work and see if it's going to need allday or a hour.... Needless to say I moved in with something different and decided I need to hold off on the MENZ and use alittle product thats been shadowed here for awhile called PB SSR3

After I cut the whole van down she became super slick. I clayed during the foam gun so if your wondering (yes I clayed *it is a 1998) Anyways I used the UDM with a orange E2K waffle and boy did it vibrate! I didn't care though it worked to good to call it quits! Once I finished the compounding and clean up I decided to stay PB and throw on some Polish w/Sealant. This stuff has really impressed me in the past and looked for it to do the same here on top of this SSR3. Lets take a closer look.

As you can tell there is no more blah and only waa-laah It wasn't the greatest turn around in history, but it came a long ways !!

Here is a shot of the interior DS, I'm going to get some more pics of the rear carpet and seats tomorrow. The carpet is being cleaned with my extractor and Folex is used for the pre-spotting. Here is a teaser. It started raining so I called it a day @ 3:45 so until tomorrow

 

[Thejoyofdriving]

Wow, thats a junky car. The interior is off the scale. I hope it was worth the 300.

 

[richy]

Great job on that pos...they'll probably give you a tip to boot!! They should

 

[Nica]

Very nice process, I'm enjoying your write up very nice. I learned quickly that when you see vehicles like that and you decide to take the challenge you make sure the $ is there besides it's good to have a challenge once in a wile.

I'm looking forward to interior...the exterior looks wicked and the tires and wells lookd great.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Driven Auto Detail]

That interior is awful! I don't blame you for not being "thrilled" to detail that thing. However, you do amazing work. Thanks for the nice write-up!

BTW, what kind of extractor are you using?

 

[alban61]

Great work on the exterior. From that 1 pic on the interior, it looks awesome!

 

[Tandis1]

Great work, and great write up, really wanted to read everything now Can't wait for the interior.

 

[ehuth1]

Updated Interior Pics

As you can see I couldn't get all of it out but I tried everything from folex to woolite to APC and the extractor...... I thought about spray painting it, but they didn't pay extra for that

Anyways I got some shots of the final inspection and one pic of the hot pink koo-laid I couldn't budge! Thanks ahead and for the compliments already posted. This was a good refresher from all the new ones I've been doing.

Total Time - 7 Hours.

Oh yea almost forgot... Sorry for not taking a before, but as you know it was dusty and covered in filth.. The motor that is, but here is an after for you guys.

And here is the KOOOOOO-LAID...

 

[Nica]

Very nice interior...I like it...looks really good. So what extractor do you have/use? In addition what did you spray the engine with? Just wondering.

I like the 'transformation' you did on it...I'm just so pumped about the movie I'm trying to use as many transformer words I can today

 

[BLKJCK]

Very Nice ehut1

 

[Meghan]

Great job on that, I think new carpet was in order, but you saved it.

 

[Jimmie]

Beautiful work. It looked like she was a goner and you brought her back.

 

[ehuth1]

Very nice interior...I like it...looks really good. So what extractor do you have/use? In addition what did you spray the engine with? Just wondering.

I like the 'transformation' you did on it...I'm just so pumped about the movie I'm trying to use as many transformer words I can today

This is my extractor. I can't remember the brand, but I bought it dirt cheap off a friend that got out of detailing. The mixing compartment holds 5 gallons and the holding compartments holds 4-5 as well. It's fully heated in about 5-8 minutes and works like a charm!

The tire shine is found @ the dollar tree store chain. When your doing 10+ a week part-time you gotta find some corners to cut, but I always rely on AG for my polishes, pads, and information superhighway

 

[Nica]

Wicked, I got to get me an extractor shop vac just aint cutting it for me any more...need something with a bit of a kick to it.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[ehuth1]

Wicked, I got to get me an extractor shop vac just aint cutting it for me any more...need something with a bit of a kick to it.
Thanks for sharing.

NICA the make is a SENSEI.

Tank Capacity: 6 gal. solution, 6 gal. recovery (covers 330 sq. ft)
Pump: 100 psi Surflo pump
Vacuum: 3-stage Ametek vacuum / 130" water lift (the Sensei recovers approx. 80% of total moisture
Heater: Super-fast, 200 degree in-line heater
Hoses: 16 ft. vacuum / solution hose, 25 ft. cord
Deluxe Tool Package: Stainless steel carpet/upholstery tool, stainless steel crevice tool
Self Primer: Built-in priming valve
Housing: Rotational molded polyethylene with lifetime warranty
Handle: Fold-down handle for easy storage
Mobility: 4" swivel front casters, 8" rear dolly wheels for stair climbing
Weight: 60 lb. 28" high x 16" wide x 20" deep
Power Usage: 7 amps.

I think this model retailed for $1800 ??

 

[Nica]

Nice, thank you for the specs. Another question, can it do steam? I don't know enough about these machines...I've been looking around for something that extracts and does steam too...Kevin Ferrall has a nice unit but like I said I'm still re-searching all the types of systems available. It would be nice to use it in the house too.

 

[ehuth1]

Nice, thank you for the specs. Another question, can it do steam? I don't know enough about these machines...I've been looking around for something that extracts and does steam too...Kevin Ferrall has a nice unit but like I said I'm still re-searching all the types of systems available. It would be nice to use it in the house too.

No steam, but I guess if you put straight water in it you would get steam

Glad I could help NICA, good luck with your research.

 

[sparkie]

OMG!!! Tell the truth, it's a different van right!!! J/K
Realy it looks like new. You have turned that thing around. Great work, you kick a$$ on that thing. The whole van looks amazing IMO. I bet you going to have people keeping you busy for some time now... :applause:

I see in the first pic there is a Stanley Steamer van in the background. You should have flagged them down. Maybe save your back a little on the carpet.

How's that soap mix working out for you? Dose it clean well and leave a nice shine? I do love mixing things up myself.

Carlos, steam is 212F or 100C. ehuth1 has a nice extractor at 200F. If you don't mine keep us updated on your research. You have a good eye for products and equipment.

 

[ehuth1]

OMG!!! Tell the truth, it's a different van right!!! J/K
Realy it looks like new. You have turned that thing around. Great work, you kick a$$ on that thing. The whole van looks amazing IMO. I bet you going to have people keeping you busy for some time now... :applause:

I see in the first pic there is a Stanley Steamer van in the background. You should have flagged them down. Maybe save your back a little on the carpet.

How's that soap mix working out for you? Dose it clean well and leave a nice shine? I do love mixing things up myself.

Carlos, steam is 212F or 100C. ehuth1 has a nice extractor at 200F. If you don't mine keep us updated on your research. You have a good eye for products and equipment.

Sparkie the stanley steemer was almost a GO !! I thought about it seriously.

The soap mix is kicking butt Sparkie. I love the D4U foam gun, I just wish I could use it more often. I'm working on new trailer setup, so hopefully everyone will see more carpet shampooing and foam gunning on the road

Thanks for the compliments, they mean alot seriously!