Most of my vehicles have a neutral smell that suits me just fine. However, I picked up a 2008 Range Rover Sport that had been sitting for several years at a local body shop. Long story made short, it had been in a minor fender bender. It has a cream colored interior, full leather and only 15,000 miles. The interior looked perfect. The owner was not in need of the truck. The RRS just never seemed to get off of the back burner. While sitting behind the shop, a family of rats decided to take up residency. A year of poop and pee and then dead rats later, the interior, while it looked fine, smelled plain awful. The auto shop owner got a divorce, closed his shop and moved to Hawaii. The owner of the RRS lost interest in the vehicle and listed the truck for sale.
I bought the RRS for a next to nothing. I did not realize the magnitude of the odor-abatement project. I ended up pulling the entire interior, right down to the metal except the headliner. In the process, I discovered that the rats also bitten through about 40 wires. I threw out the old carpets along 8 mummified rats, a couple of huge suckers. They seemed to mostly like to die behind the dash and under the center console.
After the wires were repaired, I put in new carpeting and thoroughly cleaned recleaned the seats, wiring looms, door panels and all dash parts. I wiped the headliner with simple green and Nature's Miracle Pet Smell Remover. Although the smell was greatly diminished, I could still smell an odor. I tried several of the Dakota Odor Bombs. It was a neutral smell, but seemed to me more like nuclear floral scent. That helped a ton, however, there was still a tinge of odor, masked by an industrial floral smell.......I left the doors open for months. I cleaned and recleaned every available surface with Girots Garage Interior Cleaner, great scent, but the odor remained. I tried Simple green, 409, and other handy scented cleaning products. I treated and cleaned the leather seats with Lexol cleaner and conditioner. While others couldn't smell the odor, for me it was still there.
Chemical Guys opened a store in San Diego in June, 2015. I was in the area and stopped in to pick up some rubber mat conditioner. I happened on some Chemical Guys Leather Scent Spray. I picked up a bottle and headed home. After a test spray to make sure it didn't fade the interior, I sprayed the carpets, the headliner, the seats and door panels. WOW, it worked. It doesn't really smell like leather, at least it doesn't smell like the leather in any of my cars......maybe picture opening a shoe box of a pair of new leather shoes, but it worked. It has a fresh smell, that has a hint of something like leather, but it totally covered, masked, overwhelmed the former rat smell. I was pleasantly shocked. I sprayed a small amount on the carpets of my Chevy truck, leather interior, again, it has a faint hint of actual leather, but the smell is not offensive and is pretty powerful. I spritzed a bit on the back seats in our Land Rover LR3. My wife asked what I did to her car.....she observed that it smelled like I had cleaned something but she couldn't make out what the smell was....again, not exactly like leather, but ...... It has been two weeks, the doors on the RRS have been open, outdoors the entire time. The smell of the Chemical Guys Leather Scent Spray still is strong. Not hint of rat or anything offensive. Great product that I would highly recommend.
I bought the RRS for a next to nothing. I did not realize the magnitude of the odor-abatement project. I ended up pulling the entire interior, right down to the metal except the headliner. In the process, I discovered that the rats also bitten through about 40 wires. I threw out the old carpets along 8 mummified rats, a couple of huge suckers. They seemed to mostly like to die behind the dash and under the center console.
After the wires were repaired, I put in new carpeting and thoroughly cleaned recleaned the seats, wiring looms, door panels and all dash parts. I wiped the headliner with simple green and Nature's Miracle Pet Smell Remover. Although the smell was greatly diminished, I could still smell an odor. I tried several of the Dakota Odor Bombs. It was a neutral smell, but seemed to me more like nuclear floral scent. That helped a ton, however, there was still a tinge of odor, masked by an industrial floral smell.......I left the doors open for months. I cleaned and recleaned every available surface with Girots Garage Interior Cleaner, great scent, but the odor remained. I tried Simple green, 409, and other handy scented cleaning products. I treated and cleaned the leather seats with Lexol cleaner and conditioner. While others couldn't smell the odor, for me it was still there.
Chemical Guys opened a store in San Diego in June, 2015. I was in the area and stopped in to pick up some rubber mat conditioner. I happened on some Chemical Guys Leather Scent Spray. I picked up a bottle and headed home. After a test spray to make sure it didn't fade the interior, I sprayed the carpets, the headliner, the seats and door panels. WOW, it worked. It doesn't really smell like leather, at least it doesn't smell like the leather in any of my cars......maybe picture opening a shoe box of a pair of new leather shoes, but it worked. It has a fresh smell, that has a hint of something like leather, but it totally covered, masked, overwhelmed the former rat smell. I was pleasantly shocked. I sprayed a small amount on the carpets of my Chevy truck, leather interior, again, it has a faint hint of actual leather, but the smell is not offensive and is pretty powerful. I spritzed a bit on the back seats in our Land Rover LR3. My wife asked what I did to her car.....she observed that it smelled like I had cleaned something but she couldn't make out what the smell was....again, not exactly like leather, but ...... It has been two weeks, the doors on the RRS have been open, outdoors the entire time. The smell of the Chemical Guys Leather Scent Spray still is strong. Not hint of rat or anything offensive. Great product that I would highly recommend.
