What could clean up this interior?

[dads87]

Please feel free to chime in if you have tips. These are from my 1987 Power RAM W150 LE, standard cab. Most of the interior looks good for its age. The driver's side seat fabric is pretty bad, but I haven't even tried shampooing it yet. Same with the carpet. I plan to get rubber floor mats because with our other vehicles I'm used to picking them up and dumping them, or spraying them down. I also considered a vinyl or rubber liner that replaces the carpet, but original is seeming more "right" even as I type this. Maybe I used the wrong search term, but I haven't found on these forums what folks use to clean up the interior.

 

[nlambert182]

I think I'd start with a good quality APC (all purpose cleaner) spray on all the hard surfaces, agitated with a detailing brush (soft bristled) and then wipe it clean with a microfiber. You may need to go over it a couple of times. Purple power (APC... not degreaser), diluted simple green, etc...

For the seats, I might try something like Chemical Guys fabric cleaner, agitated with a softer bristled brush (or a brush attachment on a drill) and then follow that up with a carpet shampoo/extractor. For the floor I'd just use a carpet shampoo/extractor and cleaner of your choice.

Look for the least invasive chemicals that you can use at first and only increase their strength if/when absolutely necessary. That's a pretty nicely preserved interior! Looking forward to after pics.

 

[David Vandercook]

We used 409 carpet cleaner on our VW that was in similar shape, but don't do that unless you like the way 409 smells!

 

[dads87]

I think I'd start with a good quality APC (all purpose cleaner) spray on all the hard surfaces, agitated with a detailing brush (soft bristled) and then wipe it clean with a microfiber. You may need to go over it a couple of times. Purple power (APC... not degreaser), diluted simple green, etc...

For the seats, I might try something like Chemical Guys fabric cleaner, agitated with a softer bristled brush (or a brush attachment on a drill) and then follow that up with a carpet shampoo/extractor. For the floor I'd just use a carpet shampoo/extractor and cleaner of your choice.

Look for the least invasive chemicals that you can use at first and only increase their strength if/when absolutely necessary. That's a pretty nicely preserved interior! Looking forward to after pics.

Thanks for those tips! Not sure when I'll be doing this, but I will post after photos.

 

[dads87]

We used 409 carpet cleaner on our VW that was in similar shape, but don't do that unless you like the way 409 smells!

That's a good point, for sure. I think I'll avoid the new lemon-scented Simple Green my wife bought, too. She probably got the lemon-scented version to make sure I wouldn't use it.

 

[Stoffregen Motors]

Man, you've got a lot of threads going. Why not consolidate them in one place, like your own build thread? Or is that not the way we do it here on this forum?

To your question - when I want a deep clean, I'll remove the carpet and hang it from a line and pressure wash it with Purple Power and let it dry in the hot NorCal sun. I do the same for the door panels and dash. I also go through all the HVAC ducting to get rid of decades worth of foul smelling gunk. And if the entire interior is out, I'll apply that same technique to the interior of the truck. Spray it down, hose it out.

There's no better way to get rid of stink or grime than a deep cleaning.

 

[dads87]

Man, you've got a lot of threads going. Why not consolidate them in one place, like your own build thread? Or is that not the way we do it here on this forum?

To your question - when I want a deep clean, I'll remove the carpet and hang it from a line and pressure wash it with Purple Power and let it dry in the hot NorCal sun. I do the same for the door panels and dash. I also go through all the HVAC ducting to get rid of decades worth of foul smelling gunk. And if the entire interior is out, I'll apply that same technique to the interior of the truck. Spray it down, hose it out.

There's no better way to get rid of stink or grime than a deep cleaning.

Yeah, I had it that way at first, as an all-in-one, but then I saw the different categories (Interior, Exterior) and thought it might be better to split it out.

Although I won't drive the truck in sand, I will be parking in areas that have sandy soil and sometimes just plain sand. I am leaning toward removing all the floor carpeting and getting a good floor liner made to fit the truck, and then using vinyl or rubber mats. I get that it won't be "original," but I'm not planning to show this truck or sell it, and want it easy to clean. I'm planning to use it for short trips (10-15 miles) when I need to haul mountain bikes to the trailhead, take the wakeboards or kayaks to the beach, or just go downtown and frighten the tourists back onto the sidewalks. We have another vehicle for longer trips.

 

[Stoffregen Motors]

Yeah, I had it that way at first, as an all-in-one, but then I saw the different categories (Interior, Exterior) and thought it might be better to split it out.

Although I won't drive the truck in sand, I will be parking in areas that have sandy soil and sometimes just plain sand. I am leaning toward removing all the floor carpeting and getting a good floor liner made to fit the truck, and then using vinyl or rubber mats. I get that it won't be "original," but I'm not planning to show this truck or sell it, and want it easy to clean. I'm planning to use it for short trips (10-15 miles) when I need to haul mountain bikes to the trailhead, take the wakeboards or kayaks to the beach, or just go downtown and frighten the tourists back onto the sidewalks. We have another vehicle for longer trips.

Some forums like a consolidated personal thread, others not so much. It's easier to track your progress (which I am definitely interested in) when it's in one place. No biggie...

Tough call on the interior. I lean towards leave it alone. There's an old saying in the car world - you can restore a vehicle 100 times over, but it's only original once.

I didn't used to have this outlook, but over the years I've developed a sliding scale of when, why and how to mod a vehicle, and the same for keeping one original. If it has A and B, but not C, then that's one direction. If A and C, but not B, that's another direction. Your truck is clean (meaning it is in relatively great shape for the age), it has family history, and it's all there. To me, it's earned its stripes and should be honored as such. That's where the term "honest restoration" comes from. Valuing the vehicle for what it is and leave as much alone as possible. One of my most common conversations here in my shop is me talking customers out of spending money to restore their car or truck. I usually try to tell talk them into leaving it alone, or as much as possible. (They rarely take my advice)

On the other hand, I understand the desire to mark it with your own vibe.

One way to look at it, if your intended use turns out to be more than the carpet can handle, change it out for rubber floor mats then.

 

[Stoffregen Motors]

Oh, forgot to mention. Rubber floor mats without sound deadening or insulation do not isolate the heat from the exhaust. That may start to drive you nuts after a while. My '57 Land Rover has nothing on the floor, and my feet get hot after a while, and it does bother me.

 

[Marshall]

I bought a older Toyota truck with carpets, never been cleaned I don't think.
I pulled the seats, and took the carpet out, loaded them on a flat deck and a role of money and headed to car wash in town with hot water and lots of soap.
Did both lots of soap and lots of rinse. thou I did have cold water and pressure washer at home, cold water don't cut the crap.
They looked as new when done, I think all the mud protected them from sun and wear.
It had about 300,000 on it
If you can hang the floormats on something , it works much better and dry much better.
The gray plastic could be spray painter, you can buy spray cans made for that, if it don't clean up, or install fake leather trim??

On the seats, I would check with a good upholstery shop and see what they think, You can restrain the color if the cloth is solid.

 

[David Vandercook]

Oh, forgot to mention. Rubber floor mats without sound deadening or insulation do not isolate the heat from the exhaust. That may start to drive you nuts after a while. My '57 Land Rover has nothing on the floor, and my feet get hot after a while, and it does bother me.

Lol, that's probably true, my floor is made of road signs and license plates and coated with bedliner and that's all. It's a bit hot, but that doesn't matter when you got removable doors!

 

[Stoffregen Motors]

I pulled the seats, and took the carpet out, loaded them on a flat deck and a role of money and headed to car wash in town with hot water and lots of soap.
Did both lots of soap and lots of rinse. thou I did have cold water and pressure washer at home, cold water don't cut the crap.

Good call on the hot water wash.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

That model year truck looks great with the factory rubber floor liner. Invest in some sound deaden as mentioned but the rubber mat would be my go to. Easy for future cleaning

 

[tron67j]

Yeah, I had it that way at first, as an all-in-one, but then I saw the different categories (Interior, Exterior) and thought it might be better to split it out.

Although I won't drive the truck in sand, I will be parking in areas that have sandy soil and sometimes just plain sand. I am leaning toward removing all the floor carpeting and getting a good floor liner made to fit the truck, and then using vinyl or rubber mats. I get that it won't be "original," but I'm not planning to show this truck or sell it, and want it easy to clean. I'm planning to use it for short trips (10-15 miles) when I need to haul mountain bikes to the trailhead, take the wakeboards or kayaks to the beach, or just go downtown and frighten the tourists back onto the sidewalks. We have another vehicle for longer trips.

My first '94 Ram had a rubber floor, no carpeting. Looked awesome, cleaned very easily, and held up very well. Plus holds no odors. I highly recommend that and dispense with any floor mats after, they just slide around. I used to use my compressor to blow debris out and wiped it down every once in a while.

 

[Trashy2121]

Super Clean. Purple bottle, get from Walmart. Make sure to dilute heavily and make it stronger as needed. Rinse thoroughly. Great stuff and stupid affordable.

 

[farout75]

Please feel free to chime in if you have tips. These are from my 1987 Power RAM W150 LE, standard cab. Most of the interior looks good for its age. The driver's side seat fabric is pretty bad, but I haven't even tried shampooing it yet. Same with the carpet. I plan to get rubber floor mats because with our other vehicles I'm used to picking them up and dumping them, or spraying them down. I also considered a vinyl or rubber liner that replaces the carpet, but original is seeming more "right" even as I type this. Maybe I used the wrong search term, but I haven't found on these forums what folks use to clean up the interior.

View attachment 562129View attachment 562130View attachment 562131View attachment 562132

Time for a new interior!

 

[dennisok]

The seat shop has oem replacement covers for your seats. You remove existing covers and install. They also have preformed foam. It is a new seat then your done.

 

[Tominator223]

Tuff stuff. Spray with water 1st. Then TS. Then a good shop vac.

 

[Lsujker]

Simple green and spot shot till your hands hurt.

 

[Dusty]

Please feel free to chime in if you have tips. These are from my 1987 Power RAM W150 LE, standard cab. Most of the interior looks good for its age. The driver's side seat fabric is pretty bad, but I haven't even tried shampooing it yet. Same with the carpet. I plan to get rubber floor mats because with our other vehicles I'm used to picking them up and dumping them, or spraying them down. I also considered a vinyl or rubber liner that replaces the carpet, but original is seeming more "right" even as I type this. Maybe I used the wrong search term, but I haven't found on these forums what folks use to clean up the interior.

View attachment 562129View attachment 562130View attachment 562131View attachment 562132

Always thought the dash design on that vintage Ram was the best in the business.

I don't see anything that won't clean up with commonly found liquid cleaners although some might be better than others. Regarding the seats I might consider reupholstering. I doubt that the original seat material is available, but reupholstering could offer replacing the padding, which it might need to make comfortable again.

The suggestion to remove the carpeting is sound advice, especially if highly soiled.

Send us some pictures when you complete the clean up!

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 127502 miles.