Check out the smoke damage in this VW Golf. Opinions welcomed.

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WaxManRonnie

New member
I PM'd Accumulator on this car, But I thought you guys would get a kick out of this. Guy called me and I went out to see this VW. It was in the garage during a house fire. As you can see it's sustained some pretty good black smoke inside. The outside I'm not worried about. I'm waiting on to see if he'll accept my quote to detail it. :soscared:

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I've never seen the inside of a car this bad. Anyone else have experience with this? What did you use or would you use? I'm guessing there will be many many rags involved with this one. Little worried about getting the smell out too.



I told the owner to park it in the garage and roll the windows down a bit to air it out...
 
I have no experience with this type of damage whatsoever. With that said I would start with completely removing the interior from the car. Cleaning the metal shell inside first and testing various parts of the upholstery to see what was necessary to restore to original condition. It could range anywhere from a APC wipe-down or a dry cleaning product or all the way to a complete power wash.Kind of like the expression of start with the least aggressive method and continue until you find the right combination. I know this is most likely not the answer you are seeking but just sharing what my process would consist of.I'm sure with the experience on this board, someone will have done similar work before that can chime in with helpful info that can help.
 
You could try this method...






Sorry, couldnt resist. Man that car is a mess! Good luck. Might I recommend purchasing rags in bulk!
 
hotrod66paul said:
I have no experience with this type of damage whatsoever. With that said I would start with completely removing the interior from the car. Cleaning the metal shell inside first and testing various parts of the upholstery to see what was necessary to restore to original condition. It could range anywhere from a APC wipe-down or a dry cleaning product or all the way to a complete power wash.Kind of like the expression of start with the least aggressive method and continue until you find the right combination. I know this is most likely not the answer you are seeking but just sharing what my process would consist of.I'm sure with the experience on this board, someone will have done similar work before that can chime in with helpful info that can help.
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Completely agreed. I'd strip that interior first, and don't forget to run some sort of cleaner through all of the A/C vents since I'll guarantee soot gathered in them as well.



Personally I think a steam cleaner would be your friend on this one big time.
 
You'll have to take everything a part. I mean every panel. Anything that's bolted, screwed, or snapped. You will have to wiped down all of the parts plus the car itself.



This will make for a nice make over!
 
Your gonna need a counteractanct to break up the smoke molecules to remove the smell. Just search "counteractants smoke damage" and find a product you choose to use. GL that things a mess :(
 
Well that looks like a nightmare to say the least. If you do get this car all cleaned up, please post some after pics. I'd be really interested to see how you tackle that project.
 
I agree with the others that you'll have to strip the interior completely. An ozone machine should take care of any residual smoke odor as that's what they use for dwelling fires. I spent 35 years in the property claims insurance business and these machines work really well. Ozone is also used to remove the smoke odor from clothing and upholstered furniture after a fire. You should be able to rent a portable ozone machine. I worked only with claims on buildings but I believe David Fermani works with auto claims and should be able to give you more specific advice.
 
I've done 4 in the last few months, insurance claims. Everyone is different, being the cause of fire and damage done. The last few have being electrical fires of some sort. To be honest the smell was not that bad on these ones.



The last one had the headliner, carpet and some seat covers replaced, but the rest of the interior looked like the OP's pics.



Vacuum all fabric first and anything else possible



As soot is a very spreadable substance. My plan of attack is a dust cloth or two. Get as much as possible, removed dry.



Then I use a mix of APC and deodorizer, and soak terry cloths in it and wipe and dry with another cloth. All surfaces including glass. The worst will be any rubber grab handles, as it seems to absorb the black, but can be made to look good with strong APC.



Fabric. Deodorizer spray and then Pre-treater spray. Brush, dwell and extract. Spray deodorizer again. Let dry.



Ozone overnight.



Detail every inch of interior again with deodorizer damp cloth, changing as needed. Clean windows.



Kind of a shortened version, but the bones are there.
 
I did a car like this, it was in a garage when the house caught fire. It will take too much time and cleaning to make it right. I did DrivePur 3 or 4 times to get the smoke out. Usually it's 1 shot and done, but this was nasty. Because of the type of car it is, I would suggest the insurance company total the car out.





John
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm going to tell the owner that he should have the insurance company replace the headliner, carpet and seats at minimum. Not sure what the car is worth. Maybe they'll replace everything. If he already paid the $500 deductible, then that might be his best bet.
 
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