Carpet rejuvenation.

[Alexx]

I would like to restore my carpet to it's original condition if possible. I would like to get a procedure on how to clean and restore my carpet. It is for the interior carpet inside the BMW 318is. I heard about a paint or a dye that you spray on the carpet after washing it and the result is pretty impressive. I would like to get a link on how to rejuvenate my carpet.

[rhogg]

I just "painted' my carpet this weekend. It was a badly stained grey carpet and all I did was thoroughly vacum it and then spray on a couple of coats - I was amazed. The hardest part was removing the carpet from the car. I bought 3 cans of the paint at Canadian Tire @ $8/can. The paint is called Vinyl and Fabric paint.

[Alexx]

I would also like to get a link on how to remove my carpet properly. I have looked in the service manual but there was nothing that could help me. I do not want to destroy anything.

[rhogg]

Well I searched extensively for a removal DIY with no real luck. Here is my attempt

1) Remove front seats 4 bolts each remember the wire on the driver side
2) Remove rear seat ( you can do this last and have something to rest on in the meantime. Pop the bench out Two 10mm bolts at the bottom each side hold in the seat back. They are hidden under some fabric. Then lift up of the two back hooks - takes some strength
3) Remove Parking brake boot lift from front
4) Remove rear console: remove ashtrays one 10mm bolt at back then lift from back
5) Remove front console: Pop out shift boot Remove ashtray and the two screws remove the two trim plugs one on each side ar the front near the fire wall. I had a screw in to the passenger side that needed to be removed from the inside. I had to pry up the left side and squeeze my hand in with a screw driver to get it - it was a b****
6) Remove the front speaker panels. One screw and pull
7) Loosen the trim peice with the seatbelts. Two trim plugs each at the bottom.
8) Door sills. I did not get these out and broke one trying to pull them out. I ended up just pulling the carpet out from underneath them. I still need to figure this part out but you do not need to remove them to remove the carpet
9) OK start at the back and pull the carpet away from the sides. The foam is bonded to the back of the carpet so it can be awkward. You should be able to free the carpet everywhere except the gas pedal and the metal bar that holds up the dash.
10) Gas Pedal: Pry out the circlip on the linakge behind the pedal and pull the connection apart. Look at the back of the gas pedal you may have a clip that you can push down on and release the pedal. On mine there was no clip and I ended up pulling the carpet over the pedal.
11) Unscrew remove the clutch and gas pedal stops
12) There are a couple of grommets on the sides near the back of the front seats. One was missing on mine and the other I just pulled the carpet over.
12) Your carpet is now free except for the metal post and the front portion. In my searches people said to cut the carpet at this point. I did for but would have been able to pull it out from under the heater box. - Some claimed they couldn't. I would try to pull it out first. The post would be easy to disconnect I think if you were not cutting the carpet.

Thats it the capet can be removed. With the large amount of foam it is awkward but it comes out. This is from memoory but I did this 5 days ago jsut feelign my way forward so you shoudl be good to go. I found a floor in very good condition although with soaked foam under the driver mat that has taken a couple of days to dry out.

The rear peice of carpet just lifts out if you have the back bench removed
You can ask about installation tomorrow. I think the foam will be dry enough to reinstall this afternoon. It was painted this morning :)

[Alexx]

What kind of paint do I need to paint the carpet ?

[rhogg]

" I bought 3 cans of the paint at Canadian Tire @ $8/can. The paint is called Vinyl and Fabric paint."

It is a generic paint among all the other auto spray bombs at Canadian Tire. You have a choice of black or grey. I used grey and used 2 cans to do my very badly stained carpet. This was enough for 2 complete coats with additonal coats to fully cover and blend the badly stained areas.

I did not "brush" between coats as some suggest.

I did paint the vinyl kick pads as well

[adam12hicks]

Weird I can't find a Canadian Tire ANYWHERE near Dallas? :)

[318kid]

Weird I can't find a Canadian Tire ANYWHERE near Dallas? :)

Haha... There is some that's like that except the brand is Duplicolor. Just walk into any autoparts store, and if they're decent then they should have it.

[Alexx]

It seems that my heater core is in the way. Do I need to cut the carpet ? If so, where do I cut ? Help is greatly appreciated.

[ak96ss]

It is FAR easier to cut the carpet - I just did it without cutting, and it was such a huge PITA that I wouldn't do it that way again; AR though I am, it ain't worth the grief!

Cut as high up around the heater box as you can get, there are openings for the drains and such that you can just follow along.

[Alexx]

Thanks for the quick repy. I would like to have a procedure if possible. There must be a procedure somewhere.

[P. Kennedy]

I painted mine too. Made a a big difference. Found Carpet & Vinyl paint at AutoZone.

[rhogg]

Weird I can't find a Canadian Tire ANYWHERE near Dallas? :)

...and there' s a good reason for that! There would be one near Alex though.

[Alexx]

At last, I have managed to get the carpet out of the car. Under my carpet, I saw two round holes. What should I do next in order to complete my carpet rejuvenation ?

[rhogg]

????? get new floor pans...

There are a number of drainage holes with plugs in the floor pans. If you have two that are open the plugs are gone. You can likely get generic plugs at ... Canadian Tire... or order specific ones.

You want them closed because if they are open they will contribute to rust - especially in Montreal. Clean up any rust you see and put a good primer /paint on it.

Other than that your next steps are vacum, spot clean if you like, and then spray.

[Alexx]

My carpet is now painted. It looks new. I am happy.

[BMWManiac]

My carpet is tan, I just replaced my worn cloth interior with black vinyl, I am retaining my tan panels....should I paint the carpet tan (stains easily, black marks on carpet) or should I paint it black? Also, there are too options for black, glossy and flat....didn't expect to see that for carpet...made me nervous because I don't want it crusting up on the fabric.

[BMWManiac]

What color did you end up painting it? How many cans do you recommend?

[Alexx]

Ebony.
Also known as black.
Part number 510.
www.plastikote.com

Four cans needed.

[BMWManiac]

I'm skeptical, but my carpet is trashed anyways, so why not!

[rhogg]

So was I but was really happy with the results. I used 2 cans of grey. The carpet isn't new but doesn't looked stained

[Frankie]

How do you remove those door "trim" sills without braking them?

[Alexx]

How do you remove those door "trim" sills without braking them?

I do not know but you do not need to remove them.

[BMWManiac]

I do not know but you do not need to remove them.

Did you just pull the carpet out from underneath them? To remove them, and they look like the ones in my E36, you have to 'slide' the trim piece off the plastic tabs...or, find a way to pull up where each of those pieces are without breaking the plastic....tough to do though!

When replacing them, be sure to just put the plastic inserts into the trim and then insert them into the vehicle....don't attempt to slide them back on because its just a pain in the butt.

[Asserti]

How do you remove those door "trim" sills without braking them?

remove the speaker cover in the front. Slide them as much as you can forward. Then you can try slide them back without letting them go on the white thingies again.

If there are only a few connection points left, pull straight up.

[Cobra Jet]

How do you remove those door "trim" sills without braking them?

Are you referring to the black plastic pieces that run the length of the interior rockers?

In my convertible, once the seats were removed, the L & R pieces were attached to the rockers via black "button" clips. The button is a two piece clip - the top of the "button" is actually a plastic push pin that gets inserted into the lower half, which resembles a plastic rivet. I used a V shaped tool, wedged it under the top of the push pin button head, pried upward until the plastic push pin popped off/out, then just removed the lower part of the rivet. If I remember correctly, there are 4 (or 5) per side. Once you get all of those out, remove the black plastic cover at the rear which conceals the seat belt mechanism. After removing all of the buttons and the seatbelt covers, you can then pull the black plastic rocker covers out by pulling upward on them. Install is reverse of removal.