Detailing Time

[Grumpaw]

does anyone have a particularly vacuum they recommend for interior detailing? i started looking for something battery powered, like a makita, but all of them seemed to be one piece units that didn't have a hose. Almost like a dust-buster from the 90s. That's all well and good, but something I need to get into tight areas.

If you want to get all the crud out of the carpet, you gotta use a goooood vacuum....not one of those toy battery jobs.
I use my regular ole shop vac with a crevasse end for the tight areas and the regular ends for the big areas.
I have never seen a portable battery or 12 volt vac that would do what I consider a "good" job.

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[GhostStrykre]

If you want to get all the crud out of the carpet, you gotta use a goooood vacuum....not one of those toy battery jobs.
I use my regular ole shop vac with a crevasse end for the tight areas and the regular ends for the big areas.
I have never seen a portable battery or 12 volt vac that would do what I consider a "good" job.

so i went down a detailing rabbit hole on reddit. found a lot of recommendations for a vacmaster beast VFB511B0201 (insane model name) that were attributed to the crazy high amount of power/suction the vacuum is able to get (consistent with your comment, steve). this led me to a youtube channel that kept getting a lot of references, and i found this video:



the aforementioned vacmaster beast was the previous winner, but to my surprise, craftsman put out a product with more power and seemingly more thoughtful attachments. i'm going to continue reading up on these two, but will go with one.

i've got a german shorthaired pointer that i drive around all the time. the dog seat cover i have helps a ton, but eventually any form of windows down driving and the fur gets stirred up and blown around. those GSP hairs are tough to get out of upholstery and carpet. i hate having fur all over my truck, so here's hoping one of these works out well!

thanks to you both for the responses!

 

[subquark]

does anyone have a particularly vacuum they recommend for interior detailing? i started looking for something battery powered, like a makita, but all of them seemed to be one piece units that didn't have a hose. Almost like a dust-buster from the 90s. That's all well and good, but something I need to get into tight areas.

I use a Ridgid (not battery powered):
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-...Locking-Hose-and-Accessories-WD4070/202077241

With a better hose:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-...-RIDGID-Wet-Dry-Shop-Vacuums-LA2570/305626336

I also use a dry tire brush to bring up dirt as well as a Tornador for getting nuts loosening dirt and dust (needs air compressor):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004V9UDK8

 

[Grumpaw]

so i went down a detailing rabbit hole on reddit. found a lot of recommendations for a vacmaster beast VFB511B0201 (insane model name) that were attributed to the crazy high amount of power/suction the vacuum is able to get (consistent with your comment, steve). this led me to a youtube channel that kept getting a lot of references, and i found this video:



the aforementioned vacmaster beast was the previous winner, but to my surprise, craftsman put out a product with more power and seemingly more thoughtful attachments. i'm going to continue reading up on these two, but will go with one.

i've got a german shorthaired pointer that i drive around all the time. the dog seat cover i have helps a ton, but eventually any form of windows down driving and the fur gets stirred up and blown around. those GSP hairs are tough to get out of upholstery and carpet. i hate having fur all over my truck, so here's hoping one of these works out well!

thanks to you both for the responses!

Honestly, and decent brand name shop vac with a 4 to 5 hp rating will do an excellant job with the use of the proper hose end. Smaller 2-3 hp will get the dirt off the top, but if you want to get the carpet "deep"cleaned and the dog hair up, you need a 'good sucker" and that is 4 to 5 hp. (yes we have 2 dogs). And, a larger more powerful vac isn't too much more than a "little sucker".
Craftsman at Lowes, Lowes, Rigid, Shop Vac, all good brands.

 

[subquark]

Honestly, and decent brand name shop vac with a 4 to 5 hp rating will do an excellant job with the use of the proper hose end. Smaller 2-3 hp will get the dirt off the top, but if you want to get the carpet "deep"cleaned and the dog hair up, you need a 'good sucker" and that is 4 to 5 hp. (yes we have 2 dogs). And, a larger more powerful vac isn't too much more than a "little sucker".
Craftsman at Lowes, Lowes, Rigid, Shop Vac, all good brands.

Those words are gold!

Kate spent over an hour getting Cheech hair out of the seats, rug, dash, door pockets, you name it!

She spent 4 hours detailing the inside of Soupie as a Father's Day present. =)

 

[bsr956]

I have this, really like it. https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-...p-Vacuum-with-Accessories-Included/5014204715
Has accessories, longer hose - 4ft hose doesn't fit in the Rangers very well

 

[veedubtuner]

"Squidward" is due for a serious detail. I have everything, just need to find the time, probably gonna be a 2 day ordeal lol ?. Strip wash, clay bar, wash again, polish, ceramic coat, ceramic trim coat, ceramic glass coat, then tire wash, and then tire coating.

Got all my coating and tire stuff from https://dura-coating.com/ and the polish and strip wash from Adams
https://adamspolishes.com/products/adam-s-strip-wash
https://adamspolishes.com/products/adams-scratch-swirl-remover

Interior I keep pretty clean so it'll probably be a quick wipe down and vacuum.

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

the aforementioned vacmaster beast was the previous winner, but to my surprise, craftsman put out a product with more power and seemingly more thoughtful attachments. i'm going to continue reading up on these two, but will go with one.

Could you post a link for the new Craftsman unit you found, please?

 

[GhostStrykre]

Could you post a link for the new Craftsman unit you found, please?

Sure thing! I'm hyperlinking the text so it doesn't have a gigantic URL:

AMAZON Link!

 

[GhostStrykre]

Alright I went and picked up the Craftsman at a local ACE Hardware for $119. I’ll admit, I was a bit surprised by this thing. I didn’t realize how many little thoughtful things were features on this vacuum. Many of them to cut down on clutter.

Performance-wise it definitely does above average. This is probably one of the better options id expect to see that isn’t professional or prosumer equipment.

All these surfaces were pretty covered in dog fur despite the best efforts of my seat cover. I’m a windows down, if possible, guy and that just blows the fur all over. My dog is a 2 year old German Shorthaired Pointer, so she’s got that difficult wiry fur that likes to stick into the fabric rather than lay on it. Big time PITA to vacuum and I’d say this thing did a solid job (should’ve taken a before pic). The vacuum came with several attachments that really assisted me in getting a lot more of the tough spots than I can usually get at.

Note to anyone considering this vacuum: it comes with two hoses, one super long one and a shorter one. Suction is seriously impacted when using the longer hose, so I used the shorty for maximum performance.

Here’s some of the convenience stuff. I thought the vacuum was either wall mounted or not. I didn’t realize the wall mount was separate from the vacuum itself. It pops right on and off for easy storage. The wall mount has a hose holder and a cubby at the bottom for the attachments. Pretty freakin slick and unexpected.

Here it is detached with a nice little carry handle. Some reviewer complained that it didn’t come with caster wheels, but I prefer that. Definitely can’t let this thing get too full tho or it’d suck to get on and off the wall mount.

Oh, and the power cable is surprisingly long as well. I still used my extension cable, but felt it was worth mentioning.

So yeah, nice little unit. Thought I’d share.

EDIT: Oh and one last thing, all the hoses and some other parts snap together. Helps to prevent accidentally detachments. Very thoughtful touch, tho I’ll mention all those snaps are plastic. I can see them wearing out over time. But hey, it’s $119 so I guess I shouldn’t be too mad.

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

@GhostStrykre - nice! Thanks for the review. I just ordered the same unit. Looking forward to removing a half-year of 5-year-old from my back seat

 

[GhostStrykre]

@GhostStrykre - nice! Thanks for the review. I just ordered the same unit. Looking forward to removing a half-year of 5-year-old from my back seat

i'm curious what you think. how'd it go for you?

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

i'm curious what you think. how'd it go for you?

I may get the same unit - my new house (Sept. possession) has a central vacuum system and if the canister is mounted in the garage, I won’t need the Craftsman. But, I can’t recall if it’s in the utility room or the garage. ?‍ If it’s mounted in the utility room I will likely get this to help keep the garage clean.

• Compact
• Powerful
• Detachable wall mount
• Ranger5g member endorsed

?

 

[Grumpaw]

I may get the same unit - my new house (Sept. possession) has a central vacuum system and if the canister is mounted in the garage, I won’t need the Craftsman. But, I can’t recall if it’s in the utility room or the garage. ?‍ If it’s mounted in the utility room I will likely get this to help keep the garage clean.

• Compact
• Powerful
• Detachable wall mount
• Ranger5g member endorsed

?

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

i'm curious what you think. how'd it go for you?

It's awesome! I decided to not wall mount mine for time being and I'm fine with using just the handle. I basically put it down near me and the hose is plenty long enough. I ordered the craftsman "Micro cleaning attachments" as well and those rule for getting stuff out of the cup holder, and tight spaces. The vac is plenty powerful and I think is the right size and capacity for what I need. Happy I went with this unit - thanks for the recommendation.

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