Last Friday we drove home our brand-new (to us) 2011 170" wheelbase Mercedes (Freightliner) Sprinter van! That's right, after years of discussions, internet searches and endless sketching, we are van owners!! Now, our poor baby has been treated roughly in the past. Her 118,000 miles has given her a number of dings, scratches and, well, wear that needs to be attended to. Apparently her previous owners have never been ship dwellers. I had the mandate that our living quarters be spotless from my days living at sea. So, first order of business: Cleaning!
Exterior Cleaning Treatment:
Thourough spray down and initial rinse
Meguiliars Cleaner and Wax applied with shammy and sponge (don't neglect the roof and don't wax anything you would like to see out of/shine your headlights through later!)
Rinse spray
Armor-all Detail spray for the black trim.
I must say, a vast improvement already! We will come back with some sap remover to work on the stubborn sticker residue left from when this was a moving van.
Prepping the Interior For Cleaning and Build Out:
Remove bulkhead
Remove side panels (save these to use as templates later)
Remove subfloor (this triggered my first van ride to the home store. Turns out you need Torx 30 and Torx 45 bits to get the bolts holding the subfloor down out. Save the subfloor panels to be used as templates later.)
Rip out the nasty felt product that's been under the subfloor for the past 6 years
We now have a (mostly) empty cargo area with a ton of gross dirt, dust and other unidentifiable debris that's been hiding under the subfloor. (as well as five or six quarters. Score!) Next up will be sessions with the shop vac and a major interior dusting.
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