Restoring hood pad

[edwinn]

I'd like to get some tips on removing and restoring the under-hood insulator pad. There's Buick nomenclature embossed into the black material, however the pad is soiled with road dirt and stained white in places from salt spray. Will assume no replacements are available?


-Ed

[danielsatur]

Under hood heat insulation can be bought at your local Pepboys Auto parts store.
The dorman section should have clips, or plastic pop rivet for easy installation.

[edwinn]

Originally Posted by danielsatur

Under hood heat insulation can be bought at your local Pepboys Auto parts store.
The dorman section should have clips, or plastic pop rivet for easy installation.

Thanks for the reply. I had specific questions like "are the stock clips reusable?" and "what's the best way to remove clips w/o damage?" and "can the pad be laid out on the deck and sprayed with the garden hose.. use some mild detergent? or will it det-tre-ate?"


-Ed

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by edwinn

I'd like to get some tips on removing and restoring the under-hood insulator pad.

The under-hood mat is not designed to be cleaned. It would be better to replace the pad, along with new retainers. You might be able to salvage the retainers if you use a trim removal tool set. Click Here for part numbers.

[Albertj]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

The under-hood mat is not designed to be cleaned. It would be better to replace the pad, along with new retainers. You might be able to salvage the retainers if you use a trim removal tool set. Click Here for part numbers.

=g

Umm... you *can* clean the hood pad you just can't scrub on it or brush on it because it's fabric will pill.

What works for me is vacuuming the dirt out using a wet-dry vac with brush attachment on the hose end.

Salt you can get out by wetting the salt stain with vinegar in a spray bottle (a windex type bottle) and vacuuming the vinegar back out with that wetdry vac.

Oil you can get off with a spray cleaner like Purple Power sprayed directly on, followed by clear water rinse, then use wetdry vac to get the water back out.

You probably should remove the pad before you do any of this, just pop the retainers off with a trim tool (looks like a screwdriver with a crow's foot).

For fun you can get some fabric paint and go over the embossed "Riviera" in the color (subtle or shocking) of your choice, when the pad is dry, then put it back on. Your GM dealer or local car parts store has replacement retainers (to make up for the ones you bust when doing this).

If your pad has pilled from prior cleanings I have heard that you can recover it with some theatrical curtain yardage (not flammable) stuck on with spray adhesive, but I've never done that.