Upholstery pros, I need some advice

[Mikey P]

This raw silk head board (un-protected) belongs to the sort of client you want to go above and beyond for .

Hair oil is what the staff and I have to conclude the soil is.

So far I tried Masterblend's dry cleaning solvent followed by a dry vacuuming then I used some Snake Oil/encap followed by a 02 rinse through a spotting machine. The head board can not be moved outside or anywhere near a truckmount.

The staff thinks my efforts didn'tmake a difference,, in my eyes the pictures make it look about 509% better then when I started.

They did not ask me to come back, in fact I was the one who asked them how it came out as I had serious doubts.

I would love to give it a second go if you think something else would work that would not make the damage the fabric

 

[KevinL]

looks great. now get some sleep.

 

[Ron Werner]

If that is where the head rests there could also be some fibre wear, where it will never look like the rest of the fabric. POssibility?

 

[harryhides]

Whether you use this little "smoke and mirrors" trick on this job, you may find in useful once in a while.
I have used it in the past on exactly the same silk headboard problem as you showed above.

Get a few scraps of fabric - silk, linen, rayon in dark and light colors if you can.
Mix up a few small spray bottles with various strengths of encap juice - like 5, 10, 15, 20 times stronger than the recommended mix.

Then just spray each scrap of fabric with a couple of shots of encap juice being sure to label each sample with the strength of mix that you sprayed onto it.
Gently brush in the juice.
Leave for a day and check back - you will see a slightly lighter/whiter "look" to each scrap.
After brushing or vacuuming, you will see how much or little difference each mixture will make.

You can also use this method to make slight appearance modifications to dark spots on carpet too.

 

[Mikey P]

Thanks Harv.

Ron, no visible wear/ fluffin

 

[Mikey P]

btw, ALL those pics were taken after I did my thing.

 

[dealtimeman]

So there are no before pics to compare?

 

[Mikey P]

Correct.

No photo taking allowed on the property.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Who asked you to do the original cleaning? The reason that I ask is that "staff" not thinking its improved isn't very meaningful unless that means they are the same people/person who hired you. Unless your picture isn't accurate, the staining is doesn't appear to be very bad.

Silk is a strong fiber in theory, but often a weak fiber after its been treated to create final texture and appearance. I think you've done all that you should do before you turn a barely discernable faint discoloration to very obvious texture distortion or fading.

 

[Mikey P]

The staff asked me/hired me Jim
I couldn't really say if the home owner(who was not present, asked them to deal with it)
We dealt with the exact situation a few years ago, cleaned it the same way and never heard a complaint. The headboard was replaced since then but I could not say why.

Like I said, I asked them how it came out, they did not bring it up.


btw, They took the pictures and sent them to me upon request.


I guess my question should be, just how aggressive could have I gotten with this sort of silk?

 

[Danny Strickland]

Dr. Bronners Magic Soap has got some nasty oils out of stuff i've cleaned. rinses really well.

drbronners.com

 

[Desk Jockey]

What do they want? If cleaned and the spot removed, a certain amount of risk is going to have to be taken.

With their approval I'd lightly precondition spraying it the precondition on to a soft horsehair brush, gently agitate then extract with the Sapphire upholstery tool. Use a screen if needed, also be sure to wet the entire piece to avoid any water ring.

If it cleans up, you might consider a solvent based protector, make sure it's thoroughly dried before anyone uses the bed.




Oh just in case you fook it up, I'll deny I ever gave you any advice and I'll pay Fred $10.00 to delete this post.

 

[harryhides]

Oh just in case you fook it up, I'll deny I ever gave you any advice and I'll pay Fred $10.00 to delete this post.

I doubt any attorney defending you here would have any difficulty making the case that you never give "advice" :-)

 

[Desk Jockey]

Now Tony I give advice.......it's just not always "Good Advice" but it's commensurate with the pay.

 

[harryhides]

Now Tony I give advice.......it's just not always "Good Advice" but it's commensurate with the pay.

Yup, your "advice" is right up there with the rumours you start................

 

[Desk Jockey]

LOL

Sorry I just thought if you're trying to elevate the industry, giving away free standards was a good place to start.
This way those guys actually cleaning know there is a Standard and know that their is a minimal level of cleaning to be considered professional quality.

Have I told you my ideas about what we should do about arm patches?
Time to move past the 50's look!

 

[The Great Oz]

It's an inset wrap. Two yards of fabric, a stapler and a half hour and they could have new.

Or you could pop it out and take it back to your 'shop' to work on, where you could use contraband chlorinated solvent on it with no worries about the woodwork.

Or you could let them know you've done all you can without damaging the fabric.

 

[steve_64]

if they are not satisfied offer a refund if you feel you did all you could. then hope they dont call coit to fix it.

 

[Larry Cobb]

Mikey;

An oxidizer shoud NOT be used on silk fabric.

As Brian mentioned, a good chlorinated solvent would be the best solution to a hair oil removal.

Of course to make our job more difficult,

your state won't allow it.

Larry

 

[Mikey P]

they never asked for a refund. they never complained.