[Anonymous]

Anonymous on November 9, 2014 at 9:00 pm #17511

Hi Ken,

I removed everything, including side panels, plastic molding around the windows and the headliner. I went down to bare metal everywhere I could with the intent on repairing anything that needed repairing. eg: bad rivets, mold, corrosion, etc. I put all new sound proofing and insulation on the floors, side walls and ceiling. I have a very quiet and warm airplane and recommend Airtex very much (having done four airplanes with their kits). Also, I have had them make a rear baggage area bulkhead cover just for me. I’ll get you a picture, it looks really cool.

Best,

Scott Sherer
N344TB

[Ken S]

Ken S on November 9, 2014 at 7:41 pm #17510

Hey Scott,

Thank you for all the good information!!

Yes – the Saratoga and Seneca should be identical and I was just getting ready to order the kit from Airtex. Good to know about the side panels, cause I was planning on leaving them in tact. I did find out that Airtex would sell me just the lower side panel carpet (there are two colors on the side wall). Did you remove the existing floor ‘padding’? Some of mine is dried out and other pieces will have to be (power) scraped out (if I take it out). And finally, what type of adhesive did you use on the new carpet?

Thanks again!!

Ken

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on November 8, 2014 at 4:36 pm #17509

Hi and welcome to PFA,

I’ve replaced the interiors with Airtex Upholstery kits on my Warrior, Seminole and three Seneca’s over the last forty years so I’m pretty good at it, including the carpeting. Here are the items that come to mind at this moment without having thought about it for a while. If I think of other things later I’ll add another email for you. I’m going to guess that your Saratoga and my Seneca are pretty much identical on the inside so we’ll start with that assumption. First, all of the seats have to come out. Next, all of the interior, floor mounted plastic has to be removed. Third, the wall panels. While you can remove the carpet with the wall panels installed, you won’t be able to put in new carpeting without removing them (sorry). Fourth, remove the floor board in the center seat row position. At least on my Seneca, the center seat floor board is made of plywood! Once all of this is removed, vacuum the airplane thoroughly and keep your vacuum cleaner handy. After every piece of carpeting that is removed, vacuum again. Also, do not discard of anything until the project has been completed to your satisfaction. You never know when you’ll need to reference an old piece of carpeting or plastic as the new ones probably won’t fit exactly. As for removing the carpeting, it comes in many pieces, over a dozen come to mind. If the carpeting is really old, it will be dry and so will the glue underneath. Find a centrally located piece of carpeting and grab a corner with a pliers. Slowly and steadily pull up on the pliers and remove the carpeting. Don’t forget, save the carpeting (even mark where it came from and how it was installed with a marker on a piece of masking tape). And don’t forget to vacuum. There are lots of particulate stuff and you don’t want to be breathing it. After all of the carpet is removed and you’ve vacuumed, get a paint scraper and start to remove dried glue. If it won’t come out, get a rubber glue solvent like “Oops” or equipment from your hardware store. Contact me again if you need help.

Scott Sherer
N344TB

[Ken S]

Ken S on November 7, 2014 at 6:04 pm #17508

Does anyone have suggestions / lessons learned from removing old carpet and installing new carpet in a Saratoga?? I will be starting this ‘project’ soon and would appreciate any tips to make the job easier.

Thank you.

(Recently joined the Piper flyer club)….