Cleaning, repair & care

Update - April 2015: This album is in a bit of a mess at the moment and will be re-vamped when time permits. There are many more 'cleaning' and 'tlc' photos to be added and eventually the separating of individual prams into before-during-after type photo groups. Stay tuned! ************************************************************************************************************************************************ The passion for pram/stroller cleaning, repair and general care actually dates back well over three decades now, as it started back in the early to mid 80's during an era of working on, cleaning and detailing my own bikes (bicycles) to a fastidious level of cleanliness and detail. Attention to detail was always a big part of this, as I liked to keep things looking and functioning 'as good as new' for as long as possible and free from excessive wear and tear as much as possible too.

It was only a matter of time before this passion for perfection included all things prams!

With a little time and TLC, many so called "wrecks" can be given a new life again. The physical side of pram restoration, the washing & cleaning, rust removal and final detailing etc, although time consuming, is something I've always enjoyed and it’s certainly very rewarding in the end. When you can sit back and see the fruits of your labour with a pram that's all fresh, hygienic again and returned to its former glory.

The hours spent on an individual restoration of a neglected or grubby pram varies considerably, depending on the condition of the pram to start with. Generally it's a basic wash at first to see what condition items like the seat/body, the hood, frame or chassis and wheels are in under the initial dirt and grime. After that the prams are usually partially (or in some cases, fully) disassembled with all coverings and hoods removed and each item carefully washed, cleaned and detailed individually.

Depending on the condition and wear level of the pram this can include:
* Frames and chassis are checked over for bent tubing, loose/worn rivets and other vulnerable parts.
* Wheels and tyres are inspected and cleaned.
* Chrome chassis detailed with any surface rust or tarnish treated and removed.
* Painted or coloured frames polished and any larger 'chips' are sanded back then masked off and repainted.
Special attention is given to the pram's vinyl (or fabric) interior upholstery, seat/backrest, hood linings and external pram coverings. These upholstery and trim items are the most prone parts of the pram to be damaged, torn and/ or stained from regular use.
This includes:
* Timber or masonite base boards within the seat/pram bodies are checked (often these are warped or snapped internally from older siblings jumping in prams or general overloading/ misuse) * Press studs and other upholstery fasteners checked and small rips or tears mended or patched. * Hoods / canopies carefully inspected and cleaned, with particular attention given to elastic "loops" (for holding side covers in place on the many similar models), and rips or tears around seams and corners when the hood is forward and pulled taut. In fact damaged and over stretched hoods were very common as people often placed bags, shopping or other objects on the hood (sometimes including older siblings propped on the hoods too!). This would stretch and tear the vinyl and often bend the hood's support rods out of shape as well. :(
* Front aprons/ leg covers, rear and front accessory shopping bags checked for rips or damage, then washed and cleaned to the same level of care as the pram
* Fitted raincovers and stormcovers (if included) checked for rips around seams and fasteners (a very common problem - many kids tried to kick them off!) then washed and cleaned to renew transparency.

All of these checks and cleaning duties listed above are carried out with a passion for perfection! Not as a chore!

There are many car collectors out there that put an enormous amount of time and effort into saving just one rescued vintage car. Well, I'm pretty much the same myself except my passion has always been to try and preserve these much smaller (and yet very personalized) little vehicles.