Interior cleaning...mainly dashboard and front stuff
Thread Starter
TECH Veteran
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 4,117
Likes: 0
From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Interior cleaning...mainly dashboard and front stuff What makes the dashboard and front interior surfaces (seats, consol, glove box, steering wheel, door panels) really shine?'
Basic stuff like Armor All doesn't do much. What brands will make it look good?
.
Basic stuff like Armor All doesn't do much. What brands will make it look good?
.
Meguiars Natural shine. I usually apply it on a designated rag, and use it for everything.
I use it on the engine bay, probably 3-4 times a week during the summer, and the car still looks brand new.
Works mint on all the interior stuff. Dash, plastics, etc.
I use it on the engine bay, probably 3-4 times a week during the summer, and the car still looks brand new.
Works mint on all the interior stuff. Dash, plastics, etc.
I use leather conditioner on my seats and Armor All wipes, not spray, on the interior plastic. I'm looking to get away from Armor All altogether though, because it has that staining effect after a while. Wheel shine aside. The spray and leave type Armor All is the only tire shine I've found that doesn't stain, but it's a pain in the *** to use because it gets all over the rim and surrounding body areas. I just cut a piece of wood 17 inches in diameter to hold over it. Works good.
Anyway, the wipes saturate it alot more than just spray and rag for some reason. I've even used the wipes with spray sometimes.
Now the exterior, that's another story. i.e. rubber around T-tops, between hood and windshield area. Those stain like a **** with that reddish-brown because of water I think. Anytime water has seaped into my interior from the t-tops, etc. I notice it leaves a stain. I need to find a product that shines and does not stain when mixed with other elements.
Dashboard: I don't need to mess with it. There's a product called Dashhugger that is pretty good for what you pay (it's just a carpet cover fitted to your car). They are like 35$ without a logo. Don't get the Firebird logo, it's NOTHING like the actual one on the head portion. Looks more like a chicken. Not gonna link their URL, they aren't a sponsor.
If you do ever go dashboard cover, don't plan on using velcro if you've saturated the dash with a product like Armor All, hehe.. They wont stick. I had to use push pins to get it to stay on.
Anyway, the wipes saturate it alot more than just spray and rag for some reason. I've even used the wipes with spray sometimes.
Now the exterior, that's another story. i.e. rubber around T-tops, between hood and windshield area. Those stain like a **** with that reddish-brown because of water I think. Anytime water has seaped into my interior from the t-tops, etc. I notice it leaves a stain. I need to find a product that shines and does not stain when mixed with other elements.
Dashboard: I don't need to mess with it. There's a product called Dashhugger that is pretty good for what you pay (it's just a carpet cover fitted to your car). They are like 35$ without a logo. Don't get the Firebird logo, it's NOTHING like the actual one on the head portion. Looks more like a chicken. Not gonna link their URL, they aren't a sponsor.
If you do ever go dashboard cover, don't plan on using velcro if you've saturated the dash with a product like Armor All, hehe.. They wont stick. I had to use push pins to get it to stay on.
I use the Meguires leather wipes on my seats and plastic parts. On the plastic parts i'll wipe it with a microfiber towel afterwards to get rid of the excess shine. It works fairly well. Leaves a nice gloss but isnt rediculously shiney.
Trending Topics
Originally Posted by chaman
Another vote for Meguiars Natural Shine here. The best thing is no greasy residue at all and the more you apply it to more shine it provides, great stuff IMO.
Armor-all doesn't cut it for me. That stuff sucks. The cool thing about natural shine is that it does eveerrrything. And like he said, the more applications you do, the better the shine.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Awesome K5 Blazer Restomod Comes With C7 Corvette Power
Verdad Gallardo
10 Camaros You Should Never Buy
10 LS Engine Myths That Refuse to Die
Verdad Gallardo
I got a three bottle set of Lexol and I really like it. One is a leather cleaner, leather "shiner" and protectant, and the other is for all vinyl, rubber, plastic etc to shine it up.
I liked all the products but the one thing I would do differently is to have never put on ANYTHING on the dash from the bottom of the windshield on down to where the A/C vents begin. If you've never put any there I really recommend not doing it. Once I had finished I looked over what I had done and was like, damn this looks really nice. Then I went out for a drive. If the sun goes through your windshield at certain angles, you'll get what I call half-vision. You see half of what you'd normally see out the windshield and the other half is your friggin dash. Anything on the dash that creates a mirror effect is a baddddd idea. I also put this stuff on over three months ago and I'm actually annoyed it's lasted this long. *Sigh* But a good lesson learned.
I liked all the products but the one thing I would do differently is to have never put on ANYTHING on the dash from the bottom of the windshield on down to where the A/C vents begin. If you've never put any there I really recommend not doing it. Once I had finished I looked over what I had done and was like, damn this looks really nice. Then I went out for a drive. If the sun goes through your windshield at certain angles, you'll get what I call half-vision. You see half of what you'd normally see out the windshield and the other half is your friggin dash. Anything on the dash that creates a mirror effect is a baddddd idea. I also put this stuff on over three months ago and I'm actually annoyed it's lasted this long. *Sigh* But a good lesson learned.
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 194
Likes: 0
From: Cheney, WA.
Originally Posted by SmokeySS
I liked all the products but the one thing I would do differently is to have never put on ANYTHING on the dash from the bottom of the windshield on down to where the A/C vents begin. If you've never put any there I really recommend not doing it. Once I had finished I looked over what I had done and was like, damn this looks really nice. Then I went out for a drive. If the sun goes through your windshield at certain angles, you'll get what I call half-vision. You see half of what you'd normally see out the windshield and the other half is your friggin dash. Anything on the dash that creates a mirror effect is a baddddd idea. I also put this stuff on over three months ago and I'm actually annoyed it's lasted this long. *Sigh* But a good lesson learned.
I definately learned my lesson on that one. 
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 161
Likes: 0
From: St. Peters, MO
Try out Mcguiars dash and trim foam. I use it on everything besides my seats (I use a good creme leather cleaner and conditioner on the seats) and it cleans the dash and doors really good, add's a little shine without that "Armor all sticky look". It also is really easy to use being a foam, no overspray on the winshield or windows. It also smells really good, and the smell lasts for a while.
