Ok, Zaino appears to be everyone's favourite for the exterior shine but what about the interior? What do you use to clean the dash and other textured plastic parts and vinyl coverings?

Originally posted by mac
Ok, Zaino appears to be everyone's favourite for the exterior shine but what about the interior? What do you use to clean the dash and other textured plastic parts and vinyl coverings?

IMO, Zaino can't be beat for the outside. Inside, this is my favorite: http://www.dri-wash.com/ . Their "Leather & Vinyl Treatment" works well--doesn't make things greasy or make things shiny, it just cleans and leaves it feeling like new.

--SL01

this thread could use a bump as i was wondering the same thing about interior treatment. any other suggestions?

Yup, I was gonna ask the same question.. I havent used anything yet, but the time is coming soon..

What to use on the dash, doors, etc etc.. I was about to use ArmorAll until I heard bad stuff..

So far I'm using Zaino Z-10 Leather In A Bottle for the seats.. not too shabby..

Well, I used some Guardsman Leather Cleaner & Guardsman Leather Conditioner that came with some furtiture I bought a while back. It works quite well for the leater appointments, leaves the leather clean and supple.

I then decided to use Zaino Glass Cleaner on the inside and out. The glass cleaner goes on as a thick gooey liquid and hardens, when you wipe it off, there is some residual powder left behind. Well I had applied a little much to the front windshield, so when I started wiping it off I had powder and chuncks of zaino glass cleaner all over the place. Forced to really clean the interior.

I purchased Armor All "Leather Wipes" & Armor All "Cleaning Wipes".

I don't really like the leather wipes as it appears to go on even, but when it dries, its clearly not even, there appear to be streaks of light and dark leather - vs my leather conditioner, which was consistent. I'll trash that bottle.

For the other parts of the interior, I used the "Cleaning Wipes" they work quite well. They are advertised as being "lint free" - however I can always find little pieces here and there, it got some scuff marks out of the plastic near the bottom of the seats, and works well on the dash, which is quite textured. I'm pleased with it.

However I used it on the "piano black" parts of the stereo module and the door switches -- bad idea. It leaves a strange residue, nothing permanent of course, it came right off with a micro-textured lens cleaning cloth (I believe it's 3M or something, picked it up at Best Buy in the CD cleaning product section of the store), works quite well on the instrument cluster, and the piano-black pieces.

On the LCD display of the navigation system, I use a 100% lint free micro-fiber cloth you can pick up at Staples. They also have an LCD safe solution, which won't leave a haze and is not abrasive to the monitor.

hope that helps...

Autopia (http://www.autopia-carcare.com/detailingkits.html)

Autopia has car care kits, I recommend the Matte-Effect Interior Detailing Kit. It has pretty much everything you need. $59.99

But if that's too much for you, at least get the Einszett Cockpit Premium. That stuff is Awesome! No greasy armor look. Just clean Matte Finish, with an awesome smell..

i have used johnston & murphy (shoe brand) leather cleaner and conditioner on my current vehicle nad have had very good results. It does a godd job as acleaner and lso leaves thelether soft and supple. it comes in a spray bottle and has a very milk like consistency.

do you use the leather conditioner on the "leather-esque" dashboard (passenger side) too?

I didn't I don't think that is leather - some synthetic material of sorts. I just used the Armor All wipes on that part - worked quite well.

Armour all always seems to make dust and dirt STICK to the dash :(

I bought a static mit and plan on simply dusting the interior.

what about cloth seats?

bump..

armor all?

Armor All is BAD, it makes the plastic all shiny by leaving an oily residue behind. Dust then sticks to it and it looks twice as bad. Never again. However apparently the wheel stuff is fine (never used it myself).

Any advise for cloth?

You may find this of some relevance:
Types of towels for cleaning (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?threadid=20863)

I really really really hate Armor-All. It makes everything slippery, attracts dust, and ruins that beautiful matte finish. I took the advice of someone in another thread and bought a bottle of 303 Aerospace Protectant. It works really well - no silicone, so it's not slick, it preserves the satiny, matte finish, and seems to be anti-static. It requires a little effort to rub it in and distribute evenly (otherwise it streaks a bit), but the results are terrific. It also does a pretty good job of getting rid of scuffs on the doorsill. Mother's Back-To-Black works well on the scuffs that won't yield to the 303.

I couldn't find the 303 stuff anywhere in town, so I ordered it from Autopia:

http://store.yahoo.com/autopia/index.html

You can read more about it (and order it, I think) at the 303 website:

http://www.303products.com/main.php?infopage=protectant

But what do you use to clean dust off the gages? Is a glass cleaner OK?

Originally posted by MesquiteRX8
But what do you use to clean dust off the gages? Is a glass cleaner OK?

I've still got some Novus plastic polish left over from my Miata (for the plastic back window), and I use that - but only Novus No.1, which is for cleaning/polishing and anti-static. (Novus No. 2 is a mild scratch remover, and Novus No. 3 is seriously abrasive, and only for deep scratches - you have to follow it up with Novus 2 and finish off with 1.) The Novus 1 stuff does a fine job on the plastic gauges and you can use the others in case of scratching.

But I'm sure glass cleaner would work fine too.

FYI, Swiffer works excellent for removing dust!!

i am working for a Raymond lift truck dealer in Montreal Quebec Canada, we got a product call PMP (plastic and metal protector) work very good on any surfaces and last 3 time longer on tires than armor all, the product is in a spray can and very easy to use.Work for me for a long time.