How To Clean The Instrument Panel?

Without scratching of course. When the plastic panel that covers the gauges gets dusty, how do you clean it without scratching?

GO to your local motorcycle dealer and buy plastic cleaner. THe stuff used to clean fairings and faceshields it works great

Originally Posted by mkahl2

GO to your local motorcycle dealer and buy plastic cleaner. THe stuff used to clean fairings and faceshields it works great

its called Novus plastic cleaner--it works great.

Sort of along the same lines, any reccomendation on cleaning terracotta leather?

Lots of products but I use the BMW Cleaner on my Beige Leather with very good results.

Would definitely NOT use Armor All or similar

Cheers

Originally Posted by dug01

its called Novus plastic cleaner--it works great.

I'll sceond this but a step farther, Novus comes in 3 levels of cleaning...you want the level 1 spray and that should be used with a micro fiber towel...appy to the plastic then buff with a clean MF towel....if there are any scratches then the #2 would be the choice followed by the #1.

You can also use this on your plastic trim on the inside of the car, head lights any smooth plastic part on the car.

Originally Posted by X3 Skier

Lots of products but I use the BMW Cleaner on my Beige Leather with very good results.

Would definitely NOT use Armor All or similar

Cheers

What? What's wrong with Armor All? I just started using that on my Brand New 2007 BMW X3. What's wrong with it? How much does the BMW Cleaner cost? I'm worried...

Originally Posted by mkahl2

GO to your local motorcycle dealer and buy plastic cleaner. THe stuff used to clean fairings and faceshields it works great

Another product found at the motorcycle dealers is Plexus plastic cleaner http://www.plexusplasticcleaner.com/frames.html I use this on all my instrument panels and everything else from helmet face shields to my vette targa top with excellent results.

I just use a slightly damp (with water) microfiber towel.

Originally Posted by Icealicy

What? What's wrong with Armor All? I just started using that on my Brand New 2007 BMW X3. What's wrong with it? How much does the BMW Cleaner cost? I'm worried...

No offense here, but When I think Armor All. I immediately get a mental picture of a greaseball behind the wheel of a 80's 90's Camaro, Firebird.

Armor All is for fords and chevys of the last millennium. Not for BMWs. There are lot's of things wrong with it. It shines, It smells, it's greasy. etc. It's like someone spilled tire protectant all over your dash. You need something that doesn't change the mattness of the BMW dash. I think Zaino bros. liquid leather could work. I used it on my Vette dash and leather with great results. Best of all it's matt and smells like leather. So you get more of that new car smell.

Originally Posted by Icealicy

What? What's wrong with Armor All? I just started using that on my Brand New 2007 BMW X3. What's wrong with it? How much does the BMW Cleaner cost? I'm worried...

z51vette said it before I got a chance.

My main complint is the sliperry feel it leaves behind on the seats. Have not bought the BMW Leather Cleaner lately but I think it was around $10-$15 at the dealer. Whatever it was, its worth paying a little more for a quality cleaner for a ~$35000 car. You might also check the Detailing Board where there a lot of recommendations.

Cheers

Originally Posted by X3 Skier

z51vette said it before I got a chance.

My main complint is the sliperry feel it leaves behind on the seats. Have not bought the BMW Leather Cleaner lately but I think it was around $10-$15 at the dealer. Whatever it was, its worth paying a little more for a quality cleaner for a ~$35000 car. You might also check the Detailing Board where there a lot of recommendations.

Cheers

For what it's worth, I use the BMW leather cleaner. Works well, easy to use, done. Get it at the dealer, and be done with it.
Thanks for the replies on the plastic cleaner.
Can't wait to get my '07 later this year.

Ronnie

I use damp microfiber towels for cleaning both the plastic and leather surfaces. I will periodically use Lexol on leather surfaces, but I tend to do that sparingly. Most all leather cleaners, even the very best ones like Lexol, will leave some residue and over time, that will build up and clog the pores in the hide.

BMW leather cleaner used here, once or twice a month. And there are zero signs of wear on the seats after 33k miles, including the driver's side bolster which is notorious for wear on any vehicle.

Armor All is a big no-no. Ask any pro detailer and they'll say it's the worst. It leaves a greasy residue, a god-thats-so-fake shine, and an awful smell. I'd rather clean my vinyl dash parts with water than Armor All.

I'm not a regular here on the X3 board, but I am over on the E46. I have a bit of experience detailing my cars and those of friends. Here are my recommendations...

Instrument Panel = Plexus Plastic Cleaner (properautocare.com)
Leatherette and Dash = 303 Aerospace Protectant (properautocare.com)
Leather = Zaino Leather Cleaner followed by Zaino Leather Conditioner (zainostore.com)

Armor-All supposedly contained/contains silicons that are bad for vinyl, which can induce discoloration. You should definitely take a look at Autopia.org for more information. Its a detailing enthusiast site, and I learned A LOT from it.

Originally Posted by silvergray

I'm not a regular here on the X3 board, but I am over on the E46. I have a bit of experience detailing my cars and those of friends. Here are my recommendations...

Instrument Panel = Plexus Plastic Cleaner (properautocare.com)
Leatherette and Dash = 303 Aerospace Protectant (properautocare.com)
Leather = Zaino Leather Cleaner followed by Zaino Leather Conditioner (zainostore.com)

Armor-All supposedly contained/contains silicons that are bad for vinyl, which can induce discoloration. You should definitely take a look at Autopia.org for more information. Its a detailing enthusiast site, and I learned A LOT from it.

Armor-all will break down door seals on some cars depending on the material used---Aerospace 303 is the best and leaves a nice soft sheen.--I use it on my headlight housings and all exterior lower plastic parts--bugs fall right off. Never tried the Zaino leather (good wax though)--but lexol works good for me. And I use meguires quick detail a lot--

Sorry to bring back the thread from death. :P

So is it safe to use Novus plastic cleaner #2 on the instrument panel plastic glass cover?
It got some scratches and some hazy parts. Asked the dealer to replace it under warranty as I just bought it used, but they wouldn't allow it. (nice try, eh?)
Scratch is mostly visible at night with all those instrument warning lights on.

Originally Posted by new2u

Sorry to bring back the thread from death. :P

So is it safe to use Novus plastic cleaner #2 on the instrument panel plastic glass cover?
It got some scratches and some hazy parts. Asked the dealer to replace it under warranty as I just bought it used, but they wouldn't allow it. (nice try, eh?)
Scratch is mostly visible at night with all those instrument warning lights on.

Is it glass? glass is not something that can be polished out that easy, but if yours is plastic then the novus would be a great product...it would also be great on your plastic head and tail lights

Originally Posted by dboy11

Is it glass? glass is not something that can be polished out that easy, but if yours is plastic then the novus would be a great product...it would also be great on your plastic head and tail lights

Actually, I'm not sure if it's glass or just a clear plastic cover. But most instrument clear covers are plastic, aren't they?

Anyways, novus sounds like a great product to have on hand.
Thanks for great information.

Armoral is fine for tires, but I would stay away from it on interiors. You pay a lot of money to have interiors in fine textured neoprene, with a matte finish, and then Armoral gives it their signature wet glossy look. Not to mention that it retains an oily feeling for a while.

I use a lint0-free damp cloth, and when I feel a protectant is needed, I use 303 Aerospace Protectant, made by 303 Products, sold in Marine Supply stores. It was recommended to me to restore suppleness to my door seals in another other vehicle, and found that it is great for dashboards and many other vinyl and rubber surfaces as well.

Blackfire interior cleaner/protectant for EVERYTHING, leather/plastics/vinyl. Its non-silicone based. (properautocare.com)

Leatherique products for deep leather treatment 2/3 times a year.

Any combination of the products mentioned earlier will be 100x better then Armour-All

I've used Novus to remove scratches from an acrylic headlight on our Volvo - as noted in a prior post, there are 3 bottles - 2&3 are mild abrasives for removing scratches - one is for light scratches, the other for heavy - requires alot of elbow grease since the liquid abrasive is essentially removing microns of plastic - #1 is a final step to basically shine up the plastic.

#1 would be a good choice for the dash but to avoid scratching it's important to use a clean cloth - microfiber does work well.