Detailing the Dash - what works best?

[Huz-Z]

Hi Guys,

I recently acquired a 2006 Z4 3.0 Si that I thoroughly love. On my previous cars, I've used Armor All to clean the dash and get a nice shiny new look.

But the dash of my Z4 has a rough black colored surface. Is that some sort of material covering? The car has black leather M seats and aluminum trim on the dash and center console.

What is the best thing to use on the big black section of the dash - IE, above the instruments and up to the windshield - to clean and condition that area?

By the way, you can see some exterior shots of my car in Post #22 here:

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62188

Thanks!

Huzz

[nmulax]

http://www.303products.com/

303 Aerospace Protectant

Yeah it looks like an infomercial product; but it's good stuff. It'll cleans up your interior without leaving it all greasy and nasty looking.

[VitaminT]

I have used some Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer and like it pretty well. I don't do the leather with it, but it works okay on the dash, door pulls, etc.

[WAMz4]

I love my Z4, but I very much dislike the 30 grit texture on the z4 dash. I keep my cars meticulously clean and I know they did it to tone down the dash reflection in the windsheild but I wear polarized lenses when I drive to remove the refection of the dash and would rather have a dash I can keep clean.

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by VitaminT

I have used some Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer and like it pretty well. I don't do the leather with it, but it works okay on the dash, door pulls, etc.

Thanks VitaminT! I tried that stuff first when I got the car last month but didn't like it. Perhaps its the fault of the cloth I was using that day. It was smearing and leaving a lot of lint etc on the dash. Perhaps I should try some other sort of cloth?

And WAMz4 - I agree on the texture of the dash - it doesn`t reflect much but it is a challenge to keep looking showroom.

Huzz

[jonanator]

As stated above, try Aerospace303. You can get it at Canadian Tire. For an application cloth, you can try a good microfiber towel or applicator. For us Canadians, I found the best source for bulk microfiber is Costco. They sell these yellow ones in packs of 10 or 12. I also do a lot of shopping at eshine.ca for most of my detailing needs.

Also, stay away from anything Armorall.....

Hope that helps!

[Huz-Z]

Originally Posted by jonanator

As stated above, try Aerospace303. You can get it at Canadian Tire. For an application cloth, you can try a good microfiber towel or applicator. For us Canadians, I found the best source for bulk microfiber is Costco. They sell these yellow ones in packs of 10 or 12. I also do a lot of shopping at eshine.ca for most of my detailing needs.

Also, stay away from anything Armorall.....

Hope that helps!

Thank you Jonanator!

I`ll give the Aerospace303 try too.

I`ve tried the Armor All Leather Care product on the car`s leather seats and been very happy with it. Is there a better product for general leather cleaning, maintenance and crack prevention I wonder.

Huzz

[nmulax]

Armor All is garbage

For leather use Zaino Z9 and Z10 (or Duragloss 441 and 221, it's the exact same stuff). Lexol seems to get decent reviews too.

[mikeyb99]

yeah i can't seem to find a nice proper microfiber cloth that doesn't cling or leave linty crap behind when i wipe the dash... maybe a damp sponge might be better?

[jonanator]

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

Thank you Jonanator!

I`ll give the Aerospace303 try too.

I`ve tried the Armor All Leather Care product on the car`s leather seats and been very happy with it. Is there a better product for general leather cleaning, maintenance and crack prevention I wonder.

Huzz

Armorall has been known to dry out leather, dash, etc., more than anything else.

For my leather seats, I have used Lexol cleaner then conditioner. Lexol does a good job, however, I have read some reviews stating that long term use of Lexol actually makes the leather worse. Not sure how much truth there is in that though. I have since switched to Leatherique and find it to be 1000000x better than Lexol. The top brands for leather care are Leatherique, Leather Masters, and Townsends.

[jonanator]

Originally Posted by mikeyb99

yeah i can't seem to find a nice proper microfiber cloth that doesn't cling or leave linty crap behind when i wipe the dash... maybe a damp sponge might be better?

Where are you getting your microfiber cloths from? I haven't had any issues with that except when I used the really cheap ones I bought from Canadian Tire.

[VitaminT]

I use the separate Zymol leather cleaner and conditioner. In the US I found it at Target for about $7/bottle. I have used Lexol but my brother had some questionable results with it on some aging leather in his Lexus SC300 so I have since used the Zymol. I really prefer using the products that are separate for cleaning and conditioning.

I tried the Meguires leather care but it leaves the leather glossy and makes my butt squeek when I get in and out for a few days. Not what I prefer.

I haven't had an issue with most higher quality microfibers. Terry on the other hand is horrid at leaving the lint/fluff. Not sure but the texture on the dash might shread the sponge. I would suggest trying another brand of microfiber towels. I have some that are a thick nap on one side and thin on the other.

[mikeyb99]

Originally Posted by jonanator

Where are you getting your microfiber cloths from? I haven't had any issues with that except when I used the really cheap ones I bought from Canadian Tire.

lol, exactly those! From Cdn tire, which i thought were pretty good? They are great for leather and paint I find. $6 for 3.

[BMWI6]

Connolly fir leather and vinylex for plastic. best there is.

[blender]

I found this at a Kragen's. It gives a good long-lasting luster with no glare. Seems to stand up to sunlight pretty well. Best applied with a with microfiber towel rolled up and rocked back and forth over the dash.

Attachment 325963

[RichardTS]

Whatever you use after cleaning is a personal choice. To me the difficult job is to get the dash clean in the first place. I settled on a plastic bristled brush and, after vigorously brushing the 30 grit surface, was utterly amazed at the stuff that came off.

I settled on the brush with plastc bristles because, being plastic and of similar hardness as the dash material, it would be less likely to mar the surface. And it doesn't.

Do this and be amazed at how much better it looks afterward.

By the way, be VERY careful with the choice of towel to wipe it down-you easily put enough lint back on the dash to make it look even worse.

[reRESERVEDMD]

I use Griot's Interior Cleaner and their Vinyl Protectant. Z4's dashboard is highly frustrating because of the grit, but I found a way around it... SPONGE! Use it to apply the stuff and then just use a normal micro fiber cloth to wipe it all down. I got a beautiful black dashboard with just a tad bit of shine. It makes the dashboard look like it just came out of factory!