i have a black interior, so it seems to attract all kinds of dust and shows dirt a lot more.. any tips as to how to keep my car nice n clean? also anything to cover up scratches on plastic pieces in the dash, instrument panel, etc?

 

First off, do you use any kind of "armor all" type product? Those usually contain some kind of silicone oil and is pretty notorious for attracting dust. If you are looking to cover up scratches on hard plastic (console, etc.) then the above name armor all type things seem to work best for hiding unsightly marks. Just keep a dust rag in the glove compartment and dust as you see fit.

 

Great Advice. I never use any kind of shine on my dash cuz it looks cheezy and attracts dust. I find that a good rag near-by always does the trick.

As far as the leather: you might have to take a day and find a fine scrub brush and go to town with some all purpose cleaner. Leather can get nasty with time. I have tan interior which is 10x worse then black. Once cleaned i put Meguiars Leather Conditioner on it.

 

The owner's manual calls for simply soap and water, which has worked well for my tan interior. I just have a bucket of soapy water, ring the rag really good and go to town. As for leather, you should only use a cleaner that is designed specifically for leather. Lexol has a two step process that works great. Step one is a cleaner (orange spray bottle), and step two is a conditioner (brown spray bottle). You can get them at Pepboys for about $8-9 a bottle. Follow the directions. The leather actually softens a little.

 

Both are great products too.... Lexol is a little more expensive, but well worth it....

 

for dust on your dash get a miniture california duster. i have the big one for the car and it works wonders.

 

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

This is the best stuff to clean the plastic stuff in your interior, your rubber door seals...etc. Armorall is garbage. The shinyness...the greasyness...it just sucks. 303 is even good for the black plastic stuff on the center console too, which armorall tends to just make greasy and crapy looking. I have never understood why someone would want a high gloss finish on their dash...maybe they LIKE not being able to see in the sun....but 303 won't cause glare like that.

The only thing about not using anything at all is that you're interior might fade faster. 303 supposedly has some UV protection in it to keep stuff from fading.

 

A Tac Cloth is fantastic for dusting.

 

That's a great ****ing idea!

 

I keep a small micro-fiber cloth in the glove compartment and wipe my dash and stuff whenever I'm just sitting in a parking lot or whatever. Picks up dust and traps it in the fibers. Works great, and I just wash it whenever I wash my other micro-fiber cloths. However, I've noticed that it will also dry up any protectant (I use Lexol Vinylex) after awhile, leaving no UV protectant unless re-applied.

Dave

 

I use Grab-It wipes for my dust.

 

Swiffer cloths used here for dusting (thanks Mom!)