How to remove Nasty Film on Interior Plastics?

**chungso** · 05-23-2020, 06:09 PM

Just bought a car [new to detailing], and the dealer must have used some cheap interior dressing that left this nasty whitish film over all the black interior plastics and vinyl. I'm never seen something like it - you can run your fingers and it literally smears around? The worst is the passenger dash area, but I wanted to be safe, so I first tried some Meguiars Quick Interior Detailer Cleaner with a microfiber cloth. It literally did nothing on the worst areas, and hardly anything on the other areas. The film just smeared around and left little white specs. What a disappointing product.

Next I tried some diluted dish soap and water, scrubbing with a towel...maybe I went too diluted, but it didn't help much either. Finally I said F-it, and used a soft dish scrubber pad and some diluted Fantastik household APC, not letting it sit long, scrubbing a bit. This helped the most, but this greasy film is still present over lots of the interior.

Could you suggest a safe, but strong automotive cleaner and method that could remove this film?

**Eldorado2k** · 05-23-2020, 06:14 PM

What kind of car is this?
Does it have leather or fabric seats?
Is the sticky dressing also on the leather seats or just the door panels & dash?
Any pics?

**57Rambler** · 05-23-2020, 06:39 PM

Sounds like you have some leftover mold release agent on the interior plastic parts. An emulsifying cleaner followed by a rinse with hot water should clean it up.

**chungso** · 05-23-2020, 07:06 PM

Its an Acura RDX with leather seats, but the film seems to be only on the dash and door panels.

What emulsifying cleaners do you recommend that would work? And should I just bin the Meguiars QID?

**The Guz** · 05-24-2020, 08:04 PM

Originally Posted by chungso

Its an Acura RDX with leather seats, but the film seems to be only on the dash and door panels.

What emulsifying cleaners do you recommend that would work? And should I just bin the Meguiars QID?

Keep the QID. It works well for maintenance . Don't expect a deep clean as it contains a light cleaner. I see that one area where the white streak is at is by the door. It would not surprise me if rain caused the dealer product to stain it.

You mentioned you used a scrubber pad. Do you have access to a soft bristled brush to get into the texture. I am not sure if that pad can get into the texture.

Locally as someone mentioned you can usually find the Griot's Interior Cleaner. I don't know how strong this product is to clean given that it is sold over the counter but you could give that a try.

The two cleaners coming to my mind are Optimum Power Clean and CarPro Inside. I just don't know if that would take care of what is going on with interior. Some APC's can turn the interior trim pieces white. Inside needs a follow up with a damp towel to avoid the possibility of having the area turn white unless it is diluted 1:1.

I would also recommend Gyeon Preserve to re-hydrate your dash. One of the best products to re-hydrate and rejuvenate interior trim.

**damonb10** · 05-29-2020, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by chungso

And should I just bin the Meguiars QID?

No way! That is one of the best products for a quick wipe down and light cleaning.

The situation that you are dealing with does not fit that application and calls for a different product.

**Eldorado2k** · 05-23-2020, 07:25 PM

Looks more dry than greasy to me.

**PaulMys** · 05-23-2020, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by Eldorado2k

Looks more dry than greasy to me.

Totally agree.

If it were me, I would use a soft brush with my Griot's interior cleaner to start.

**57Rambler** · 05-23-2020, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by Eldorado2k

Looks more dry than greasy to me.

Yeah, other than the first pic in the area around the vent, I don't see much.

What led me to suggest it was mold release agent was the description that the "film" smeared around. Mold release agent typically contains silicone (among other things).

**chungso** · 05-23-2020, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by 57Rambler

Yeah, other than the first pic in the area around the vent, I don't see much.

What led me to suggest it was mold release agent was the description that the "film" smeared around. Mold release agent typically contains silicone (among other things).

Yeah I really haven't seen something like this before. Its almost like a sticky adhesive. Lighting was bad, so I enhanced the photos to show the residue, which then shows the plastic structure, probably making it appear 'dry'. Any cleaner you suggest?