Interior Cleaner Question - Black Dash white in texture after cleaning

[michelliot]

Maybe Griot's Garage Interior cleaner is for cleaning Griot's Garage interior.

Looks like a conditioner as opposed a cleaner is needed. Lots of products on the market these days to recondition faded plastics on cars including exterior pieces. Investigate those. Some supposed to last several months. One that didn't work for me was "Back to black."

Actually, there's a faded plastic thread floating around currently, check it out as well.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-plastics.html

Good luck

[puma1824]

Ordered Ultimate Interior Guard + While I'm slightly worried it might be too shiny it might be my only option at this point. Sonax was definitely a nice matte finish that was acceptable for my taste but didn't "fix" the issue I'm currently having with the dash. Hopefully UIGP works as it was definitely on the pricey side.

[puma1824]

So the issue is resolved I appreciate everyone's feedback as it has definitely helped troubleshoot the issue.

As I had posted I had initially tried re-cleaning using a soft brush and the same GG interior cleaner. Unfortunately that didn't do much and still had white residue. Then I tried using a dedicated dash cleaner / dressing with Sonax Dashboard Cleaner (matte finish), that too didn't help too much. After posting those results it then was thought that the dashboard was dried out and to try another dressing/protectant. As a result I purchased UIGP and awaited delivery.

While UIGP was in transit, I visited a local detailer to see if they had any suggestions. The owner tried out some of his Meguiar's APC (not sure if it was diluted) and agitated it with small detail brush. He wiped it dry and before my eyes the residue was gone Turns out it was one of the first assumptions (wdmaccord) that residue was built up, most likely from previous owners dressing(s). It was not only this but the GG interior cleaner (LINK to first attempt) was actually not strong enough at full strength. I ended up trying / using Pinnacle APC (diluted 1:10) instead of GG Interior cleaner and a horse hair detailing brush. Could be happier with the Pinnacle cleaner which I originally purchase with the intent on only using on wheels and engine bay when needed. My close to 20 year old car's dashboard and other interior parts look almost factory new! Looks so good, I'm reluctant to add dressing or protectant. I'm thinking I should use the UIGP I never tried for the UV protection....thoughts? I prefer stock matte finish, which Sonax should give me but no protection.

Thanks everyone for all your help!!!

[puma1824]

OOPS meant "Could be happier with the Pinnacle cleaner..." this stuff rocks!

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm thinking I should use the UIGP I never tried for the UV protection....thoughts? I prefer stock matte finish...

Do it! Just try a small inconspicuous spot, first, to see how you like it. Bear in mind the look of the UIGP may be a little glossy at first until it cures a bit.

[pointillistic_practitioner]

I think we might be looking past the actual problem in talking about dressings. I am wondering if there was a build up of some silicone, or similar, containing product used over the years and the cleaner is attaching to it and leaving a residue. My suggestion would be to try cleaning it again, but use some kind of detail brush that will work the cleaner down into the texture. Like a vent brush or concours brush. It will be time consuming but hopefully it will clean out the residue. I do this to my leather seats once per year with a vent brush and it makes a huge difference over just using a MF towel with the leather cleaner.

+1 ... could have been that there is old dressing built up that the cleaner adhered to. I had a similar issue when using Meg's APC + on rubber floor mats/rubber weather stripping...and also on my previous '97 accord's window switch panel of rather smooth grey plastic...it turned completely white.

Ok I tried using a brush and water but it didn't seem to work. Applied some Sonax Dash Cleaner it seems to get a little better but still has some residue. Now I'm thinking maybe the Griotts cleaner was too strong and possibly removed some die? I'm a little worried I ruined my interior

Please note I think the flash on my phone made it look worse than it is, I'll try in tomorrow using natural light

Pics:

Water / Brush cleaning:

Sonax Treatment:

First of all, send more pics of the car! Being an e36 owner myself ('98 323is) I'm jealous of your m3!

Second of all, I'm sorry about the dash issue. I have been using very diluted megs apc gently with a microfiber to clean my dash, which was a gamble considering, as mentioned above, it has given me problems before. But I use it VERY diluted...and it hasn't give me any issues. I then dress with CG natural shine or wolfgang rubber/vinyl protectant. For your purposes, I'd try some of the other recommended cleaners, though, i.e. 1z etc.

From the photo the dash actually looks dry to me, like the cleaner was too strong.

On a small spot try applying a vinyl treatment such as Ultima Interior Guard Plus or CarPro Pearl and see if this brings back that rich look.

+1... might be too dry (I've found from experience that many e36 plastic parts are very cheap/brittle, esp for a once $30k ++ car). In fact, when I got mine, switching over from an accord, one of the first things I noticed was how the dash was made of what was seemingly hard, thin plastic (whereas my accord was a padded vinyl type material that seemed of better quality). I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby was right, or if the problem consists of a dry dash PLUS old sub-par product buildup (i.e. armor all) , Hopefully agitation with a cleaner like 1z will help, and if not, then a good quality dressing will do the trick... Plastics (ESP black plastics) are a tricky thing sometimes...

[pointillistic_practitioner]

I think we might be looking past the actual problem in talking about dressings. I am wondering if there was a build up of some silicone, or similar, containing product used over the years and the cleaner is attaching to it and leaving a residue. My suggestion would be to try cleaning it again, but use some kind of detail brush that will work the cleaner down into the texture. Like a vent brush or concours brush. It will be time consuming but hopefully it will clean out the residue. I do this to my leather seats once per year with a vent brush and it makes a huge difference over just using a MF towel with the leather cleaner.

+1 ... could have been that there is old dressing built up that the cleaner adhered to. I had a similar issue when using Meg's APC + on rubber floor mats/rubber weather stripping...and also on my previous '97 accord's window switch panel of rather smooth grey plastic...it turned completely white.

Ok I tried using a brush and water but it didn't seem to work. Applied some Sonax Dash Cleaner it seems to get a little better but still has some residue. Now I'm thinking maybe the Griotts cleaner was too strong and possibly removed some die? I'm a little worried I ruined my interior

Please note I think the flash on my phone made it look worse than it is, I'll try in tomorrow using natural light

Pics:

Water / Brush cleaning:

Sonax Treatment:

PS... on second look, my dash, when dressed (its tan) exudes a similar kind of whitish shimmer/reflection. Could it be that the problem is not as bad as you think? What does it look like in the dark without light shining on it?

[puma1824]

+1 ... could have been that there is old dressing built up that the cleaner adhered to....]

That's exactly what it was. In case you misse it this is what I posted shortly before your post:

So the issue is resolved I appreciate everyone's feedback as it has definitely helped troubleshoot the issue.

As I had posted I had initially tried re-cleaning using a soft brush and the same GG interior cleaner. Unfortunately that didn't do much and still had white residue. Then I tried using a dedicated dash cleaner / dressing with Sonax Dashboard Cleaner (matte finish), that too didn't help too much. After posting those results it then was thought that the dashboard was dried out and to try another dressing/protectant. As a result I purchased UIGP and awaited delivery.

While UIGP was in transit, I visited a local detailer to see if they had any suggestions. The owner tried out some of his Meguiar's APC (not sure if it was diluted) and agitated it with small detail brush. He wiped it dry and before my eyes the residue was gone Turns out it was one of the first assumptions (wdmaccord) that residue was built up, most likely from previous owners dressing(s). It was not only this but the GG interior cleaner (LINK to first attempt) was actually not strong enough at full strength. I ended up trying / using Pinnacle APC (diluted 1:10) instead of GG Interior cleaner and a horse hair detailing brush. Couldn't be happier with the Pinnacle cleaner which I originally purchase with the intent on only using on wheels and engine bay when needed. My close to 20 year old car's dashboard and other interior parts look almost factory new! Looks so good, I'm reluctant to add dressing or protectant. I'm thinking I should use the UIGP I never tried for the UV protection....thoughts? I prefer stock matte finish, which Sonax should give me but no protection.

Will follow-up once I bite the bullet and use some UIGP

[pointillistic_practitioner]

That's exactly what it was. In case you misse it this is what I posted shortly before your post:

So the issue is resolved I appreciate everyone's feedback as it has definitely helped troubleshoot the issue.

As I had posted I had initially tried re-cleaning using a soft brush and the same GG interior cleaner. Unfortunately that didn't do much and still had white residue. Then I tried using a dedicated dash cleaner / dressing with Sonax Dashboard Cleaner (matte finish), that too didn't help too much. After posting those results it then was thought that the dashboard was dried out and to try another dressing/protectant. As a result I purchased UIGP and awaited delivery.

While UIGP was in transit, I visited a local detailer to see if they had any suggestions. The owner tried out some of his Meguiar's APC (not sure if it was diluted) and agitated it with small detail brush. He wiped it dry and before my eyes the residue was gone Turns out it was one of the first assumptions (wdmaccord) that residue was built up, most likely from previous owners dressing(s). It was not only this but the GG interior cleaner (LINK to first attempt) was actually not strong enough at full strength. I ended up trying / using Pinnacle APC (diluted 1:10) instead of GG Interior cleaner and a horse hair detailing brush. Couldn't be happier with the Pinnacle cleaner which I originally purchase with the intent on only using on wheels and engine bay when needed. My close to 20 year old car's dashboard and other interior parts look almost factory new! Looks so good, I'm reluctant to add dressing or protectant. I'm thinking I should use the UIGP I never tried for the UV protection....thoughts? I prefer stock matte finish, which Sonax should give me but no protection.

Will follow-up once I bite the bullet and use some UIGP

Yes I did miss that, somehow. Tired eyes, I guess. Enjoy your now clean-dash-endowed e36!