What is the best thing to use to clean the interior surfaces? Armor All? Soap and water like the owner's manual says?

Also...some of the plastic is scuffed/scratched. Any way to get it out without ruining it?

 

You're going to hear mostly opinions on this, as people have their own ideas of what is "clean" or what looks "good."

Personally I use just soap and water. That's how I clean all of my cars' upholstery. I don't like to use ArmorAll or any sort of "mask" over upholstery or leather because ultimately that's all it does; masks stuff rather than legitimately cleaning. I try not to use an abrasive towel or similar with the soap and water. I go and buy one of those many car care sponge-type things in the car care section at your local parts store. Really most any would work and you can buy based on low price here, just so long as it's anything thats not as abrasive as a common hand towel.

You'll find that even in a Corvette simply a good scrub will work wonders. If you clean it enough you shouldn't have to apply anything on the leather seats or upholstery to "protect" it.

For items like the gauge cluster surround or other plastics like on the HVAC, I use a towelette-type thing used for cleaning eye glasses or like the ones that come with most TV screens you buy and just wipe it down without using any cleaner. If you want to soap up the plastics you can, but I've found there's usually no need for that if you just scrub.

Carpets are up to you. I have Llyods mats and I clean them by first scrubbing them with a soft brush and a little soap, then after then dry a bit run over them with my normal house hold vac. For the actual carpets and rear trunk area, I use a smaller shop vac.

Again many methods to clean your interior but that usually yields best results for me.

 

I would not put Armour All on my car ever !

Toque

 

First, I think the best approach is to not let the car, interior or exterior, get real dirty. With that approach, I usually use an interior only microfiber towel sprayed with a gentle mix of soap and water. Very little is actually applied as the interior is always kept pretty clean.

Since I own a vert and I live in Florida, UV protection is very important to me, so I use Aerospace 303 vinyl protectant and conditioner. Again, very sparingly and apply it to another, color-coded, MF towel/applicator and I never spray it on the dash or other vinyl components directly. (Corvette OCD kicks in). I also like the satin sheen finish the Aerospace 303 provides vs. the glossy, wet finish of other brands.

For my (real) leather seats/trim from Vette Essentials and other vendors, I use Zaino leather conditioner. Not sure if it's really any better than other automotive leather conditioners, however I do think it smells the best.

I then use my shop-vac to suck up any debris off the floor mats and I'm done. I never eat in my car so I don't have to worry about finding any surprises like I do in our family SUV.

 

Heavily diluted simple green and a soft boars hair brush does the trick. Use a quality microfiber to remove the dirt once suspended into the lather.

 

FWIW: I wipe down mine with a damp microfiber to clean it. I've been using Poorboy's World Natural Look Dressing on the entire interior. It doesn't make things shiny or greasy looking. The leather and plastic pieces just look new.

 

I use this stuff with a microfiber on the leather and dash

 

Adam's Total Interior Detail, Surf city Voodo blend leather rejuvenator. I use Blackfire products for exterior.

 

I was wondering about this too. I was out driving the other day and noticed a scuff on the passenger seat. I have no idea how it got there




I will try to clean it off this weekend. A mixture of Dawn dish soap and water cleaned off with a microfiber towel should do the trick without damaging the seat?

 

Very good advice IMO. I used to use Meguires leather conditioner on my VE seats until I spoke with Sandy at VE. The custom stitching that was put on the seats was starting to show white spots so I asked what could be causing that. She asked if I had used any kind of conditioner on the seats and I said yes. She had a concern about using that type of product on the seats and especially the stitching. She recommended the following routine to clean the leather, even if you have previously used a conditioner on the seats:

FYI, the best thing to use on finished automotive leather is a clean/white rag damp with water. Nothing else is needed. And keep in mind, anything that has oil in it should never be used on any automotive upholstry and anything that says "penetrating" will cause finished automotive leather and thread to be destroyed in no time. This is great information to give to a detailer if you ever put your car in their hands. They think Armor All products are good, little do they know this and other like products void all OEM warranties. If the leather was unfinished, like a baseball glove, it's great...finished, not so great.

The very best thing you can do to get anything harmful off (although Maguires will not damage the leather but rather allow the thread to attract dirt) is this: Get a bowl with warm water and dissolve (just until the water turns cloudy) an “old fashioned” bar of Ivory soap. This bar can still be found in the cleaning isle (not the beauty isle) of Kmart, Meijer and some grocery stores. Put the cake style bar (cut with sharp corners and wrapped in paper) in the water and roll it around in your hands for maybe a minute. Dip a clean, white rag in the water, squeeze out the excess water and run it over your seats. If there is any build up in the seams or the decorative stitching (not the embroidery thread), use a very soft toothbrush in a circular pattern. Rinse and dry with a soft cloth and you’re done. You’ll be amazed at the difference if an oil had been used previously. If not, you’ve started a very good cleaning regimen. This can take the leather right back to the Matte finish. Allow the bar to dry and wrap it back up in the paper wrapper for the next time. It’s great on any finished leather.


By the way, I fixed the white spots in the embroidery by using a Stained by Sharpie fabric marker that I bought at Hobby Lobby. Worked like a charm.

As for the carpets in the car, I have used Woolite Carpet Cleaner to get out stains. Has always worked well for me.

For the dash, I just use a moist rag with mild soap then wipe it down with a dry soft rag.

 

Vettman.................interesting info. I use Meguires leather conditioner on my seats, (and also very lightly on the rest of the interior), and have always thought it worked well.........but I am going to try the ivory soap and water method the next time.


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Vacuum, Invisible glass on a microfiber on the windows, Damp microfiber to wipe everything down, a few sprays of Chemical Guys "Stripper Scent" on the carpet, Done.

Every now and again I condition the leather, but that's about it.

 

My friend bought a used 2005 MR2 with tan leather seats.
He found that both seats had major sweat stains in the seats.
He was debating having the seats re-covered because he tried everything to get these seats cleaned.
Nothing from the local auto store worked.
I told him about Zaino Z9 Leather Cleaner.
I let him borrow my bottle and he called me later that night that it removed the stains from his seats.

Just a heads up in case you cant get the stains out with dawn.

Toque

 

For a quick dust removal I just use my mini california (dash) duster. For a good wipe down I just use a damp microfiber towel, usually after I dry the car when washing, I will jump inside and wipe off everything that isn't carpeted.

 

I agree with Poster #5 if he meant for the kick panels or similar. I used Simple Green with a stiff stiff brush and the scuffs came right out. Be sure to change directions all the time for texture control. Example: Left, right back and forth. Change angle and go up and down then go at an angle like upper left to lower right...hopefully you get the idea. Good luck.

 

Did you write "sweat" stains on the seats. Yeah, sure.