glynnm45

What does everyone/anyone use to clean or dust the dash of their ES350?

LexBob2

For dusting, I've had good results with dry electro-static dust cloths like Pledge Grab-it or Swiffer. They don't leave it wet or shiny, and they both get all of the dust off of that grained surface. They also work well on the wood, guages etc.

sarge43

I use a California Duster. The mini one for the interior and the larger one for the exterior. Both are great for dusting. Have used them for years on all my cars with great results. Haven't had to clean the interior yet so no comments there.

Ingram4868

Just a damp wash cloth

ckon

303 Protectant. This stuff is amazing!! See it here: http://www.properautocare.com/303-16.html

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I like using a Pumpkin Body Scrub that you can find on Bath and Body Works...


Honestly, I use Armor All Cleansing cloths. They don't get the dash wet, but moist enough to pick up dust. UV protection too.

Gekko

-

NO sprays, chemicals, oils, or solutions!!!!!!!!!! These chemicals are NO GOOD!

Just a damp microfiber cloth and/or this device stored in the side door pocket:

Casabella® Mini Microfiber Duster

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...1&SKU=13366861

osokuko

Good subject, I've had very good results using Pledge for the last 30 or so years on all my cars. It alway works well on the dash, leather (just enough Pledge on a t-shirt to pick up the dust on the seats) and the clear plastic in front of the speed / tack cluster. I've also found it works well as a "quick shine" on the out side of the car (including crome), provided the car is fairly clean. For the ES350 interior I noticed if you use to much pledge it could smug (wet look here and there) on this kind of dash material. For best results I found using just enough spary to dampen the cloth, then fold in half to even the amount of spary then use works best. My interior is black so every little bit of dust shows up, the good thing about the Pledge is it leaves no lent behind and looks dry to the touch.

ckon

The problem is that the dash pads, at least the black ones in the ES (like ours), are very easily scuffed.

Ours was lightly scuffed by one of the techs when our nav unit was replaced. My wife tried to wipe it off, resulting in making it much worse. Everything I tried either had no effect or just made it worse until I tried the 303.

I've probably tried just about every vinyl protector, coating, polish, whatever, out there and no other product I've used is anything like 303. It provides a very even finish that doesn't really look like there's anything applied, except that its very even, smooth and dry.

tstead

For the dash, doors, and steering wheel, use 303 protectant. The 303 has very little actual cleaning ability but that shouldn't be an issue if you keep your car clean to begin with. If you have actual dirt (vice dust), then use a good quality automotive cleaner (such as griot's cleaner (griotsgarage.com) dilluted 50/50 with water) or you can use a Mr. Clean magic eraser - those work realy well.

For the leather, use a good quality leather cleaner and leather conditioner. Although the cleaner/conditioner all-in-one products are O.K. they don't do both jobs as good as their counterparts (e.g. clean as good as a cleaner or protect as well as a protectant). You can get Lexol at many automotive parts stores.

Steer away from Armor all as it has silicones and oils that will do more harm than good on your interior - plus they are slippery/greasy and actually attract dust.

For the plastic, use plexus plastic cleaner - you can also use this on your headlamp/taillamp covers.

For your wood, you can actually use a wax or paint sealant. Don't try to use a furniture polish (like what you'd use on your good wood dinner table) because the wood is covered with a very thick layer of acrylic - the polish won't be able to penetrate to condition the wood no matter how hard you try. Since the clear protectant is similar to what is used in clearcoats, many people will actually use a car wax or paint sealant on that which will also help to hide any minor scratches you have in that coating.

Tim

twister

Is there any other place to get this 303 protectant beside mentioned above website?

ckon

Many auto supply stores - Murray's Auto here in SE Michigan carries it.

toneman

Me too, although I don't particularly care for the smell when it's first applied...good thing the smell does go away after a short while.

toneman

You could order it from pakshak.com while purchasing some of their highly-rated microfiber towels; I bought a few from pakshak and I must say that their MF towels are much better than the ones I bought from Costco and Sam's Club (which weren't that bad as far as MF towels go--especially for the price--but as I discovered, not as good as the Pakshak ones).