I was wondering what I should clean the dash and brushed aluminum pieces with or what I should stay away from? I also have leather.

 

I just use a california duster and tell the kid to keep her hands in her pockets.

 

i just wiped mine down with some "son of a gun" shined up real purty like...

 

The cleaner wipes(your choice of brand) work well to clean the dash surface and if you'd care to dress the dash(I'm not a big fan of shiny surfaces) most protect-ants are okay. For the aluminum trim, I just used a very soft towel and some mild cleaner(soapy water works well since it removes oily hand contact). I also use Meguiars leather wipes to treat the front seats and since the rears are vinyl(as well as the fronts seat-backs) Armor-all wipes work fine. In all my years of detailing cars(I do it on the side for extra cash) the most important area for maintaining interior new-car smell is to keep the carpeting, floor mats, headliner and if equipped with cloth upholstery, clean. Can't stress enough that a clean interior is a germ-free interior(at least not as germ-infested) and if you have kids, this will help them(and you) get less sick with colds/flus etc.. My friends think I'm nit-picky, but when they ride in my car, they always comment on how "new" the car seems.

 

Avoid using any alcohol-based products on the dash or any of the vinyl surfaces. Alcohol tends to remove color or cause discoloration after prolonged use.

 

Armor-All cleaning wipes FTW. I use them on the dash, doors, seats, door sills, etc. I bought the expensive leather cleaner/conditioner wipes from Meguiar's. Can't stand 'em. Leave the seats very oily, shiny and greasy feeling.

 

I clean everythign with a microfiber cloth that just has water on it...then i dry it off and hit it with Mequiars (can't remember the exact name) UV40 protectant...it stays shiny for weeks...even with all of the dust we get here in AZ and it has a built in UV proctectant that helps it keep color.....

Don't know what to tell you on the leather...i've heard several ppl mention a Zaino product for it...

 

Amorall for the dash, Stoners glass cleaner for the aluminum dash and gauges and Meguiars leather treatment for the seats.

 

I have used Turtle Wax Spray Wax with a Micro Fiber towel for the whole interior...Except the seats...

It works great...leaves very little shine if any..which is what i like..

 

If it's way dusty I vacuum the interior with a shop-vac and one of those brush attachments so to not scratch anything. For light dust (usually the case, so I do this a lot) I use one of those hand-held swiffer sweeper things. It's really soft, fits into all the little crevices and picks up everything. Those swiffers are great.

I usually wipe down the dash and plastic/vinyl stuff with Armor-All protectant wipes which keeps them protected from the sun and shiney, but freshly Armor-All'ed stuff tends to attract dust like mad, so there might be a better product for this. I'll experiment this summer.

As for the leather, I use Mother's Leather Cleaner to wipe off any dirt, and Mother's Leather Conditioner to moisturize and give the seats some nice shine. The cleaner is a clear spray and the conditioner is a cream type stuff, and they work really well and last for probably 3-4 weeks depending on how often the seat is being sat in.

I've also tried the Meguiars Leather Wipes which clean and protect in one, and though they're a lot faster and easier to use than the two-step Mother's stuff, they seems to leave a really oily residue and didn't last all that long (basically as soon as I sat in the driver's seat the shiney chemicals rubbed onto my jeans and the seat was back to being dull).