Proper way to clean gauge cluster plastic?

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04lss

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Hi All,

I would consider myself an "enthusiast" level home detailer . I an work a DA pretty well, and generally do a good job keeping my surfaces in great shape . The one surface i cant seem to do this with is plastic gauge clusters.
One of my cars i bought new in 17. I have always just wiped the cluster plastic down with my microfiber and interior cleaner as part of my interior cleaning. The other day the sun caught it just right and I noticed a fair amount of swirling on the plastic.

With all that said, what is the proper method for cleaning them?

Of note, i typically use Griots interior cleaner, i did use Blackfire for a while but found it had a tendency to make dye run in my older cars.
 
Buy some Rolite Plastic polish, fine grade and simply do it by hand. Will turn out fine.

Going forward just use care when wiping it.
 
I searched for cleaning screens previously and came across Eldorado2K suggesting Mother’s Revision Glass & Surface cleaner so I bought it and that’s now what I use to clean my nav screen and gauge cluster. I just spray it on a soft microfiber towel and wipe. I just started using it so don’t have much to say other than it seems to work well so far.
 
For maintenance, I typically VERY gently wipe screens/clusters first with a deep pile microfiber to collect the dust/big stuff, then follow it with an Interior Detailer (I use the Griot's one) sprayed onto a suede microfiber like you get with glasses or phone screen protectors.
Works great for getting to the very edges and finishes with no streaks. Haven't had any issues with scratches.

Personally, I leave interior cleaners for deeper cleaning of stains and such vs just maintenance cleaning.
 
Another suggestion from Eldorado2k is using Mother’s Mag and Aluminum Polish for clear plastics.

He’s had before and after pics of both headlights and a gauge cluster. Gave awesome results for an inexpensive product being used off label. Cleaned up hazy headlights and removed the swirls from the cluster.

I’ve yet to try it myself though.
 
I really hate doing my interior even though I keep it clean and protected.

One thing I have done over the years is to carry a small "Swiffer" in the truck.

Every 2-3 days I will "Swiff" all over the dash, vents, and gauge cluster plastic. It keeps them clean, saves the work of cleaning them after they get too dirty, and only takes seconds to do.

When I'm done, it gets put into a little cloth bag I found somewhere along the way and gets stored behind the seat. :xyxthumbs:
 
I use a Swiffer on a handle on my engine compartment and I never have to do anything else to it other than dress it
 
I use microfiber towel from Rag Co---Creature. This is a thick pile towel. (Any thick pile will work fine).

Spray Invisible Glass cleaner on Creature towel---clean. Done.

It's safe and gentle on interior cluster and Nav screen.

Never, never use anything else on dash cluster or nav screen! Not even interior cleaners.

Tom
 
IGL f1 an f4 on a microfiber by hand, also works great on plastic radio screens .


We use it on all soft plastics among other things like tail lights headlights etc.
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