I'm a week-old element owner! :) and lovin it! But there's dust on the dash already. What's the best way to clean it since I can't use armour all.

Thank you in advance!

Waves

Hey Waves, welcome to the club. I use one of those microfiber towels. They pick up dust really well. I am sure others have different products they might use. You will find out that here on the forum, everybody has different ideas on how to do the same thing, some you will find better then others. The club is really a great resource for any question you might have about your new Element. Again, welcome to the club!:)

Hi welcom to the club! I just use a damp towel. That takes the dust off fast. I have not treated it yet, it's too new.

damp towel here too. I stay away from cleaners whenever possibe.

A California duster works well.

I use the swiffer duster. It works good around the house, so I figured I would try it on the dash. IT ended up working really well.

People might crucify me for this but I used Armor all cleaning wipes. I've always used maguire products, but I was in a pinch and had to go to an auto parts store that didn't have any maguire products, so I decided to get the armor all CLEANING wipes. I've always stayed away like the plauge from the vinyl protectant (or whatever it's called), but in this case the cleaning wipes seemed to work great.

I too noticed alot of dust on the dashboard after only one week, but these wipes did a good job of cleaning the dash and keeping off some dust. I am sure maguires makes cleaning wipes too and I would get those if given a choice, but the armor all wipes came through for me this time.

If it is only light dust, I recommend a nice, plush microfiber. A 16" towel is more than enough. Use it dry on the plush side. I keep a clean one in my glove compartment with a 4 oz spray bottle of waterless wash for bird bombs.
If the the dash is dirty, not just dusty, I like to use an APC (all purpose cleaner) diluted to the appropriate strength. Sometimes just dampening the MF is enough to clean.
I follow up with a low sheen, high UV protectant like 303 or poorboys natural look. If you like more shine, maybe Adam's VRT. In my experience the natural look dressing is the easiest to use, doesn't streak on vinyl and has a great scent.

Thank you everybody!!!!!

I use a can of compressed air for the hard to reach dusty areas

People might crucify me for this but I used Armor all cleaning wipes.

I do this too. I've heard people here saying the Armor All is bad, but I have no idea why. Can anyone tell me why?

i used armor-all wipes once on my dash before.:shock: didn't notice any difference but anyway i wont use it anymore now that i heard it's not good for my E. :)

I do this too. I've heard people here saying the Armor All is bad, but I have no idea why. Can anyone tell me why?
Ya, can anyone tell us why its not good? Cause I use it too. lol I might have to stop

For dusting the large areas I use a damp cloth or micro fiber towel. Now to prove just how anal this Bald Fat Old Guy is...I use a clean 2" natural bristle paint brush (good quality one) to do all of the corners, nooks and crannies, vents and edges that the towel can not get into. It is amazing how well this works. I've been doing this since my first "new" car...1971 Chevy Vega.:roll:

I don't use anything but a soft cloth . :)

I use a swiffer duster. Get a handle with extra dusters in a box. Not sure it does anything but relocate the dust. At least it deals with the static cling dust. I wiped mine down with Turtle something I think it is F21. I have heard that Armor-All leaches the oils out of the tires and leads to cracking. I knew I should not have bathed in that stuff!:D

Armor-All has petroleum distillates in it which is not good for rubber. It eats it away. That's why you're not supposed to use oil based lubricants with condoms....same thing. Not sure about plastics/vinyls, but either way I don't like the greasy and overly glossy look that stuff gives.

I'm a week-old element owner! :) and lovin it! But there's dust on the dash already. What's the best way to clean it since I can't use armour all.

Thank you in advance!

Waves

Just hose it out...That's what everybody does.

Just hose it out...That's what everybody does.

Or get one of these and be done with it!:cool:

A french maid to clean my E? Not a bad idea......:roll: :grin:

If it is just dust, using a dry dust rag would seem most practical.

If you have finger prints or oily smudges which I find frequently on my Element, I started off by using a simple damp rag with some mild detergent. I would use a little dish soap in a sink full of water. Dampen and ring out the rag. Then, I would go out and wipe down the dash and other areas like the door panels etc., and follow with a rag soaked with plain, clean water to wipe clean any soap residue. Then just dry with a third rag.

For quick clean-ups, from time to time, I started to keep a package of Windex Wipes in the car. They seem to work pretty good in a pinch. You could also use a bottle of Glass Plus and a soft rag. Those are about as strong as I would tend to go.

I also prefer either the soap and water or the above mentioned cleaners because they are not too strong in scent and don't linger. They smell clean without over powering the natural smell of the car. I like the new car kind of smell. Thus why I wouldn't, personally, follow other recommendations for citrus wipes or the orange cleaners. While they may work fine and all, I don't know, their scent might be too over powering.

Incidentally, it got a little warm here the other day. After the car was parked in the sun and it got up to almost 60, I went out and got in and I could still smell the original new car smell. Even though the car is now approaching 2 years old.

100% cotton bath hand towel dampened with plain 'ol tap water.

Leaves my dash - radio - guages - sparkly clean.

Then I use it to remove the dog slobber residue on the rear doors.

Low tech, low cost and highly effective.

:)

I just hose mine off, we can do that can't we?:? :twisted:

No, if ya hose it off....your hosed....:roll:

Not even say, a light spray?:confused:

No, but its your E.....:grin: :???:

Car and driver and my dealer said I could. I mean, they would know all wouldn't they?

Swiffer Duster.

I keep it in my drivers side door so i can use it all the time.

Other than that i always use a towel and water to clean.

I use the ArmorAll CLEANING wipes as well. These are fantastic and are NOT THE SAME as ArmorAll protectant wipes which are HORRIBLE for your dash. The Cleaning wipes are perfectly safe and work great anywhere in the E. I actually just bought the new Orange Cleaning Wipes for the floors and doors, gonna try em soon!

I use two different methods to clean the dash. Both work equally well.

1. Tell my boys to go clean the inside of the E, and I better hear the shop vac.

2. Tell the people at the car wash not to forget to clean my dash.

Like I said, "Both methods are tried and true and work equally well." I do have to admit however that number one is quite a bit less expensive. Unless you count the food bills.....sigh......teenagers.

BigTZElement, I keep looking for your Option1 in stores, but can't find it anywhere. Did you have to use the black market?

A french maid to clean my E? Not a bad idea......:roll: :grin:
Yeah, I'm not sure how much "Cleaning" would get done.