Stoner's Invisible Glass is safe for tinted windows. If using windex make sure the front of the bottle says ammnonia free, which they do.

 

Ah, then maybe it's only Dollar General or equivilant that say "with ammonia". Yea, I use the ceap stuff, works just as good for me. Of course you're right about some window cleaner's being safe, the shop I use only uses that as a disclaimer so someone doesn't get the wrong kind and f*** the tint up.

 

Stoners invisible glass for the windows. Best glass cleaner I've ever used. I used a paper towel with it. I don't get any streaking.

I've been using Meguires Leather Wipes for the sets, shifter, and door inserts. Seems to work good so far.

For the rest of the interior, I use Mequires Tech Protect. That has also been working good.

To comment on the manual and those of you who only use a damp rag.. I don't think that's enough. I don't think it will stop the dash from craking or fading from a lot of sun exposure. The sun really destoryed my Z24.. faded the paint on the body panels.. cracked the dash.

 

I very rarely cleaned my '98 Cavy (and when I did it was just a quick wipe down) and when I sold it 3 months ago I had absolutely no problems with my dash, etc. whatsoever. It may have faded slightly but that could have also been due to the age of the car, not necessarily from sitting in the sun. I never used a sun shield in the front window and the car was always parked outside in the direct sunlight. I now use a sun shield in my front window every day regardless of what the weather looks like it's going to do just to be safe, but I am still only using a damp rag to clean the whole interior of the car...I don't like the looks cleaning wipes shiny or not give the interior.

I'm hoping to get out of my apartment soon and into a house so I can ***** the garage all to myself and protect my baby in the summer and winter months . For now though I'll rely on the sunshield to keep the dash out of the direct sunlight.

Permafried-

 

[What I use for the dash is a California Car duster , not the big one ...they have a smaller one for your dash . It gets all the dust off without having to use anything at all . Once or twice a month I will use hot water with a little bit of Simple Green and give the dash and interior plastic a good cleaning . I always have let it air dry . As far as glass , hell Im a detailer and im still clueless , haha .

 

As an alternative to Armor-All I use 303 space protectant. It's kinda pricey, but it's not greasy and it says it resists dust. It also says it's more of a UV protectant than anything else. I think it makes my dash look nice. As far as window cleaner, I have no ideas, I just use WIndex.

 

meguiars quik detailer works pretty well on the interior. cleans it up, just slightly deepens the color, and leaves no greasy residue at all.

i've always found my windows got worse with armor all etc on the dash. even more fumes to evaporate and film up the windows.

another thing that works wonders to cut the film is mixing about half a cup of vinegar with around a gallon of hot water. just wipe the windshield with that, microfiber the extra moisture off, and you're good to go. (i've never tried that on tint, though, and don't think it would be good for it.)

 

I use the Armor All cleaning wipes to clean the dash of dust and crap, followed by the Armor All protectant wipes. Those have done me well so far.

For the leather parts, I use the Meguiars Leather Conditioner spray and wipe it down with a soft rag. Works great on all the seats and the leather on the door panels... don't want the leather to fade with the sun and all. Keeps the shift boot nice and shiny too.

Windows are a little of a biatch... I generally use a separate shammy for it... does a decent enough of a job...

 

For the inside, I use the armor all spray, but if you get it on certain areas it will leave spots. I also have this professional window cleaner which I spray on the glass and wipe off with paper towels, then polish with a towel. Works great! And the cobalt manual says to use a damp cloth to clean leather seats (if you have them).

 

Heres a good link to some tips on window cleaning:

http://autogeek.net/waterspots.html

 

The fog on the interior glass is caused by the chemicals that make up the plastics and vinyls that are used. The PolyVinylChloride "flashes" out of the plastics and builds up on the glass over time. This is usually the worst when the car is new (that is what the new car smell is made up of - those fumes flashing off the interior materials) and is regularly left in the sun. The best way to keep this under control is to clean the interior of your car with a mild interior cleaner and then apply a protectant (not armour all - that stuff is crap) that will leave a matte finish. It will help seal the plastics and protect against UV damage. The kicker is that the longer this stuff flashes off, the more brittle the plastics and vinyls will get. It is important to use a proper protectant for the surface that you want to protect...I made that mistake a few years ago when I use to use armour all for everything inside my car...it started to get under the paint on the trim and lift it right off of the plastic.

-P

 

I remember reading somewhere that basically what armor all does is form something like tiny little bubbles or something that makes everything all shiny...

The only problem with this is that it also magnifies the sun on those parts, which is something you don't want.

I guess anything that leaves a shine you really don't want inside.

I still think that water is best. It's usually the simple stuff that does the job well.