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Hello Everyone,
I currently have an issue getting sun tan lotion out from the interior door panels and overall I am looking for a good cleaning solution I can use to get everything looking good again. Does anyone have any suggestions on which product I can use?
Thanks!
I use 3D orange degreaser or Meguiars APC and keep a bucket of rinseless solution next to me with rags soaking. Spray degreaser or APC on a brush, scrub til it`s gone, wipe with a rag from the rinseless bucket to essentially rinse the cleaner off. If you use onr or Infinite Use Detail Juice, then it`s even getting a layer of protection.
I’ve never had to remove sun tan lotion from my interior but this is the third question that I can remember about removal. Is it that much harder to remove sun tan lotion than any other semi greasy lotion? I would figure Megs APC 4:1 would remove it. I could be wrong...
Are we talking on leather seats/trim or fabric seats or plastic trim?
On fabric, depending on the type of sun tan lotion, it will stain/dye/discolor the fabric that is impossible to remove because the fabric absorbs lotion and, depending on how long it has been there, it becomes a permanent part of the fabric structure. Lotions with orange scents or those with tanning color-enhancers are the worst. While your skin can eventually slough (AKA grow and then die or flake off) off this coloration, fabric does not. Light colored fabrics/clothes will show this discoloration the most, obviously. Short of a re-dye of a fabric, I doubt that this can be removed or remedied.
I am sure that someone might mention a steam-cleaner.
If you have oils from the suntan lotion to remove on fabric, I suggest WD-40`s Spot Shot Stain Remover that you can find at Walmart. I found it good in tar, BUT if the oil or tar is left on for too long, the petroleum will discolor the fabric a yellow tinge. This product is like a "denatured WD-40" without the fish-oil scent that has been developed for clothes and fabrics. I used to use regular WD-40 (the shop spray lubricant) for cleaning fabric/carpet floor mats that got tar/blacktop sealant on them to dissolve it, but the fish-oil smell was over-powering and would linger for several days, even with necessary subsequent carpet shampoo. Spot Shot does not have that problem. I DO think, at least in my experience, that regular WD-40 is a better solvent/cleaner than Spot Shot for oil and tar, though.
I have since migrated to Optimum Polymer Technologies Carpet and Fabric Cleaner and it gets about 90% of most stains out on fabrics. I still pre-treat some stains with various stain pre-treaters OR just dab a small amount of full-strength Optimum Power Clean on the stain. I do NOT use diluted (3:1) Power Clean for fabric or carpet cleaning, as the smell is just too "industrial" and solvent-like and it lingers for WEEKS, not days when absorbed by the fabric material, and it will not rinse out. The OPT Carpet and Fabric cleaner has a very pleasant, antiseptic-clean smell that seems to kill odors and it cleans very well, which is why I like it for fabric material. Power Clean is a great cleaner/degreaser for hard surfaces, like paint, metal, or plastics.
So when you say door panels, I am assuming that these are plastic, but they may have fabric or leather insets in them, depending on they type and make of your vehicle.
The suntan lotion is on the plastic panels on the doors. I tried using 409 cleaner and also a rag with dawn and water and did not have luck. I did not go too far on trying other chemicals because I did not want to do damage. I will try everyone`s suggestions and probably look at an APC first since they are readily available locally. Yeah, surprisingly the lotion is hard to remove but again I am probably not using the right chemicals for the job.