Too aggressive on dashboard?

T

turboawd

New member
Hi All,



here's my recent situation: bought a 09 subaru legacy from dealer. The dashboard appeared uneven - dull in some spots, shiny in others.



I assumed that the dealer had applied armor all on the dashboard unevenly, so I wanted to remove the armor all. to do so, I started rubbing the dashboard with a microfiber and a woolite/water mix (about 20:1), and then with a microfiber with distilled water to rinse off the soap. I was rubbing pretty hard in some cases, especially on the shiny parts.



Now, it seems that the shiny areas of the dash are even shinier, and somewhat sticky/rough compared to the non-shiny parts of the dash. I'm not sure if that is the residual armor all, or if I've somehow damaged parts of the dashboard with my aggressive rubbing.



My question is: is it possible to rub too hard on the dash vinyl and somehow damage it, and change it's appearance to be more shiny, and it's texture to be more rough?
 
There could be variation in the grain of the dash and this is what you perceive as shiny/dull. The woolite/water should remove the pre-existing product...you might want to try an APC to see if you have better results. You could always try Meguiar's M40...or M57 as they clean and protect.



Alcohol/water on the interior is not recommended and will, if used too aggressively, affect the dye.



In your case, using a MF towel with the woolite/water mix should not have damaged the dash...but it's hard to say without a pic.
 
Thanks for the replys guys - I've attached a pic of the problem here:



dash.jpg




It doesn't look to bad in this pic, but in reality it's quite a contrast between the shiny and dull areas, especially in direct sunlight. I found it hard to capture it on camera.



It's kind of hard to see, but the dashboard area closer to the base of the windshield is more dull, compared to the centre area, which is shinier. The shiny part has a gummy feel to it, while the dull part is more smooth.



Do you think the shiny part has residual armor all which is making it sticky/gummy, or do you think I've rubbed to hard on the vinyl in that area, and somehow roughened up the surface and exposed a gummier layer of vinyl?
 
turboawd said:
Do you think the shiny part has residual armor all which is making it sticky/gummy, or do you think I've rubbed to hard on the vinyl in that area, and somehow roughened up the surface and exposed a gummier layer of vinyl?
Click to expand...



Unfortunately, I think you've probably messed it up. I have some worn areas in my wife's A8 that're the same way. FWIW, I use Sonus cleaner on them, and it works pretty well with regard to evening things out and not making the bad spots worse. Helps a bit with the "gummy" issue too, but I dunno if your vinyl will respond the same way or not.
 
turboawd said:
Do you think the shiny part has residual armor all which is making it sticky/gummy, or do you think I've rubbed to hard on the vinyl in that area, and somehow roughened up the surface and exposed a gummier layer of vinyl?
Click to expand...





The sticky/gummy problem could be a combination of what you have mentioned; including a possible build-up of alkalinity.



The best direction to solve this problem is a total stripping to the OEM finish of all foreign contamination.



The shine will be gone by using a pH 7.7 leather Prep follows by a pH 3.8 leather-safe Cleaner then pH 3.0 Rinse; with horsehair brush and terry towel.



The sticky problem if it is still there due to alkalinity build-up (unlikely as a pH 3.8 and a pH 3.0 reduce or eliminate it) can be further neutralize with a leather pH 2.0 Acidifier.



Thereafter a Non-Stick Protector helps to impart a buttery-feel.



Physical repair to the roughened surfaces is another option to consider as the entire dashboard has to be refinish by airbrushing.





These pictures show the before and after “unwanted silicone shine removal�



Roger Koh

Leather Doctor®



029-1.jpg




046.jpg
 
Thanks for your reply Accumulator. i am hoping it isn't permanent damage. Accumulator, how did you manage to mess up your wife's A8? Was it by too much rubbing on the dashboard? if so, what product(s) did you use on the dash while rubbing?



So Roger, what you are saying is that the gumminess could be a build up of the Woolite (which I guess is alkaline)? it is true that I had a hard time "rinsing" off the woolite solution. I also forgot to mention that before woolite, I tried wiping with QD strength ONR. Roger, do you think that my situation is permanent?
 
turboawd said:
Thanks for your reply Accumulator. i am hoping it isn't permanent damage. Accumulator, how did you manage to mess up your wife's A8? Was it by too much rubbing on the dashboard? if so, what product(s) did you use on the dash while rubbing?
Click to expand...



In the A8's case, it's not on the dash, but rather on other interior surfaces that've just been worn down over the years from "normal use" types of contact. Note that this is her >100K mile daily driver; it gets used pretty hard and taken on long trips during which it's subjected to, uhm...non-Autopian conditions.



So it's really a completely different situation, but I mentioned it because the end-result sure sounded similar, especially that "uncovered gummy surface" bit. That gumminess is *NOT* any kind of buildup in my case, but rather what apparently happens when the top surfaces of the vinyl get worn away.
 
Thanks for your response Acc. I think I know the type of interior surfaces your talking about on the A8 - are they the smooth "rubberized" type surfaces found inside Audi's (on the door handle, parts of the centre console, etc)?



If so, then I think (and hope) my situation may be different, since those rubberized surfaces do not have graining like on the dash, but rather are plastic pieces coated with some kind of rubberized coating...
 
turboawd said:
So Roger, what you are saying is that the gumminess could be a build up of the Woolite (which I guess is alkaline)? it is true that I had a hard time "rinsing" off the woolite solution. I also forgot to mention that before woolite, I tried wiping with QD strength ONR. Roger, do you think that my situation is permanent?
Click to expand...



Alkalinity swells the substrate; Acidity contracts the substrate!



When alkalinity does its work, it has to be neutralized to stop the chemistry from continue working in the presence of moisture.



That may be the reason for accumulated alkalinity that has reached beyond its alkalinity threshold of intolerance.



Certainly using a pH 2.0 leather Acidifier will eliminate or reduce the stickiness problem.



But it is also wise to strip all foreign contamination (conditioner and protector that is film forming especially the silicone type) that may have buried the alkaline residue into the dashboard.



It has to be done with a pH 7.7 leather Prep; follows by a pH 3.8 Cleaner and a pH 3.0 Rinse.



The stripping removes unwanted coatings (foreign contamination) down to the OEM finish.



This stickiness problem is salvageable!



At least not to deteriorate further from your existing condition, if ignore for too long under alkaline exposure.



Roger Koh

Leather Doctor®
 
Thanks for the info Roger - so acid is the key here. I'm wondering if I would be able to use Lexol pH leather cleaner - lexol claims that the pH level is 5.0 to 6.0, which would make it slightly acidic, and possibly suitable for my situation. I happen to have a bottle of LExol leather cleaner lying around, and am wondering if it would be effective...
 
turboawd said:
Thanks for the info Roger - so acid is the key here. I'm wondering if I would be able to use Lexol pH leather cleaner - lexol claims that the pH level is 5.0 to 6.0, which would make it slightly acidic, and possibly suitable for my situation. I happen to have a bottle of LExol leather cleaner lying around, and am wondering if it would be effective...
Click to expand...



What you mentioned I have too!



It's pH measure by a pH meter do not go below pH 6; still is an acid cleaner; reserve it for future maintenance cleaning.



It has no alkaline neutralizing power effective enough to solve your existing problem.



Besides, you need to strip-off all other what's-on to the OEM finish.



Other than what I recommended, you may take a long time to solve your problem, even though now you know the route to take...





Roger Koh

Leather Doctor®
 
While it is true that acidic washes will remove alkalis and vice-versa, most of us don't have these different pH cleaners just laying around. In reality for you, this isn't necessary. There's tons of cleaners that will remove your residue, so let's just use what you've mentioned. Use 10:1 Woolite with a soft bristled brush (horsehair, nothing stiffer). Lather up a good foam and then wipe it off with a dry cloth. Repeat up to two more times. If that doesn't remove whatever residue you have on there, it probably isn't going to come off. Next, you need to remove the Woolite residue. This can be done by wiping with a wet cloth, then drying, then wiping with another wet cloth, then drying. That will certainly remove whatever cleaner residue was left. At that point, if you have uneveness, its due to damage. You can either live with it, try to fix it, or try to cover it up with a dressing. Unless its horrible, I'd live with it.



I've messed up a car by being too aggressive. In my case, it was a leather seat. It sucks, but you have to learn from it and move on. It's not the end of the world and what's a big problem to your eye, most people probably won't notice.
 
turboawd said:
Thanks for your response Acc. I think I know the type of interior surfaces your talking about on the A8 - are they the smooth "rubberized" type surfaces found inside Audi's (on the door handle, parts of the centre console, etc)?
Click to expand...



No, not in this case (our Audis were made before things got so modern ;) ). This is just "regular interior vinyl" that got abraded over a period of years to where the top surface was finally worn down significantly.



No idea at all how one would deal with those modern/fancy rubberized coatings; I suspect that damage to them is forever and that they're pretty fragile. That's just my guess, based on new loaners I've driven. Some makers don't seem to give much thought to how such surfaces are gonna hold up over the years..
 
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