Strong plastic & vinyl cleaner?

[chesterpiglet]

Hi all. I just went to clean the dash etc & need some advice for how to get rid of maybe 1mm worth of greasy grime on some of the plastic & vinyl dash parts. The photo shows what I'm up against- it is totally
gross. Normal vinyl cleaner has little effect. I spent a few minutes with T-Cut & that did get it off but it was hard word as it keeps smearing(it's like the residue when you peel a sticky label off). I need something to dissolve the grease without harming the plastic or vinyl. I use thinners on glass but suspect that would be too strong. Any suggestions please. Many thanks Rob

 

[Toobad]

I suspect the 1mm of grime is actually the surface of the plastic which has broken down over time due to prolonged exposure to UV and heat. This happens a lot to plastic/vinyl dashboard coverings, especially in older vehicles and in sunnier climates. The sticky mess can be removed with an adhesive cleaner to expose the as yet unaffected material that resides underneath. You should protect the cleaned surface with a UV-resistant silicon oxide (Si02) based protectant such as CarPro P.E.R.L or for even more longevity, CarPro DLUX. Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is inexpensive and available at chemists in small quantities. It will remove light grease and oils and has a multitude of other uses in car detailing. It may be a tad too lightweight for your particular problem in which case 3M do a general purpose adhesive cleaner favoured by many workshops but that will set you back £22/litre.

1L General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner Garage Workshop Replacement Spare - 3M 08984 | eBay

 

[chesterpiglet]

Many thanks. My 1st instinct was just that(& of course it could be that but some parts of the same trim were not affected according to their angle) but it was odd that you couldn't see the images on the steering wheel buttons for instance. I next tried WD40 which worked but no better than the T-Cut. I then used Cif Kitchen De-Greaser & it did the job very quickly. I then finished the surfaces off with my normal Autoglym.

 

[PhilLinda]

I use diluted Flash to clean all the plastics in my car. Works better than any expensive interior cleaner and no residue.

 

[GeeJayW]

Screenwash concentrate works a treat.

 

[chesterpiglet]

According to my Vin decoder I have an extra called Softtouch which is a kind of matt finish to certain plastic parts. As per Toobad's comments this appears to have been affected by the Sun etc & has gone sticky & is pretty gross tbh. It looks ok on the dash cubby box(but it is sticky to the touch)but where it is touched & banged more it looks awful as it marks easily with your finger nail etc. Does come off ok but is time consuming to do so.