fatboysam

I have a 2008 528i, I will like to know how to clean the interior, specially the dash board, I am attaching the pic. Is the black stuff leather or plastic ?

Duperstar

I've had good success with Lexol vinyl cleaner/conditioner for the dash. Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner on the seats. Doesn't make the seats greasy.

fatboysam

so the dash is plastic, what about the brown wooden kind of interior, is that plastic too ?thanks

KyleB

your wood trim is actually real wood. it's laminated, like when you stain a chair and then coat it with polyurethane. i use BMWs vinyl cleaner on the dash 'black parts', and a damp paper towel on the wood trim. Lexol is a good choice as well, I use the leather cleaner for my seats.

fatboysam

Thanks, couple of questions:

1.For dash board, can I use following:


2. How do I know if my car has genuine leather or faux leather?

Image2Pixel

If you didn't purchase the car new, then run a VIN check. It will tell you if you have Dakota Leather.

fatboysam

I already have the car, but it's the time to clean it, please attached picture, if it helps , thanks

KyleB

sure, you can. I've never been a fan of armor all, but suit yourself. IMO, Lexol is a far superior product. I am having good luck with the BMW branded stuff. A Maguires product started to remove pigment from the center console in my car. Use cheaper products, expect cheaper results.

call your dealer. give them the last seven characters of your VIN. ask if you have dakota leather. I'm not sure if imitation leather was put into any E60s, but I suppose it could have been. Every car I looked at when I was hunting had leather.

tonyb635

+1 , your dash, console and perhaps door panels are vinyl. I personally would not use armor-all in my car anywhere! Now, they do make a cleaner, but it has none of that slippery stuff, and the cleaner does work well. As for your seats, I too think most if not all are all leather. In Europe you can get cloth and other products. Most people aren't going to pay 50,000 plus for a car without leather...

Duperstar

+1 No armor-all. it makes the dash really shiny. The Lexol Vinyl cleaner pretty much just takes the dirt away and conditions it to keep it soft. The Lexol Leather cleaner and conditioner is great and does not leave the seat slippery or shiny. They almost feel powdery to me when they are dry, which is quickly. I also personally think you should get a separate cleaner and conditioner. You can really concentrate cleaner if you need to and then evenly apply conditioner. Just my preference thought. Amazon has a pack of all 3 Lexol products for around $25. The only other brand I used is Zymol. I just find Lexol gives good results for the money.