What does everyone use for weekly wipe downs, cleaning leather steering wheel, cleaning nuluxe, scratches on plastic etc?

my car is ceramic coated in interior because I’m terrified of dye transfer of circuit red nuluxe and people with the white Tesla leather swear by a ceramic coat.

on a more weekly basis for dust etc, I think I will just use a moist MF towel.

products I have heard about

1z cockpit premium: apparently great for matte finish cleaning + protectant of the dash. This is apparently created by BMW but bottled in this brand to outsource. Ordered a bottle - may try out like once a month

303 protectant : UV protectant for dash. I got a light scuff on glove box from gf (might have to keep her out of the car until OCD goes down ) that worked well to minimizing scuff and making glovebox less “dry” in general. Lots of people swear by this product but definitely does leave a slight gloss finish not completely matte.

Mothers VLR : Lexus owners with nuluxe on club Lexus swear by this and it’s great. It’s an all in one cleaner and conditioner that is made for vinyl. So far I used on one small minor scratch on the leather that looked dry and and a bit cracked and it worked great. Will use sparingly and will be my first attempt of attack if I do get dye transfer. This seemed to help a bit on creases but nothing crazy.

carpro interior detailer: have this on order for a once of a month or couple weeks wipe down but still don’t know if this is too aggressive cadence of a wipe down.

I’m OCD I don’t need anyone to let me know I was bummed that there were minor creases in side bolsters lol but I just want to learn what I can do to minimize car wear and tear.

 

Any of those products are fine. I would use water, however, until you lose the new car smell. Then I'd go ***** to the wall on the products.

Other tips: Don't eat in your car. Hold in the farts and sneezes. Wear lint-free clothing. Basically anything Lululemon is good (even though they're kinda racist...ever been in their stores?)

Oh this is big - don't let the Lexus Service Dept detail the inside. They'll most likely scratch the plastic in front of your tachometer and leave streaks everywhere else.

 

yeah that’s a good call on holding the products for new car smell.

Lol to farts, but yes lulu and ALO is mostly what I wear. I do have a Canada goose jacket that I wear a lot in the winter but basically anything I wear im rubbing against a white tee to see of any dye transfer. Jeans are gonna be worn a lot less in the car

I did hear the tachometer scratches easily, I’ll never touch that area just use an air duster or something to clean it. lexus dealers will never wash the car inside or out. They get annoyed with me with how many times I say do not wash but these service guys are not the brightest and sometimes forget.


I’ll probably have to limit the GF in the car unless she is cool with the no bags in car and can get out without putting pressure on side bolsters lol.

thankfully it’s not my only car, my 2011 RX350 gets most of the driving especially in the winter and it’s kind of nice right now not worrying how I sit or how I get out until my OCD softness to the new toy feel goes down. If this was an S5 (I didn’t think about any of this with my previous b9 Audi s5 cause I was like, I’ll just get a new one in a few years) or something else mass produced then I would be less OCD, but since I know production is low for these cars I feel as though I need to be extra cautious.

 

vpar - Everyone will have an opinion on how to clean their interior. I agree with you and macmaster, don't let anyone detail your car (inside or out!!) Personally, I am a just a lukewarm water kind of guy as I don't like anything that will leave residue and shine on the seats or dash. I see you are in Illinois so like me, you don't have to worry about excessive heat and UV damage but I would also encourage you to keep it in the garage if you have one. As far as the seats, I have heard of the Mother's product but never used it myself and so far my seats have never had any issues.

The one thing I wish I could find some help with is how to clean the outside window, especially the side. No matter what I try or use, there always appear to be a greasy film on the window and it drives me insane!! I swear I have tried everything and no matter what, I can't get it clean. It looks clean and streak free from inside the garage and as soon as I drive in the sun, there is again...I swear my underwear are more streak-free than my windows and that is just wrong (lol)

 

@wthrman2 is right, you’ll get a lot of opinions and here is one more! 😜

1. 303 Protectant - That stuff is awesome! Used it for years, no weird residue. Make sure to hit the black plastic on the door sill near the metal Lexus plate.

2 Lexsol - I use this for the seats, arm rests, and center console. Used it for years staring with my ‘16 IS 350 FSport.

3. Tail pipes - I use Mother’s California Gold All Chrome to fight road grime. Wished I used it right at the beginning, because there are black stains I’m not able to get fully removed… yet. 😉 #MoreElbowGreaseNeeded

Good luck and yes, keep it garaged! Lexus has great interior quality, but it’s not impervious.

 

I find the Lexol doesn't work so great for the steering wheel, in my experience. Idk what it is about the Lexus steering wheels, but in both my prior IS and the 2021, they have gotten shiny a lot faster than I'd like. The BMW's steering wheel is holding up great, as were my VWs. What is the right kind of product to clean it? Or am I just a noob at using it?

 

the 1z cockpit premium is supposed to be really good at this, just spray a few squirts on clean MF and wipe.

 

Interesting. I’ve never used it on my steering wheel incidentally. There are too many regular ole plastic bits on it, so I use the 303 on the whole thing.

 

I can vouch for the Nextzett Cockpit Premium. Every two weeks I apply this on the leather steering wheel and shift **** and its maintained its satin sheen. I started doing this about a month ago, so essentially a year after owning the car and it removed the sheen that started building up on it. It was recommended to me by @E46CT just as he recommended the Nextzett Gummiplegg which is used on BMWs. i use it all on all weather stripping / seals and it got rid of all of my rattles / squeaks.

 

love a way to get rid of rattles and squeaks. You mean like the the seals attached to the doors?

 

I did EVERY seal lol. Off the top of my head this is the list; note that I cleaned them all with soap and water prior to using the Gummipledge:

1. Seal towards the front of the hood
2. Seal around the top edge of the front bumper.
3. Both seals on both sides of the engine bay
4. Sunroof seal
5. Seal around the trunk
6. The weather stripping around all 4 windows, even the triangle windows on the back doors (I recommend lowering the windows for this)
7. The seals around the doors
8. The door seals that are attached to the body of the car

I had some rattles that I thought were the sunroof and possibly the glass for the front passenger, and I haven't heard it since doing that. I also visibly noticed and felt how the seals softened up. The bottle is cheap and I feel like I might've only used like 2% of it. It feels like its all there. Just be gentlemen with the tip (lol @wthrman2) of the applicator. It's very fragile.

 

Leather on the steering wheel? I take care of many high end unprotected leather furniture pieces in the house and use Leather Master Products recommended by Bradington- Young, furniture mfgr. I use the same care system in my RX 450h with leather on the steering wheel and semi aniline leather on the seat bottoms and seat backs. Works great on the sofas and chairs so I thought it would be great for the car as well. Products are: Cleaner, protectant cream , and leather vital conditioner. I dust, vac and wet wipe with clear water as needed as standard maintenance. (The products are expensive but the yield and results make it worth the $$)

3x per year I use the leather master products: Cleaner, protectant cream and vital conditioner. Always clean before treating with the other creams. They are all water base products and leave no film or gloss on the leather. I do protect the RX's leather from UV by keeping the pano roof shade closed when parked as well as putting up shades in the windshield and front side windows. My leather looks like new and remarkably the car interior has the new / leather smell after to 2 years. I suggest dropping all over the counter leather care products, they have always over time made my car leathers look plastic coated. (Glossy). Give surfaces a good cleaning with the Leather Master Foam cleaner and horsehair brush and then switch over the the Leather Master Products. The BMW leather wheel probably has a highly protected leather which minimizes the effects of oil / contamination from hands touching the wheel. 1-2 treatments with the foam cleaner should de-gloss the leather on the steering wheel. Once surfaces are cleaned apply the conditioner cream followed by protective cream. Don't bother with all this for synthetic leather, my door panels , arm rests and seat side panels are not real leather so I don't treat them.