I am finding it impossible to satisfactorily clean the interior door panels on my Roadster. They have a mottled appearance even after thorough cleaning.

The problem comes from contact between body oils, lotions etc on your arms and the door panel / armrest. The texture makes it difficult to clean but should not make it impossible. I can only make it better, never to my satisfaction.

Does anyone have a protocol for poperly detailing the interior door panels?

 

Don't put product right on the door panel, you'll never get it even.

Always apply your product of choice to a MF towel and clean the panel with the towel.

I use 303 on a MF and have acceptable results. If you spray anything on the panel itself, it will be blotchy.

 

I just wipe down the inner panels with a damp microfiber towel. For areas that look extra bad (oily, etc.) I'll wet the towel more. Once you get it clean, and it is possible to do that, apply a protectant like 303 Aerospace Protectant. As Flynnibus pointed out, you can't spray anything directly on the door panels. Apply it to a towel then rub it on the door. That does help minimize the blotchy, molted look.

 

cleaning is easy...damped MF towel w/cleaner of your choice(fav cleaner for me is diluted simple green)...I haven't tried my fav protectant (NXT) on doors yet...but again the trick seems to be using a MF towel...should allow even application..perhaps a wipe down with clean MF after applying protectant would help also...I'm do for an interor cleaning..hmmm.. may have to try my own advice!

 

I used armor all orange cleaner wipes, following with a terry cloth towel, and had pretty decent results. I would stay away from any "protectant" wipes (i.e. Armor-all protectant wipes), or anything oily.

 

Try the spray Trim Shine by Stoner. You can get it at most pep boys, autozone etc. Inexpensive and works great on the doors. No splotchyness at all. I have a friend who uses it on his and loved it. His doors looked great.I went out and bought some the next day.

I use it on the entire interior instead of armor all.

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied to my post regarding my problem with cleaning the interior door panels. I have spent a few more hours trying to get the door trim clean with a variety of cleaners applied as suggested.

I am still frustrated that I can’t get them clean to my satisfaction. I have posted an image of what I am dealing with and hope I can find someone who has solved this problem. I admit the photo, taken in direct sunlight makes the problem look worse than it does at most times, but because this is a roadster the interior is often in direct sunlight and the doors look awful.

I have not tried any kind of “dressing” because my goal at this time is to get the door clean and then apply the 303 protectant, which worked incredibly well, on the ragtop.

Any new ideas will be appreciated.

 

Doh! Go ahead and apply the 303 Aerospace protectant! It has cleaning properties as well, and will even out the blotchiness.

Once I got my ex-wife's car back from the body shop and it had a new interior panel that didn't match the others at all - but once I used the 303 it evened out the color PERFECTLY.

Remember to spray the 303 onto a sponge applicator, then wipe on. Let it sit for a bit (5-10 mins) then wipe off the excess with a clean lint-free cloth. Viola!

 

i read about this on another board. use 6 parts water and 1 part woolite. This got the doors not only clean and even but removed any of the buildup of other attempts to clean the doors. use a good microfiber towel after you rinse off the soap and it looks awesome. then try some of the suggestions above if you think you need it