Diluted Mr. Clean for interiors?

[StoneRaizer]

I hope I don't get too many people cringing at this, but there's a cupholder on my Dad's 2003 Malibu that's on the left side beside the headlight and signal lever. He has a habit of putting a coffee cup in this spot and spilling some on the driver's side door panel. My preferred interior protectant is Natural Shine but I've found that the cleaning power isn't enough to get these coffee stains out. I've also found that it isn't strong enough to clean the strip of vinyl underneath the door which tends to get dirt deep inside the textured surface.

I've found that a couple drops of Mr. Clean All Purpose diluted with about four cups of water does the trick on these stains, but I worry that it's hurting the vinyl because it's not specially designed for automotive use. I'd love to get some Meg's APC but I can't find any where I live (Cornwall, Ontario) and I really don't want to drive an hour to Ottawa (Canada's capital city) just for it, so I'm left with a few options:

- Meg's M40
- Meg's QID (old formula)
- Armor All Multi Purpose Cleaner
- Simoniz All Purpose Cleaner


Out of those four, will any give me the cleaning power I want or should I see if I can find some Meg's APC somewhere?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Diluted Mr. Clean for interiors?

A couple drops diluted in 4 cups of water? That sounds pretty darn mild and one would think you should be just fine.

Still, if you're really concerned about continued use, especially if the product specifically recommends against use on vinyl (we don't have any first hand knowledge of this product so we can't directly comment on it), then go with M40 if you have easy access to it. It's a fantastic product and will let you clean and dress the vinyl in one step.

[StoneRaizer]

Re: Diluted Mr. Clean for interiors?

Yeah when I said a couple drops I don't exactly use an eye dropper, it's more like half a capful. It's designed for everyday household cleaning but it's not heavy duty by any means. It's basically Meg's APC for your house. I don't believe it says anywhere to not use it on automotive vinyl but it's perfectly acceptable to dilute it for your vinyl floors in the kitchen, bathroom, family room, etc.

http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/all-purpose-liquid-febreze.do

I'll pick up some #40 per your recommendation and keep my eye out for APC. I use Natural Shine by spraying a microfiber with the product and then wiping down all of the vinyl and plastic followed by a quick buff with the dry side of the towel. Can I use #40 the same way or is there a different application process? How shiny is #40 compared to Natural Shine?

[cnfowler]

Re: Diluted Mr. Clean for interiors?

Natural Shine isn't a cleaner, its a protectant. You should be using a dedicated cleaner or a dual purpose product like Michael suggested (M40). Since M40 is a cleaner/protectant, you're going to need to work it in to remove the stains.

Colin