#39: How strong is it?

[Aurora40]

Well, I drove the 'vette on a fairly long trip while wearing sunblock, and it yucked up the interior a bit. My usual routine is to wipe the interior down with water to remove dust/dirt, then use a protectant with or without cleaners depending on the dirtiness (my cars never get that dirty, but APC+ is used when they are).

So today I thought, a cleaner protectant like #40 might not be quite strong enough since sunblock can be a bear to wash off me! I remembered my bottle of #39 that sat so unused for so long. So I sprayed a towel with distilled water as usual, then with 4-5 squirts of #39, and wiped the interior down and followed with a dry cloth.

It worked really, really well and dirt came off on the towel from areas I thought were clean. So my question is, how safe or strong is this stuff? Is this safe to use on a damp cloth every time I wipe my interior down? Is it intended just for strong cleaning?

Is it a "safe" product like #00 and #36 are, or a "serious" product like many of the others? What if the product weren't buffed off very well or was missed in spots? Any danger?

I'd love it if it's uber-safe and I can put a squirt on the cloth with water when I do my normal routine, as it works so nicely. But the fact that it worked so well makes me a bit hesitant to use it like that.

Thoughts? Keep in mind this is a 15 year old interior, and it's only getting older...

[rusty bumper]

That's a good question.

I've tested it on tires before, and the dirt would just run off like I was using Westley's Bleach White or something.

But on the other hand, the instructions say to spray it on the surface you want cleaned, and then wipe it off with a dry towel, if I remember correctly.

I personally think it has some sort of ingredient(s) that conditions plastic & vinyl, but that's just speculation on my part.

Hopefully Mike will chime in here, as I would like to know too.

[Teak]

Based on my experience #39 is strong stuff. #39 can cloud painted surface and some plastics, the cloudiness can removed with polish. I like to throughly clean with #39 and follow with a protectant. Then use #39 once a year to clean the surface. I think #39 my diluted 1:1, but I am not certain on that. You may want to use multiple applications of IQD or #40 if the interior is fragile.

Eric

[Aurora40]

The MSDS for #40 shows a pH of 9.0 vs 8.5 for #39. Of course that doesn't tell the whole story, but the MSDS doesn't read like a strong or dangerous product.

But the way it works, it sure seems strong. Maybe I'll just stick with my current way of doing things, wiping down with just water first.

Thanks for the feedback on your experiences with it. It confirms the strong properties it seemed to have to me.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Teak
#39 can cloud painted surface and some plastics, the cloudiness can removed with polish. Eric

I forgot to bring that up.

I was going to detail a black S-10 a few months ago, but I cleaned the trim 1st with #39. I sprayed it liberally on the trim and wound up staining the paint.

Thankfully, #80 took the stains off, as well as taking a load off my mind too.

[Mike Phillips]

Off hand I don't know how to rate M39 as a strong or mild cleaner because I think it would matter what you're comparing it to?

Here is one aspect to consider however, it is a dedicated cleaner, that is, that's all this product is designed to do. Most products for cleaning vinyl are part of one-step products that clean, condition and protect, therefore the cleaning portion is limited by the other ingredients.

M39 Vinyl Cleaner is a straight cleaner, no conditioners, no protectants and it's very important to understand that after using this product you need to apply a conditioner/protectant to the surface.

I've used M39 for years and yes it is an effective cleaner for dirty vinyl, rubber and some plastics. I think it would be safe to dilute it with a little water for a less strong cleaning solution but I'll check to see what the official word is on this. I know I've used it to clean neglected vinyl convertible tops before and sprayed the vinyl top first with water so that I didn't introduce a straight cleaner to a dry, neglected vinyl surface and it didn't appear to have any adverse effect so in my mind this would be similar to diluting it first with some water.

Let me check to be sure.

Mike

[Buellwinkle]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
I know I've used it to clean neglected vinyl convertible tops before and sprayed the vinyl top first with water so that I didn't introduce a straight cleaner to a dry, neglected vinyl surface and it didn't appear to have any adverse effect so in my mind this would be similar to diluting it first with some water.

Let me check to be sure.

Mike

If it's safe for you on vinyl convertible tops it's got to be pretty safe for interiors as the top material has a coating and if you use too strong of a chemical it will leave a dull spot. Interior vinyl is pretty tough.

Mike, since you recomend a protectant after #39, what did you use on the vinyl convertible top after #39?