Cleaning Door Panels

[Huxley]

I was cleaning the upper part of the door panel which is black on a IS250c With Lexol leather conditioner and it actually took some of the black coloring off. I took it to a dealer and the said to leave it alone. Is the panel leather or vinyl? Any suggestions on repairing or covering? Will armoral an option

[cduluk]

The top panel is covered in a very thin layer of vinyl.

I'm not a fan of the Lexol cleaner/conditioner but i can't believe it took the dye off... Is it noticeable at present? If not, then i say next time just go over it with a cloth dampened with water. It doesn't need to be conditioned...

[Huxley]

The top panel is covered in a very thin layer of vinyl.

I'm not a fan of the Lexol cleaner/conditioner but i can't believe it took the dye off... Is it noticeable at present? If not, then i say next time just go over it with a cloth dampened with water. It doesn't need to be conditioned...

[Huxley]

It is noticable nothing terrible but when I used the cloth with the lexol you could see some black on it. Even though it is not long lasting, would armaral do any harm. I did use a damp cloth later but it didn't make any difference.

[cduluk]

Well, unfortunately, if dye was removed and you can see the difference in color (probably more of a gray/blue now, right?) then your only fix is to have it re-dyed. Your Lexus dealer should be able to tell you the name of the company they use to re-finish cars before they sell them as CPO's. It's not actually "dye", it's more like paint that they spray on right over the vinyl. Since your only issue is with color (vs a rip or tear), it wouldn't require any prep work before spraying, so my guess is that the cost would be between $25-$50 and probably take about 5 minutes to perform as soon as they've got the rest of the door masked off.

No biggie <_<

[nielboy]

Well, unfortunately, if dye was removed and you can see the difference in color (probably more of a gray/blue now, right?) then your only fix is to have it re-dyed. Your Lexus dealer should be able to tell you the name of the company they use to re-finish cars before they sell them as CPO's. It's not actually "dye", it's more like paint that they spray on right over the vinyl. Since your only issue is with color (vs a rip or tear), it wouldn't require any prep work before spraying, so my guess is that the cost would be between $25-$50 and probably take about 5 minutes to perform as soon as they've got the rest of the door masked off.

No biggie <_<

I'm looking for some feedback also from other owners as to how they clean the doors panels areas that have that mat black textured surface. Our 2010 IS is only a month or so old but the areas I noted in the picture are getting a chalky white/grey shadowing or staining to them. What is the best way to clean them. Now that I hear about products like Lexol having actually removed some of the dye from the panels, I want to make sure I use the proper product on these areas.

[cduluk]

I'd just go over the area with a cotton towel dampened with plain water. Just don't make a lot of "polishing" motions (fast movements) as this might make the areas shiny. Just wash it like you'd wash off a table...

If you insist on using a conditioner (although it won't help as it's sealed vinyl) you can try leatherique's "leather rejuvenator".

[SW03ES]

The best product I have found for cleaning interior trim peices without leaving a gloss behind is a product called Ultima Interior Shampoo Gel:

http://www.autogeek.net/ultima-interior-kit.html

That is a kit that includes the Shampoo Gel, a small bottle of their Interior Guard Plus (also VERY good) and an applicator sponge. You apply the gel with the white side which is just a touch abrasive and then wipe off with a towel. When done and dry you apply the interior guard with the red side which is soft and let it set without wiping off.

Leaves a great OEM matte finish to the black panels. Can be used on the leather seats too.

[Dan Canete]

I have the same problem with the black interior of a 2012 CT200H. The dash and door panels seem to attract these and are hard to remove even with a wet cloth. This is the only car I've had with this problem. Any suggestions other than a wet cloth? Been there. Done that.