I am looking at buying an 05 6spd with Nav with 25K miles on it. The dash on the one I am looking at looks really faded. Salesman said it just needed to be wiped down. Has anyone had a problem with their dash fading a lot? Will just a leather or vinal conditioner bring it back to new?

Anything else I should be aware of? It is a certified used from an Acura dealership.

 

looks like the previous owner didn't take care of it...anyways, you can try cleaning w/ woolite:water mixture and then applying some aerospace 303..it depends on how bad the fade it, not sure if it will come back...but can try...

 

Many threads on products for the dash. I've tried a few different products, and the best by far is Turtle Wax F21 super protectant. It's a nice conditioner, nice depth, even color, and not greasy, for vinyl, leather, rubber and plastic with UV protection.
Never tried the 303 though.

 

303 BEST PRODUCT EVER. i use it alot and it does what it is supposed to. I gets rid of the faded look, conditions the vinyll and gives it back a nice deep black color. I also use on the seats and rubber seals around the car, does an A+ job all the time

 

What is 303 ? Is it a 3M product?

 

The Honda dash cleaner works well for me.

 

303 Aerospace Protectant is actually a marine/boating vinyl protectant. IDK if it's 3M (I don't think so, as I don't recall its logo on my bottle), but it can be found in most marine supply stores and several chain auto stores depending on state.

 

I dont know if this product has been covered, but this is what I bought from the dealership, http://www.lexol.com/vinylex.html works like a charm, and my dash was damn near white

 

I happened to be at a dealership yesterday and saw that they sold the Vinylex and Lexol products and not Honda/Acura products for the interior. Looked at the price of the Vinylex and almost died-$17.75. Guess they can make more on the aftermarket products.

 

...i think it really depends on how much the dealer wants to charge, i payed about 12-13 dollars with tax

 

Lots of places carry Vinylex, including Ace Hardware and Pep Boys. I think normally runs around $11. Works fantastic on the dash and plastic pieces.

 

My 2006 TL seemed to fad overnight, it initially looked like grey/white dust but would not easlily come off.

The Acura September 2006 technical bulletin talks about a fix and how to clean and condition the dash. Not wanting to take it to the dealer I tried myself to restore the dash to its original condition.

The procedure below was use on my TL with black interior.

As noted in this forum I also use Woolite to clean the dash and apply 303 Protectant after cleaning. 303 is available at boat dealers.

My method was to fill a bowl with about 16 oz of warm water and put a few drops of Woolite and mix it up. Then use Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (available at Walmart), which looks like an artificial sponge. Cut the Magic Eraser in half (so you can get in the corners) and dip in the Woolite mixture and squeeze excessive water out. Rub the Magic Eraser on the dash like you are doing light sanding, changing directions as you move it across the surface. Wipe dry with a clean towel. Keep a towel close to the Magic Eraser so you do not have any excessive Woolite mixture dripping in speakers and other areas. Let the entire area dry and look again for any faded areas and clean those areas again with the Magic Eraser.

You can do the entire dash with the Magic Eraser including the dimple area above the instrument panel.

After you are convince all the grey/white dusting is gone, the dash might look dull but don't be discourage yet.

Apply the 303 next. Use a small cotton towel cut to about 2 inch square and spray 303 on the cloth and apply to dash. Dry with a clean towel. You may have to apply the 303 several times to get the look you want. The thin plastic piece next to the windshield will look really black after 303 is apply. The top of the dash looks more black/dark grey.

Just a note:

303 seems to intensify the color of the surface you apply it to. If you are not sure about using 303 just try it on hidden areas to see if you like the result. This stuff is amazing and you should be reapply every month.

As an added bonus use the Magic Eraser in your house to remove marks on painted walls, it is an amazing product.

 

for the most part. First cleaning with woolite gets rid of the chemical the causes the faded look, then 303 restores the finish on it. But the magic erase i am not sure about....