how to care for dash in 1997 528i?

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Notgiven - 07 Mar 2006 22:31 GMT

the dash is very textured and matte. I don't want to "muck it up" with
products that will not easily clean out of the texture or ruin it with a
high gloss.

any ideas?

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John Burns - 07 Mar 2006 22:52 GMT

> the dash is very textured and matte. I don't want to "muck it up" with
> products that will not easily clean out of the texture or ruin it with a
> high gloss.

Zymol vinyl cleaner :-)

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Notgiven - 07 Mar 2006 23:04 GMT

thanks

>> the dash is very textured and matte. I don't want to "muck it up" with
>> products that will not easily clean out of the texture or ruin it with a
>> high gloss.
>
> Zymol vinyl cleaner :-)

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user@user.net - 08 Mar 2006 00:24 GMT

>the dash is very textured and matte. I don't want to "muck it up" with
>products that will not easily clean out of the texture or ruin it with a
>high gloss.
>
>any ideas?

303 Protectant

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Fred W - 08 Mar 2006 14:33 GMT

> the dash is very textured and matte. I don't want to "muck it up" with
> products that will not easily clean out of the texture or ruin it with a
> high gloss.
>
> any ideas?

Lexol Vinylex.

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-Fred W

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admin - 08 Mar 2006 21:34 GMT

>> the dash is very textured and matte. I don't want to "muck it up"
>> with products that will not easily clean out of the texture or ruin it
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Lexol Vinylex.

All of these are IMHO a BAD IDEA. The E39 dash is made from recycled
plastics and rubber. It is somewhat porous. Putting any "treatment" on
it will "muck it up"

The only treatment it needs is a wiping with a damp cloth once in a
while. It looks just fine after that - and I have never seen or heard of
one cracking. It is NOT vinyl.. and the stuff made for vinyl is not good
for it.

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E28 Guy© - 09 Mar 2006 17:05 GMT

> All of these are IMHO a BAD IDEA. The E39 dash is made from recycled
> plastics and rubber.

That's news to me. I know of no way that 'plastics' and rubber will
combine to make a homogeneous material like this. While it may be
composed of *a* recycled *plastic* (of which there are many - mostly
incompatible with one another, just as they are with rubber), this
would no doubt be a thermoplastic.

> It is somewhat porous. Putting any "treatment" on it will "muck it up"

I fail to see how this is a cause-effect relationship. Porosity has
nothing to do with susceptibility to proper treatments. All this means
is that the treatment solution might reach the underlying foam padding
- also a plastic (probably a blown-in-place urethane impervious to
typical surface treatments).

> It is NOT vinyl.. and the stuff made for vinyl is not good for it.

I'm just waiting for the details on this theory ...
--
C.R. Krieger
(Been there; done that)

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admin - 09 Mar 2006 21:44 GMT

> I'm just waiting for the details on this theory ...
> --
> C.R. Krieger

C.R.,

You can wait all'ya want. When you move into a new decade of BMW
engineering maybe you'll actually have some reason to be concerned.

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admin - 09 Mar 2006 21:51 GMT

>> All of these are IMHO a BAD IDEA. The E39 dash is made from recycled
>> plastics and rubber.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> incompatible with one another, just as they are with rubber), this
> would no doubt be a thermoplastic.

Jeeze - who'da'thunk'it? Glad I was able to deliver some news.

BMW lied to us again? It's THEIR claim that the dash was made from
recycled plastics and rubber. And in case you're wondering - rubber no
longer comes from the rubber tree.. it comes from the same oil that your
thermoplastic comes from.

>> It is somewhat porous. Putting any "treatment" on it will "muck it up"
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> - also a plastic (probably a blown-in-place urethane impervious to
> typical surface treatments).

Sorry - you're wrong again. It IS one solid mass of material. There is
no covering and there is no foam padding inside it. It is one and the
same. What you see is what it's made of - through and through.

> C.R. Krieger
> (Been there; done that)

I think when you finally (if ever) leave the 1980's decade and move into
the 1990's (or - GASP - 2000's) of BMW design it will be like an
entirely new world opening to you. So much more for you to be crabby
about. You should give it a try sometime. Or not. Doesn't really matter.

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DFS - 10 Mar 2006 05:52 GMT

> the dash is very textured and matte. I don't want to "muck it up" with
> products that will not easily clean out of the texture or ruin it with a
> high gloss.
>
> any ideas?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I used nothing but a damp cloth on mine. It has a strange soft texture to
it, and I really didn't want to "muck it up" with any cleaners that would
either leave it with a shine, or a sticky mess.

For those who have no experience with the surface, suffice it to say that it
isn't anything like a normal vinyl surface - more like soft rubber.

DS

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