What do you use to clean door panels and dashboards ?

I have some pretty stubborn dirt on some red door panels and I do not want to ruin them (+40 years old originals)and are looking for something that will "lift" the dirt off.

I have several times used laquer thinner, just be careful testing it on an area not seen first...not all vinyl reacts the same....I never had a problem though...then after I go over it with vinyl protector or simulated leather protector

Recommended directly by my boat manufacturer:

Fantask and 303 Protectant.

NOTHING else.

I have tried some thinner but it looks like it gives the vinyl a grayish film and takes out the structure in the vinyl.

salamon38, do you have a link to the Fantask ? did a search on the net but could not find it.

he may mean Fantastik.....sorry about the thinner not working...

I've used just plain old dish soap diluted in warm water and then finish with the non-greasy armor all protectant with UV.

No problem Bjorn, one of the first items I tested was the thinner, I guess it is just to strong for my vinyl.

I had some sucsess with citrus based handwash, but it leaves a mess and you will use a lot of time to clean up.

Was hoping to find some spray on, wipe of product that really work, will check up on the fantastik again..

Yes, I meant Fantastik.

And DO NOT use Amour-All products. Long term testing has shown that all their stuff actually pulls the moisture out of surfaces and speeds up the drying/cracking process.

I have used "Spray Nine" with great success. Never like the smell after putting Amour-All on vinyl.

Is this the one salmon38 ?

http://www.fantastik.com/carpet-stain-remover/

Just the regular one, not grez-off ?

Yes, just the "Spray Nine" for the interior.

Purple Power is great for cleaning vinyl. I use it on the boat and car. It is cheap too. You can get it at Walmart by the gallon for about 10 bucks undiluted. You can make several gallons of concentrate or use it undiluted for those stubborn stains.

Whatever you use make sure you go back over the vinyl with some type of protecting product.

That looks OK, it used to be a green bottle. Looks like they have added "Oxy-Clean" to it.

Be careful, it's got bleach in it.

This is the one I used although the have changed it to "anti-bacterial":

Fantastik All Purpose

Loffen, since you live in Norway some of the products suggested might be difficult to find. Here in Sweden, Lahega is a brand that many professional car reconditioners use ( http://www.lahega.se/ ). I don't know if any of Lahega's product are sold in Norway though.

The product sold under the Lahega name are meant for professionals, and are sold only in very large containers. Lahega also sell the same products under the Autorange name, meant for the amateur user, and in smaller containers.
I have used "Interior cleaner" with very good results http://www.lahega.se/showproduct.asp?id=670 . For example, the dash pad in my Corvair had been cleaned several times during the years I owned the car, with all kinds of products. It still looked a bit dirty though. After buying the above mentioned interior cleaner (to use in another car), I tried it on the Corvair dash, and to my surprise it took off a lot of old dirt that nothing else had taken off.

If you can't find Lahega's products i Norway, it might be a good idea to try to find a brand that the professional car reconditioners use. My experience is that they are much better than the normal do-it-yourself products.