Can I get this any cleaner?

The interior surface of the older benzes is like a very hard vinyl. It is nicely textured and soft, not solid like plastic, but it does not behave like a softer material. It can take a lot of abuse before it cracks, fades, stretches, or tears. It is part of the older Mercedes build quality and style that is very different from the benzes today.



After doing some experimenting with the magic eraser, i have found that there is a certain amount of rubbing that this material can handle until you start to rub away the grain. Not hard enough will result in non satisfying results, still dirty. To hard, you can wear through the grain and it will be permanently smooth and kinda shiny. With a medium amount of pressure and some caution, you can achieve pretty much a brand new uniform matte finish.



I have tried diluted simple green and 1:6 woolite with brushes as well. This method works fine, but in some areas like on the top of the door panel where the driver has been resting his or her arm, the cleaners and brushes can't seem to reach deep down and create a surface as nice as the magic eraser.



For the most part i'm going to stick to the cleaners and brushes to be on the safe side, and only use the magic eraser if i have to. I will hopefully post some pics up tomorrow.



Thank you for all the replies and advice.:)
 
MBenz- Glad you're making progress, I'd been wondering. That sounds a litle scary with the Magic Eraser, the chance for irreperable damage and all.



What kind of brushes are you using? This might be a good job for the stiffer natural-bristle toothbrushes (hard to find- google "vermont country store" if you're interested, they had 'em the last time I checked).
 
So after some trials and such, i have come to a conclusion. The magic eraser is a very powerful too, infact it might be considered just a little to powerful for all around interior use. I think that patience with a good brush and cleaner is better than wearing away the surface. But i will say this, you can clean super fast with it. In the picture below, the clean aera took literally 5 seconds to do with the eraser. i finished up the rest of the arm rest with 1:6 woolite and a good brush. Also note, a good brush makes all the difference.



IMG_3591.jpg




The thing that really makes the magic eraser a awesome product is its power in odd jobs like scuff removal. These are a before after shot of the door sills from my mom's e320. I pulled them off to do the work. The magic eraser worked perfect for this situation.



Before:

IMG_3154.jpg


After:

IMG_3156.jpg
 
I've got my flame suit on....



For interiors that have dirt in the grain/texture of the surface, I have sprayed some Scrubbing Bubbles on a MF towel and wiped it on the surface. It works EXTRAORDINARILY! I had some dirt on the driver-side door panel on my E300 from the prior owner. Nothing I have touched it. I even gently tried fast orange to clean with little luck. I quickly wipe it with a damp MF and then apply 303 protectant to the surface just "Bubbled"...
 
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