I've been using Meguiars Interior Detailer spray for many years, however, the smell of the last 2 bottles I have gotten is making me drop them for something else.

Meguiars must have changed their formula as the last two bottles smell very very acidic / vinegary when you spray it on, and for about 2 days.

The spray used to smell very appealing, and maintain that good smell for some time. No air freshners needed, my cars have always smelled almost like new, always. I attributed that to the detailing spray I was using. However, not anymore. Smells OK after a couple days, but even just putting it on drives me crazy. Don't know anyone who likes the smell of vinegar!!

Looking for some other options that are trusted.

 

I've used Dodo Juice Born Slippy for years.
It's meant to be a clay bar lube, but it's the best general purpose detailing fluid I have ever tried. It's the only thing I have ever found that cleans LCD screens with absolutely no streaks or smears, and believe me I have tried everything! And it is odourless. See here: Dodo Juice Carnauba Car Waxes, dodojuice wax, carnauba wax, dodo wax, dodo car care, rainforest rub, supernatural wax, purple haze wax then scroll down a little for the Born Slippy.
Edit - the linked ad says it has a tangerine smell, but I've never really noticed it so it must be fairly subtle!

 

Modern car interior surfaces including the leather have protective coatings. The best interior detailer is a damp microfiber towel.

 

Yep, tried that, but water tends to leave streaks & smears.
This thread inspired me to go over the interior of my F-Type with the Born Slippy and a microfibre cloth, and yet again I am amazed by how well it works!

 

Been using this on my last three cars (S500, C6 Z06 and the Jag)

 

+1 - Been doing this for years as I don't like perfumed products. Use filtered water and you won't get any streaks if the MF is damp and not wringing.

I have some really expensive Zymol leather and vinyl care products to name but a few, and they don't make an ounce of difference to the finish of the F-Type 'leather'...if it really is leather of course ;-)

 

I currently use Auto Finesse products for the interior. Will switch over to the Ammo NYC interior products once these run out. I love the Ammo exterior and wheel products.

 

I use a damp cloth when needed to remove dirt but it it rare I have the need to wipe any interior surfaces. I suppose it would be different if I drove a convertible that was exposed to the elements. A light wipe with a cloth lightly damped with a solvent-free glass and mirror cleaner leaves a dry, streak-free and anti-static finish to interior plastics and is safe for capacitive LCDs and polycarbonates. Water keeps the carpets clean if soiled. I use Meguiar's Gold Class Rich Leather Cleaner and Conditioner (what a stupidly long name!) for the leather surfaces including door trims as it is very effective at lifting out ingrained dirt with the minimum of effort (I wipe it off with water after about an hour). There are two types of leather used in the F-Type depending on what was specified on the build sheet - one is heavily treated and is water repellant and rough to the touch (get it wet and it will bead) and the other is soft and absorbs water (get it wet and it will stay wet until dried). I am not sure how well it would work on the first kind.

Never spray anything in the car unless you want it everywhere, always spray onto a cloth away from any open doors. If you have soft-feel plastics always test any new cleaner on an obscure part first because some can damage the finish. I don't think any F Types use those finishes, but cars from before 2013 often did.

 

Agreed, most new leather is sealed. A clean damp towel rung out till it's almost dry works the best.

 

+1

I Also use the 3 in 1 leather care.


Both have UV protection - most of my interior is exposed to the sun as often as possible :-)

 

Does it leave a oily shine? im a believer in minimal sun exposure to prevent fade and also wiping down the inteior often to maintain the original/natural matte finish of plastics,vinyl and leather.

 

No shine, not oily. I wipe (work) it in well, then wipe off any excess.

I bought the vert to get sun, so the interior gets sun :-)

 

I've been using Brillianize for several years on my motorcycle helmets, face shields, and gauges. I've used it my cars too. It's perfect for all the hard plastics, radio, A/C controls, LCD screens and gauges.

 

Thanks for the replies folks.

FYI, I was googling the weird smell in the Meguiar's product as I couldn't believe they would change their formula to smell so bad, and turns out it was a bad batch from two years ago that is still currently circulating through stores.

If you contact them and send in a picture of the bottle, they will mail out a replacement. Their contact info is: (800) 347-5700, just in case anyone else needs it.