How to easily clean rubber, glass and plastic

Don’t worry, we’re not becoming a detail website. But we do like to keep our cars clean–whether it's for a local get-together, Radwood or our own $2000 Challenge.

We also like products that work well and deliver at a fair price.

How’d we find these easy, effective products? Tim McNair of Grand Prix Concours.

Here are some of the products that we have been using to rejuvenate our Garage Rescue Miata, so let’s all crib from his notes. And notice that this stuff is all easy to use, and no hose required. 

[A quick, easy guide to detailing your car.]

How to Clean Rubber and Plastic

Are your tires looking more brown than black? That might be the dirt attracted by the mold release compound.

Tim recommends SD-20, a foaming all-purpose cleaner from Spartan Chemical. Simply spray, agitate with a brush, and then wipe off with a microfiber towel. The SD-20 quickly removes the grime.

We spent about 5 minutes with SD-20 to transform some tires that had seen duty on our VW Fox race car.

SD-20 also works well on other dirty rubber parts like hoses, bumper trim and the like. 

SD-20 can be a little tough to find locally, but we scored a can online for about $17. For a local source, check with janitorial supply companies.

After cleaning any rubber and plastic–interior or exterior trim, tires or even under the hood–hit them up with some Griot’s Vinyl & Rubber Dressing ($19.99 for a 22-ounce bottle). We have found this product to produce natural blacks that don’t look greasy.

[DIY Interior Deep Clean]

How to Clean Auto Glass

Cleaning windows can be a pain. Tim’s tip? Use a foaming cleaner as it seems to better cling to those sloping interior surfaces while also cutting through the grime.

His brand of choice: Sprayway. We scored some at our local supermarket on a BOGO: two cans for $5.

After spraying the window, we wipe everything clean with a Griot’s Garage microfiber towel designed specifically for glass. We found them in our garage, so we call it gift from above. (Why not wipe up with newspaper? Because then you have a clump of wet, dripping newspaper.)

[Cleaning up That Garage Find.]

How to Clean Hard Auto Plastics

One more tip that we picked up from Tim: To clean hard plastic parts–think taillights, turn signals and even those clear fuse box lids–use Plexus.

Spray on this foaming cleaner and then buff with a microfiber towel. It somehow, magically, polishes away any light scratches and brings out the color. Amber lights, for example, will seem more amber-y.

When we first pulled the Miata from storage, we used Plexus to clean the Miata's back window, too. Spray, wipe, enjoy.

This one can also be a little tricky to find. If in need of a local source, check your local motorcycle shops. We paid about $28 for a can, but note that a little goes a long way.

For softer plastics–like interior trim and such–we just use the Griot’s Vinyl & Rubber Dressing. Spray, wipe and move on.

What are some of your favorite car clean-up tricks?