Manufacturer's Product Description:
Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner is ideal for reconditioning all interior surfaces. The superior foaming action gently lifts the dirt away while its unique blend of fabric softeners and optical brighteners enhance the look and feel of carpet, upholstery, vinyl and even leather.

Price:
$13.49 (1 gallon) @ AutoDetailingSolutions.com

Packaging Info:
All Purpose Cleaner (APC) is sold only in 1 gallon sizes of concentrated chemical. The gallon bottle is akward to pour out of and needs to be diluted for use. I suggest you buy an anti-freeze bottle spout at your local auto parts store to put on this bottle. You can only buy smaller size bottles at AutoDetailingSolutions.com as they repackaged the product into smaller bottles.

Color/Scent:
APC is a green liquid and smells kind of like window cleaner. Only the chemical itself has a scent. There is little to no scent remaining after application.

How I used it:
Typically I use APC at two dilution levels. I use 4:1 for exterior and engine bay cleaning and I use 10:1 for interior cleaning. I diluted the concentrate in a generic 32 oz. spray bottle using distilled water. I sprayed the diluted cleaner liberally on the surface to be cleaned and let it dwell for a moment or two. Then I scrubbed the surface with either a brush or a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser depending on the type of surface and level of cleaning power needed.

Thoughts:
Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner is just that . . . an all purpose cleaner. It works very well for cleaning everything from wheels to leather. Also, since it's sold in concentrated form APC can be diluted to multiple levels for different uses. Plus, APC is a pretty safe cleaner as it uses surfactants (soap) as opposed to solvents or acids which can be more hazardous on certain surfaces.

APC works fairly well on wheels, wheel wells, tires, and the engine bay. Some people even use APC to remover tar, bugs, & sap. However, I really feel APC excels in the interior. APC makes short work of ground in dirt and restores all interior surfaces to a "like new" appearance similar to the look that Meguiar's Quick Interior Detailer leaves. However, APC is purely a cleaner and does not leave behind any protection. According to manufacturer claims APC can also be used to clean upholstery. However, I have yet to use it in this capacity.

Keep in mind APC is a pretty strong cleaner and is designed for professional use. It's not as dangerous as say Meguiar's Wheel Brightener, but care should be taken when using professional strength chemicals. Also, after using APC to clean interior parts always follow up with the appropriate protectants/conditioners as APC will strip away protectants and conditioning oils.

Before & Afters . . .
Before

After

 

those before and after pics really speak for themselves!!

sounds like a great product- i havent tried it before, but will have to add it to my long list of need to trys!

 

Yeah. That is Glenn's car again. I have a lot of pictures from our detailing day. His interior was very shiny from years of treating everything with 303, but never cleaning any of the surfaces. You can tell in the pictures that cleaning the whole interior first (I do this 1-2 times a year) and then dressing all the surfaces really cuts down on the shine. After cleaning up everything we did dress the vinyl/rubber/plastic with Poorboy's Natural Look and the steering wheel with Zymol Leather Conditioner.

 

This product is ok for all surfaces except for leather, I actually had it out with a Meguiar's rep. over this whole thing...he swore it could be used on leather and I said no, the pH is very high, you run the risk of damaging the finish as well as hurting the leather fibers themselves and causing them to tear apart from one another, making the leather very brittle.

So the rep got very flustered and called their tech. deptartment where the scientists who help them create the products are. Needless to say the scientists agreed with me and the rep swallowed his pride.

So you are hearing this not only from me, but from those who make the products over a Meguiar's, it is not for leather!!!

 

[QUOTE=2002S2K,Aug 7 2006, 03:51 PM] This product is ok for all surfaces except for leather, I actually had it out with a Meguiar's rep. over this whole thing...he swore it could be used on leather and I said no, the pH is very high, you run the risk of damaging the finish as well as hurting the leather fibers themselves and causing them to tear apart from one another, making the leather very brittle.

So the rep got very flustered and called their tech. deptartment where the scientists who help them create the products are.

 

Thanks MikeyC, I appreciate the kind words. It was a pretty funny situation I had with the rep., but he too agreed and told our mutual customer not to use it anymore...

 

Thanks - I gotta give this a try.

If I want to clean vinyl surfaces like the dash and door panels, I just mist the diluted solution from a spray bottle and use a polishing motion with an MF rag, right? Do I need to rinse with pure water afterwards, or is that not necessary?

I have a pretty dirty interior and if I were to go ahead and clean right now, I would

1. wipe everything down in the interior with damp water to get rid of the grime and dust,

2. use the APC solution,

3. wipe down with water again,

4. follow up with Vinylex.

Would these be the proper steps? Do I need to do #3, or heck, even #1?

 

If your interior is filthy, hit it with a vacuum first to get the top layer of dirt and debris out of there. If you're using a mild mix of APC (like the 10:1 that Mikey mentions for interiors), I wouldn't bother with a "rinse step."

Vinylex is a great choice. Works like the 303 that everyone loves, but slightly less expensive, and much easier to find. Leaves a nice, rich, dark look, without being shiny or greasy. It's one of my favorites.

 

Thank you.

Now what about the carpet?

1. Vacuum
2. Mist the carpets with the spray bottle
3. Scrub with something
4. Let it dry and evaporate on its own

Does that about cover it?

For #3 what would I use to clean the carpet?

 

Here you go, SiDriver, MikeyC's guide:

http://thedetailinghandbook.com/default.aspx