Can I polish the inside of my car?
Quick answer: Yes, but “interior polish” means cleaners/dressings (not abrasive paint polish). Wash first: wipe plastics to restore a matte finish, use proper leather cleaner on seats, and wash glass before using glass polish for a smear-free finish. Go easy with liquids near electronics: spray onto the cloth, cover switches, and avoid soaking trim.
Yes, there are an endless number of products from very many manufacturers for 'polishing' or dressing the interior of your car. These are a different type of polish than the abrasive polishes used for polishing paintwork. Interior polishes for glass, trim, dashboards etc, are typically cleaners and/or light coatings.
Glass polishes are very good, and polishes for dashboards and trim might be similar to a furniture polish you use in your house. Many even come with a nice smell.
Wash it first!
The problem is that most of these products don't do a fantastic job of cleaning, that includes glass cleaner! Most of them are dressings which add a sheen. It isn't quite as bad as it used to be where car dealers and valeters would coat everything with silicone gel, which even made the dirt shiny - most products these days are very good when used appropriately.
Dashboards and plastic trim are usually supposed to have a matt finish. Greasy hand prints and wear can lead to shiny spots, and if you have light colour plastic such as beige it can show the dirt. Before you do anything else, get general purpose cleaner and wipe all these surfaces with a damp cloth. You may well find that they go back to a nice matt finish and don't really need a dressing.
Leather and imitation leather can soak up oils from your hands and become very grimy and discoloured. Getting a proper leather cleaner and going to work can make an astonishing difference, especially on lighter colours. It really needs to be seen to believed. Many leather interiors are supposed to have a matt or deep satin finish, so putting a dressing on them can make them look worse as the finish may be patchy. If you are going to use a dressing, get one designed for car leather.
Glass is one of those things that can be difficult to get right unless you know the trick. The trick is to wash the glass. Soapy water and a large microfibre cloth or chamois leather is what you need. Glass polish can cut through grease and is designed for leaving a smear-free finish, but if your windows are dirty and you are using glass cleaner with a small cloth, you are just pushing the dirt around. Give the windows a good wash then use the glass polish and you will get perfect results.
A cautionary tale...
Many years ago, one of our lads removed an ashtray from a Mercedes, washed it, left it to dry, and later put it back in the dashboard. The problem was that it wasn't quite dry. A drip of water dropped down onto an electronic control unit and caused havoc. The cost of putting this right was about £2000, and I'd hate to think what it would be in 2025 money!
Obviously through the years we have detailed thousands of cars, so that one in a thousand fluke accident is likely to happen to us. The chances of this kind of thing happening to you are very slim. But there is always a chance, so remember this story of woe before spraying anything on your dashboard, centre console or door cars... under the bonnet or anywhere where you find electronics for that matter.
If cleaning, use a damp cloth, not a sopping wet one. And if spraying dressings, go easy, cover any switches, and preferably spray the product onto a cloth, then wipe with the cloth.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 23/09/2025 17:59