A car’s interior can take a right battering from the sun, a key reason to invest in the best interior dressing. Housed under what is effectively a glasshouse, summer days will see the average dashboard at the mercy of UV rays. Faded colour is the most obvious sign of UV damage but in extreme examples, the dashboard can eventually crack from UV damage.
A quick misting of a quality interior dressing will have your interior looking brand new and protected. There are various types of protection available, from the obvious UV protection right down to dust (called anti-static properties) and even water. While a sun-damaged dashboard isn’t the end of the world, it can be easily prevented which will help retain extra value come sale time. These dressings will leave a matte or satin finish on the plastic too, helping restore the surface to a factory finish and give a nice visual boost to your interior that can sometimes last months.
The best interior dressings
Gtechniq C6 Matt Dash
The best interior dressing
Price: RRP £7.25 | VIEW OFFER
By far the most protective interior dressing on the market, Gtechniq C6 Matt Dash gets our top pick. Suitable for rubber, plastic and vinyl surfaces, C6 Matt Dash offers excellent protection and a pleasant matt finish to lift the look of a car’s interior. The all-important UV protection and anti-static properties are provided alongside a few genuinely useful extra features.
The unique characteristics of Matt Dash are its anti-bacterial properties and abrasion resistance. C6 Matt Dash features Biocote to kill 99.9% of bacteria, a genuinely useful addition, especially if applied to a newly purchased used car. This dressing also offers hydrophobicity, ensuring that spilt liquids will be easier to mop up.
Despite all this promised protection, it never felt sticky and while it’s a matte dressing, it never hid existing gloss in the plastic. The 100ml may sound a little measly, but as Gtecnhiq recommend treating every four months, it shows that it’s incredibly durable.
Read our full review of Gtechniq C6 Matt Dash here
Pros:
• Unbeatable cleaning and protective qualities
• The results look utterly fantastic
Cons:
• Rather pricy for the volume
Specifications
Volume 100ml
Finish Matte
Scent None
Anti-static Yes
UV protection Yes
Materials Plastic, vinyl, rubber
Extras Antibacterial, abrasion resistant
Autobrite Pink Sheen
The best interior dressing for versatility
Price: RRP £12 | VIEW OFFER
Designed to clean interior and exterior trim as well as protect it, Autobrite Pink Sheen is the most versatile offering available and a really commendable option. Almost all cars will feature some exterior plastic that will fade over time, just like interior trim. Pink Sheen will clean and protect these surfaces in one swift motion, darkening the plastic and providing genuine protection against the elements.
Unlike the Gtechniq option, Pink Sheen boasts a floral scent and features a silicone base. The only problem we found was that if you get any of the liquid on your hands, this base will leave a nasty slippery sensation if you’re not wearing some decent gloves.
Read our full review of Autobrite Pink Sheen here
Pros:
• Time-saving interior cleaner and dresser
• Offers genuine protection
Cons:
• Don’t get it on your hands
Specifications
Volume 500ml
Finish Matt-satin
Scent Floral
Anti-static Yes
UV protection Yes (but it’s not explicit)
Materials Plastic, vinyl, rubber, metal
Extras Works on internal and external trim, cleans and protects
Angelwax Enigma Interno
The best interior dressing for protection
Price: RRP £19.95 | VIEW OFFER
Sporting one of the coolest names imaginable, Angelwax Enigma Interno has the unique distinction of being a ceramic-infused interior dressing. Ceramic technology is mega tough and has found legitimate use in waxes and even car shampoos, and now these protective qualities can be found in interior dressings. The dressing was both tough and durable, keeping the plastics darker long for the duration of the test, as well as dust free.
The other huge benefit offered by this spray is the fact it doubles as a fabric protectant too. A quick spray onto any interior fabrics will provide hydrophobic protection, stopping spilt fluids from seeping into seats and carpets, instead acting like an invisible waxed jacket. It’s the most expensive option here and hampered by a weak trigger design, but a clever choice for protecting an entire interior.
Read our full review of Angelwax Enigma Interno here
Pros:
• Excellent protective abilites
• Also provides hydrophobic protection to interior fabric
Cons:
• Expensive
Specifications
Volume 500ml
Finish Satin
Scent N/A
Anti-static Yes
UV protection Yes
Materials Plastic, vinyl, rubber, fabric
Extras Works as a fabric protectant, ceramic technology
Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber Care
The best simple interior dressing
Price: RRP £8.99 | VIEW OFFER
Good old Autoglym, the safest pair of hands in car care. Everyone knows of it and trusts it to offer excellent value for money. What is surprising is that it offers such good value for money while also proving to be genuine competition against some of the more specialist options available. The long-lasting finish is selectable offering either a high or low sheen, a clever feature, even if there’s not a huge visual difference.
The lemon scent is pleasant and not overpowering, never smelling artificial as so many citrus cleaning agents do. In fact, the Autoglym performed exceptionally well as an interior dressing, it’s just a pity that it didn’t offer any of the extras other options offered.
Read our full review of Autoglym Vinyl & Rubber here
Pros:
• Offers decent protection
• Affordable
Cons:
• Slightly greasy finish on rubber
Specifications
Volume 500ml
Finish High or low gloss
Scent Lemon
Anti-static Yes
UV protection Yes
Materials Plastic, vinyl, rubber
Extras Prevents door shuts from freezing
Duel Autocare Satin
The best smelling interior dressing
Price: RRP £8.95 | VIEW OFFER
Another cleaner and dressing in one product, Satin from Duel Autocare misses out on a top recommendation because it misses out on UV protection, only offering anti-static properties. To its merit, it is affordable, lovely to use and smells like fresh lime, it just lacks the protective qualities to really make it a good interior dressing. If we’re being honest, it’ll work better as an interior detailer.
Read our full review of Duel Autocare Satin here
Pros:
• Time-saving interior cleaner and dresser
• Smells amazing
Cons:
• No UV protection
Specifications
Volume 500ml
Finish Satin
Scent Lime
Anti-static Yes
UV protection No
Materials Rubber, plastic, vinyl
Extras Interior cleaner
What to look for in a good interior dressing:
UV protection is the central property of a good interior dressing. The sun is a relentless foe of dashboards and a good interior dressing will offer sustained protection against it. This in turn will stop discolouration and eventual cracking too, potentially expensive repairs.
Anti-static properties will prevent dust from settling on the dashboard, keeping it debris-free for longer. Anyone with piano black trim will be aware of just how much dust can accumulate in a car’s interior and how difficult it can be to keep a dashboard looking clean.
The finish is subjective but worth breaking down. This is the visual part and most dressings will offer either a glossy or matte finish. The obvious difference will be that a glossy finish will be rather shiny and a matte finish flatter looking.
The argument can be made that a matte finish will reduce any chance of glare or annoying reflections from the sun, but the risk of that happening with a glossy finish is still rather minor. Matte finishes are also what you’d typically see in a brand-new car, worth noting if you’re after a new-looking interior.
Smell is another important factor. After all, the interior is where you spend most of your time and a protectant that smells like ammonia or harsh chemicals simply won’t be customer friendly. A nice-smelling product will be both nicer to use and make your car interior a more pleasant place to be.
Loosely related to this will be greasiness. A greasy finish will manifest in white marks that not only look bad but will leave a revolting feeling on your hand. Most trim dressings claim to offer a non-greasy formula but it’s an important aspect to remember.
Some interior dressings will double up as an interior cleaner. While this isn’t essential, it will save you some time and cash to clean and protect the surface at once. The majority of our top picks do work as interior cleaners and dressings and score so highly because of their cost-effectiveness and performance.
Pay attention to what surfaces you can apply the product on. All the interior dressings we tested were suitable for plastic, rubber and vinyl surfaces. A couple were even suitable for treating metal, fabric and leather.
Extra features will always be welcome, so long as they’re genuinely useful. For example, Gtechniq’s C6 Matte Dash is antibacterial and will kill 99.9% of all germs present on a surface. Angelwax Enigma Interno doubles as a fabric protector and will provide a hydrophobic barrier to cloth seats. Both of these features will be welcome but are by no means essential.
Can I use an interior dressing on more than just my dashboard?
Of course you can, interior dressings will also happily treat and protect door cards, centre consoles and other plastic, vinyl or rubber interior pieces. The vast majority of interior dressings also claim to work as engine bay dressers too, capable of restoring lost lustre pretty much anywhere.
Are there any areas where you shouldn’t use an interior dressing?
Rubber components that require direct interaction from the driver are best avoided. Rubber floor mats and pedals could become slippery with a dressing applied and pose a danger to you when you’re driving. These are often hidden deep in the bowels of the footwell anyway where UV damage won’t be a major concern. Clean these with an APC and nothing more to keep yourself safe and in control.
How we tested these interior dressings:
We assembled together a selection of interior dressings and put them to the ultimate real-world test. We sectioned off a section of a dashboard and used each dressing to treat an area. The car was then used normally with regular checks made to test durability and effectiveness. The plastic battery cover in the engine bay was also sectioned off and dressed to see how the dressings dealt with the dirt in an engine bay. Both panels were cleaned before with a diluted APC (all purpose cleaner) to ensure the dressings had the best chance possible and provide a consistent base. While this isn’t the most scientific of tests, it is a real-world test and will produce results that are more akin to what the average car owner would experience.
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