Armor All wipes work pretty good....but if your talking about the soft black plastic around the gauges/heater buttons i don't think you'll have any luck getting that stuff to shine...it seems to absorb everything thats put on it
Not only does it condition the plastic and restore the original shine, but it doesn't give that greasy look and feel. It also doesn't smell like total crap (O:
I had the dash apart today....installing a boost gauge. Thought I'd really clean everything while it was out. Tried STP and it looked like crap. Tried Armor All and it looked no better. Ended up using warm water with just a bit of dish soap.
I think I have a catalog for Griotts somewhere around here. I'll go check it out!
I bought a specialised product from a local detailing shop that is awesome. It's called CarBrite and it's made by Cruz Oil company. You can't buy it in stores, but you should find a source for it and buy some.
It has a Paba base which inherently protects your dash and door panels against U.V. rays. It is not greasy at all, and leaves a faint shine when applied. It's sort of milky white like Armor All but completely different in it's contents and end result. Check it out.
For cleaning, the best thing you can do is use a very soft clean towel slightly moistened with water. Chemicals are very hard on plasticizers in vinyl. If that doesn't clean your dash, your car is way too dirty, but any leather cleaner like Zaino's or Lexol's is usually mild enough to use. Here are the best products available for conditioning plastic/vinyl in order:
1. Zaino Z-10 "Leather in a bottle"
2. Formula 303 Aerospace protectant
3. Lexol Vinylex
The top 2 leave a dry satin finish whereas Vinylex tends to be a little more oily and glossy. The first 2 contain SPF 40 and all of them contain some UV protectants. Zaino is actually a thin cream and comes out on top because it smells the best (It smells like real leather) and lasts forever, like all his other products.