Need some help with Interior plastics

[Rocket]

I`ve got some scratches on the plastic trim on my seats. I need some ideas to try to get rid of them. The plastic trim has some grain to it but not too much. I`ve used interior dressing to see if it would hide the scratches and it does nothing. I`ll try to get some pictures tomorrow.

[Accumulator]

I hate to be a bummer, but IMO you can`t do much if anything about it. Abrasion might make things worse instead of better and there`s no way to recreate the grain. Note that some plastics aren`t dyed all the way through and are often yellow/white under the color, so be careful. If the scratches are already very light-colored, a bit of dye (SEM makes good stuff) might help. But generally it`s the sort of thing I just live with.

[Rocket]

I didn`t think about it not being dyed all the way through. I was wondering if anyone had a way to "fix" the scratches but I don`t want to make it worse. I was thinking of trying a plastic polish before I read your post. I`m reupholstering the seats on the car and these platic parts have to be taken off the old covers and reattached to the new cover. I just hate to go through all this work just to have it look not as good because of the scratches.

[Rocket]

Here is a picture of what I`m working with. The piece is sewn onto the cover. The only way I know I can get a new piece is to get a new cover and I think they are discontinued. I wouldn`t worry too much about it but I`m trying to get this car to show quality

[Accumulator]

I think I`d try to track down some NOS ("New Old Stock") pieces while you still might be able to find them. Other than that, I`d accept the imperfection as just the way stuff is with a car that`s actually been used. I consider such stuff "patina" and FWIW, so do some show judges.

[Rocket]

Thanks for the help. I`m trying to see if I can still get the parts. I know I checked on a part the other day and it was discontiuned, maybe I`ll have some luck with this piece.





Do you have a link to the SEM product?

[Accumulator]

Do you have a link to the SEM product?

Sorry, but no, I don`t I looked it up a few years ago (when I bought a car whose interior was redone with that stuff) and I found it with a normal websearch, so you oughta be able to find it OK.



FWIW the car in question did look OK but I didn`t own it long enough to judge the long-term durability of the SEM dye.

[Rocket]

Thanks for the info. I`ll google and see what I find. I did find the part I need but it`s not cheep. I did find a place local that dyes interior plastics. I might give them a try and see what happens