Instrument Plastic Damage

[sixgun95]

Purchased the car used so unsure how and when this happened. The instrumenter plastic appears to be crazed/clouded, hard to tell. Any idea on what I can use to get it out? It really annoys me. Thanks.

[dcjredline]

Any plastic polish would probably work ok by hand. Meguiars, McKees, etc.

[Accumulator]

sixgun95- Be careful what you use lest you make it worse instead of better.

IME many (most?) Plastic Polishes are so mild that they`ll be safe (maybe so mild/safe that they`ll be ineffective too), but still...don`t want to have an "oops".

Just don`t try something unknown/weird. In another recent thread we were discussing polishing Interior Plastics and, well..hard to say what will/won`t be too much for a given plastic surface.

[az57chevy]

I usually use the Novus lineup with good results

[rlmccarty2000]

Clear plastics scratch easily. Be prepared for the possibility that you could make it look worse. I’ve seen plastics that were marred/scratched by paper towels.

[SWETM]

When you polish this kind of plastic and want to have the least aggressive combo of polish and hand applicator. Which hand applicator would you reach for? Cause a microfiber applicator can be quite aggressive. How is the Meguiars Foam applicator pads vs Meguiars Even Coat applicator in aggressiveness? And for this kind of small crevices a foam finger pockets applicator would suit better. Or does you use something else when doing this kind of polish? Maybe foam swabs? Hehe alot of questions LOL. But I`m have been avoiding this kind of work so I don`t screw it up. I gently wipe the gauges with a little microfiber suede like towel you use to clean glasses with.

[rlmccarty2000]

When you polish this kind of plastic and want to have the least aggressive combo of polish and hand applicator. Which hand applicator would you reach for? Cause a microfiber applicator can be quite aggressive. How is the Meguiars Foam applicator pads vs Meguiars Even Coat applicator in aggressiveness? And for this kind of small crevices a foam finger pockets applicator would suit better. Or does you use something else when doing this kind of polish? Maybe foam swabs? Hehe alot of questions LOL. But I`m have been avoiding this kind of work so I don`t screw it up. I gently wipe the gauges with a little microfiber suede like towel you use to clean glasses with.

You are correct, even a microfiber will scratch some clear plastics. I always suggest leaving them alone unless you are prepared for more marring. Every plastic is different based on manufacturer and you may be able to get good results one time and really screw up the next time.

[Accumulator]

I kinda like the "Swabs" idea for this one...small applicator for a localized repair, less chance of any "oops!" involving a larger area.

Wonder how many Autopians are able to keep such surfaces perfect...easy to say/plan/expect, not so easy to do over time though, at least not IME. Similar to the Interior Wood, and I bet the wood`s finish isn`t all *that* different from the plastic gauge covers at least in the functional sense.

[TheMeanGreen]

This is why AIO`s are so fantastic, something with no abrasives like Poorboy`s PWS.

[Stokdgs]

Clear plastics scratch easily. Be prepared for the possibility that you could make it look worse. I’ve seen plastics that were marred/scratched by paper towels.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Pretty much all clear plastics I have ever seen and taken of carelessly are scratched.. Ask the owner what they used - paper towels...
Dan F

[Accumulator]

Every paper towel I`ve ever encountered was so coarse that I`d never use it for something like this..basically don`t touch anything plastic/painted with paper towels lest I do damage. Kinda surprised that somebody would try that on a plastic instrument panel face...eh, lots of stuff people do surprises me

This is why AIO`s are so fantastic, something with no abrasives like Poorboy`s PWS.

Well, *SOME* AIOs are (functionally) non-abrasive Some others like ZAIO will [mess] up plastics something awful.

[SWETM]

Would you use Ultima Paint Prep+ which is a non abrasive cleaner with poly charger in it? I would find some old gauges glass to test different products on. If I would stumble on some that is bad enough to correct them. And if I where to buy a new car sometime in the future I would consider to apply a protection film of some kind on it.

Wonder why it`s so scratch sensitive most of the time. It`s a common problem to getting for many people that are careless cleaning them. Could it be they are that way because of the need to have a high clearity. So the material is needed to be softer to get that clear. Or it`s just the car makers that don`t care of them. I leaning to the first option. Glass is out of the picture cause of the risk in a crash. On the other hand you have an airbag that would catch the glass nowdays. Hmm I`m overthinking this LOL.

[Accumulator]

SWETM- Heh heh, I`d be pretty surprised if they give marring-resistance any real thought at all.

This thread has me thinking back to when, IIRC, Brad B first posted about how the Miracle Towel (early example of MF) was, amazingly, soft enough to use on plastic wind deflectors on his Jag XK...