How to remove scratches from plastic door panels?

[edjoe]

How can I remove scratches from medium grey plastic door panels. I cleaned them with a APC and applied a protectant but scratches are still visible.

[Merlin]

Got Pictures?

[edjoe]

Got Pictures?

Will post photos tomorrow, working today.

[ihaveacamaro]

don`t know if it would work well or not, but Meguiars PlastX might be worth a shot

[Rocket]

Be careful what you try. If you get too aggressive it could cause the dye to come off or change the shade.

[edjoe]

OK, these are the scratches I`m interested in removing. They were caused by my dog`s nails. This is a photo after cleaning with an APC and dressing with Chemical Guys Natural Shine.

[Nth Degree]

I don`t think there is a way to get rid of them without affecting the texture of the plastic and making it look worse. You could try a ScotchBrite pad or a Magic Eraser to try to reduce the appearance, but test a spot (like bottom or edge of the door where it isn`t visible when closed) to make sure it isn`t going to make it worse.

[PA DETAILER]

a detailers or pickey car guys worse nightmare. not much can be done about interior plastic scratches. except replacing the offending panel.

[Merlin]

Yes, a picture is important.

[dd1101]

If its plastic the best you can do is cover it up. I would rub some protectant on it with a white applicator(LC) and this will hide them a bit by rounding out the edges.

[Todd@RUPES]

Scratches can either make the plastic shiner (by carving a smooth reflective channel into the material) or duller (by carving a rougher surface into a shiny plastic).

If the scratches are duller then the entire surface (rougher) you can attempt to lower the sheen of the entire panel by scrubbing with an abrasive medium such as a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The problem, though, is that it is very hard to get an even finish and that one panel will be noticeably less shiny then the others.

If the scratches are shinier then the surface then you can lightly polish the entire panel with a fine abrasive, but again, you are increasing the shine level of the entire panel and it is very hard to get an even finish.

The good news is that replacing panels like that is usually fairly inexpensive and its normally just a couple snap fittings holding in place.

[edjoe]

OK, thanks guys. I`m going to try the Magic Eraser, I had great results using that on cleaning dirty leather, let`s see how it affects the reflectivity of the scratches on this plastic. I`ll post a photo tomorrow when I`m off.