Hiding a dashboard scratch/scuff?

M

MnRiverman

New member
I just picked up a 2011 GTI two days ago, and I noticed that on the passenger side of the dash, right where the airbag deploys, there is a 1" scuff. At first I thought this was just some glue or similar, but upon closer inspection, you can see that the outer layer of the dash is slightly scratched. I assume this happened when the car was being prepped or PDI'd, as I dont' think it would have made it out of the factory like this.



I tried some Meguiars Natural Shine protectant, but that didn't hide anything. I have some Mothers Protectant which I could try, but I find that makes the dash too black/greasy looking. I don't think any of these products will hide the scuff though - I need something with a filler.



It's not too bad, but in certain light the scuff is very evident. Whenever I look at the nav screen I can see it out of the corner of my eye. Sure, eventually this won't bother me, but because the car is so new, and that it's located right in the front of the dash, it's quite annoying.



Any ideas on what I can use to lessen the visibility of the scuff?



Thanks,



- Anthony
 
I assume you're dealing with textured plastic where the scratched area has a white-ish color? If so, conditioner won't do much. My suggestion would be to use a color matched dye to blend it in. If the color is not custom, you could use a wax crayon in a pinch to see if it helps, but I would bet that you'd have a shiny spot on the dash that was slightly off color instead of a scuff.
 
try using a heat gun on low heat on the scratch and DO NOT keep it there long. I've used this to get the plastic to soften up and hide the scratch before
 
It's not plastic, and it's not a white scratch. It's a scuff in the outer most layer of the soft upper dash. The dash is black, but because of the slight scuff in the material, the mark looks gray. It's not too bad, and that's why I figured a protectant would fill this in and make it less visible.



- Anthony
 
I might be missing something, but I think you said you've been in possession of car for 48h and noticed a defect that was not present when you bought the car.



If this is true I'd let the dealer do the work here by making it right, replacing the part a replacement.
 
MeltingPlastic said:
try using a heat gun on low heat on the scratch and DO NOT keep it there long. I've used this to get the plastic to soften up and hide the scratch before
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How does this hide the scratch? Do you just heat it up? Do you have to do anything else?
 
ancosta said:
I might be missing something, but I think you said you've been in possession of car for 48h and noticed a defect that was not present when you bought the car.



If this is true I'd let the dealer do the work here by making it right, replacing the part a replacement.
Click to expand...



Because it's very minor. I'm not going to have them replace the dashboard becuase of a small scuff. There has to be a way to hide this somehow, and that's what I'm looking for.
 
ancosta said:
I might be missing something, but I think you said you've been in possession of car for 48h and noticed a defect that was not present when you bought the car.



If this is true I'd let the dealer do the work here by making it right, replacing the part a replacement.
Click to expand...

I can understand this mentality, but do you have any idea how much energy, petroleum and pollution is created by making dashboard (or for that matter, any plastic or vinyl inside a vehicle) ? For something as minor as what the OP is describing, I personally would live with it. It's a vehicle, scratches and scuffs happen, it's not the end of the world.



adg44: First, you need to remove the plastic "spurs" that are sticking out from the scuff, so you can make the surface completely smooth again. Personally, I use a straight-edge razor blade. After that, if you like dressings (in particular the shiney ones), their use will hide the color difference (at least in my personal experience).
 
OPTiK said:
I have the same kind of scuff.. would a magic eraser work?
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Well, the scruff itself isn't something that's sitting on top of the plastic / vinyl... A magic eraser is designed to remove surface problems (like crayon writing on walls, and paint transfer on plastic materials found in homes and such). I'm not sure that a magic eraser would work in this particular circumstance.
 
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