Removing dash glare.

[dralph]

I just bought a 2003 Miata and I don't know what is on dash, but there is too much glare. It is a textured finish, which should prevent glare, but I need to remove the glare. Any sugestions? There are also some scratches in the plastic that need to be removed. What product should then be used to protect the finish without adding glare?

[Murr1525]

Re: Removing dash glare.

What plastic has the scratches?

As for the glare, since it is used, someone probably dressed it before selling.

To fix, depends what you have around. APC or APC+ would be best... Quick Interior Detailer might work. Or a a wipe down with a damp cloth and some Dawn... Then dress with something better like Natural Shine after.

[dralph]

Re: Removing dash glare.

[QUOTE=Murr1525;493241]What plastic has the scratches?

The air bag cover.

[Murr1525]

Re: Removing dash glare.

Hmm, like on the textured plastic? Not usually able to do a lot with those.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Removing dash glare.

As a former owner of an NB Miata I can tell you that scratch removal from that surface is virtually impossible. Same goes for any textured plastic/vinyl for that matter. The reason being that in order to remove a scratch you need to level the surrounding surface down to the bottom of the scratch, and doing that on a textured surface means the creation of a smooth, non textured area that will really stand out like a sore thumb. Now, once you remove whatever residual dressing may be on the surface you might be able to minimize the appearance of this scratch, but realistically that's probably about it. When I got my Miata, lightly used, the dealer had slathered the interior with the slimiest, glossiest stuff I'd ever seen. I even told them that they needed to stop that practice - it might make the interior look nice in pictures online, but in person it's beyond horrible. They just looked at me like I was speaking Martian.

Now, to get that residual dressing off the surface we'd recommend some Quik Interior Detailer and a folded, clean microfiber towel. Spray the QID onto the folded towel, getting it pretty damp (but not soaking wet) and wipe that over the dash several times. That should remove the existing product and knock down the shine. QID will still leave some nice UV protection but it won't add any gloss at all.

[dralph]

Re: Removing dash glare.

Thanks everyone. I used 45% alcohol to remove want ever was on the vinyl. I'm going to get the Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer today and try that.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Removing dash glare.

Did the 45% alcohol remove whatever it was?