Scratches on interior plastic

[traindriver]

I hope someone can help me with a problem i have ???
I have a Toyota Avensis which has a few scratches on the glovebox inside the car.They are not deep but do show a lot.
Here`s the car



Here is the problem





As you can see in the photos the plastic has a slight texture to it.
I know i might not be able to get rid of them all together but is there a way of disguising them so thay dont show so much or could they be rubbed out with a product??
Many thanks

[Mike Phillips]

That's a tough one....

I have one scratch like that in our Pilot in about the same place and I after carefully looking at it I have decided about the only fix that won't make the problem worse than it is, is to apply a dressing which will darkent the whitish scraped part of the scratch so it's less noticiable.

The problem with materials like this is they don't lend themselves to polishing or abraiding in an effort to level the surface.


What it Means to Remove a Scratch

[traindriver]

Thanks for looking Mike,
what product would you recommend?
I don`t want to leave a glossy,greasy finish.
I can get the Meguiar`s Trim Detailer or the Quick Detailer here in the uk, as well as most of the other Meguiar`s products.
What do you think would fill the scratches best ?
Thanks

[Murr1525]

The Nxt Tech Protectant leaves a nice rich look, with low gloss if you buff off after a few minutes. May help take care of the whiter parts..

[Ranger72]

try natural shine. I think you will be very pleased.

[traindriver]

Thanks for the replys

I can get the Nxt and the Natural Shine here but i was wondering if they were clear in colour or not.
If they are clear then won`t the scratch show up the same??
What would be the best?
Cheers

[mirrorfinishman]

I would also highly recommend using NXT Tech Protectant.

[braindead]

Heat gun...

I read on another forum somewhere, where a guy reckons he's used a "heat gun" on a spot like that to reduce it, so it looks more normal & does not stand out so much.

I'm not game to try iy & have learnt to live with it, but if anyone has an old beater, perhaps they'd care to give it a try?

Who knows maybe it works!

[RDVT4ME]

You might try a Mr Clean Magic Eraser. But use it very very lightly and see how it works. You don't want to dull the finish. I have used it on scuff marks on plastic door sills and many other places around the house including painted walls and it is truely magic. Again, tread lightly and see if it starts to remove the scratches.

Make sure to dampen the eraser with water and use very light pressure.

You might try it on an out of the way area first to make sure you don't create any dulling in the material.

[traindriver]

Just tried the NXT Tech Protectant, although it left a really nice finish and smell it did nothing to cover the scratch marks
I think i need to find someting the same colour as the plastic to cover the white scratches with. A guy on the UK Meguiar`s forum had an idea of using a shoe scuff remover the same colour as the plastic to colour in the scratches so i might give this a try.
What do you think ?
Thanks

[BlkBear]

You could try one of those vinyl dash repair kits, that are used to repair mock leather. They often will have texture pads that you can place over the "goop" that you paint on the scratch, to have it attempt to match the texture of the surface you have applied it to.

The kits come with 4 to 12 color pots, that you can mix and match samples to get a closer match to the color you are repairing/covering up.




This last link below, has several options for fixing scratches, with spray and paint on colors as well as a type of magic maker set, for color repair or just plain changing trim color altogether.

[Commercial links are not allowed on MOL; Thanks 2hotford]

These are only few such kits I found on the net using Google. I have also seen them in auto supply stores, drug stores and craft shops. There are also scratch color ups that you can use as well to dye the dulled/white scratches in vinyl or leather , but I don't know how well they work without seeing it in person.

If you can find a sampler of such a kit, in a walk in type shop, try taking in say the glove box and scratch the INSIDE of the box and see how close one of the paint on methods might work for you.

This way you'll at least see if you can get close to the color of your dash with the paint options, or just spend $20 to $30 bucks and experinment. At the very least you'll have something to work with in the future should more scratches show up.

[benhui86]

if all fails theres always the sharpie....

[BlkBear]

Originally posted by benhui86
if all fails theres always the sharpie....

Don't laugh, they make those for plastic, leather and vinyl touch up! HEHEH!

Of course those "Sharpie Marker", type touch up pens, are not something you'd want your four year old to see you using...
Can see it now the big game in on and the 4yr decides to help daddy make his car look all nice and pretty inside with the marker set.

[cjps17]

Re: Scratches on interior plastic

I know its been a while for this post, but instead of trying to fix it just go to a junkyard or parts supply website and buy a new/used piece.

[Captain Carling]

Re: Scratches on interior plastic

Ive heard the heat gun works off the body shop guys who i work with at Bentley but i aint seen it done. If they say it works, i would trust them tbh, but thats my humble opinion

Sorry to dig up old threads btw