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Does anybody know or have a method of removing scratching on the switch panels/trim panels or whatever they're called. Yes I've tried using the search but cannot find anything so if you know of a post feel free to share.
You're basically ****ed unfortunately. The best solution would probably be a vinyl wrap for the console. Typically a plastX thing would work great on a smooth surface, but on a textured one you're really going to mess up the consistency of it. I think you'd probably be able to get away with doing the controls, as those seem like raw black plastic. It wouldn't work for my 02 as they're silver painted....Tape around the area you need to remove the scratches from and go with the grain of the texture (looks like a horizontal texture if you look closely in the upper left corner. Just use some plastX and go nice and light. That's my suggestion but I could be wrong. Don't hold me accountable if anything goes wrong
You're basically ****ed unfortunately. The best solution would probably be a vinyl wrap for the console. Typically a plastX thing would work great on a smooth surface, but on a textured one you're really going to mess up the consistency of it. I think you'd probably be able to get away with doing the controls, as those seem like raw black plastic. It wouldn't work for my 02 as they're silver painted....Tape around the area you need to remove the scratches from and go with the grain of the texture (looks like a horizontal texture if you look closely in the upper left corner. Just use some plastX and go nice and light. That's my suggestion but I could be wrong. Don't hold me accountable if anything goes wrong
Well it's not painted it seems to be some kind of textured/ fine texture plastic, but it's still appears to have some clear layer on it that i really feel can be buffed
Originally Posted by rpg51
I think those panels are still available. You could replace them?
I tried looking it up, and as far as the one for the A/C controls you'd literally need to buy the entire assembly which is $500+
Originally Posted by vasquezgno
I’ve used mothers polish and it helped a lot. It reduced it even when light hits it. I’m gonna use plastx next time
Yeah I was thinking mothers, but might just try plastx instead, I feel like that might work
Those console pieces can be removed and painted or wrapped without much effort. Pop up the center console, remove it, and unscrew them. Once they're off, you can sand and spray paint, wrap with some 3M vinyl, or take them to a bodyshop for a professional job for like $50-$100 tops.
That's what I did - ebay $40 for a whole dash bezel that looked like shit but the buttons were mint and included with the bezel. They are expensove as separate controls(ie bezel with controls $30-75) search for AC controls 65-110.
That's what I did too.....You really lucked out on the silver 02-03 controls...I was doing the exact same thing on eBay being super particular and most of the silver controls are beat....Luckily a member here sold me a mint set, but man, that was quite the gauntlet looking for those.
There is a specialty coatings company called SEM , they sell a lot of great finishes for things like this. I used SEM Euro black trim coating on my Rx7 and it really does come out OEM. I heard about it from a friend who was a tech at a pre-owned exotics dealer in Houston and that’s what they used exclusively. You will need a spray gun but a small detail HVLP is cheap on Amazon and works great as long as you have a good water trap on your compressor.
There is a specialty coatings company called SEM , they sell a lot of great finishes for things like this. I used SEM Euro black trim coating on my Rx7 and it really does come out OEM. I heard about it from a friend who was a tech at a pre-owned exotics dealer in Houston and that’s what they used exclusively. You will need a spray gun but a small detail HVLP is cheap on Amazon and works great as long as you have a good water trap on your compressor.
I used their aerosol black trim spray paint on my wiper arms. They look brand new! Very liquidy but dried to a perfect finish.
Removing scratches on switch panels
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