zes

I have a black dashboard on my 2014 300h. When I bought the car from a dealer with 5,000 miles on it, it had some scratches on the front of the dashboard. Please see attached picture. Other than this, the car was in new condition. During the test drive, I thought I could easily brush the scratches off, so did not make a big deal. However after buying the car, rubbing with a microfiber cloth did not do the trick .

I posted this problem on the detailing thread, and a nice gentlemen stated that these will not come off and perhaps I should try 303 Aerospace. Before I go off searching for this product, I thought I would check with you folks and see if you have the same problem. The dash material on this generation ES seems to be very soft. Today I picked up my daughter from school, and she had her knapsack on her lap. The zip from her knapsack rubbed (lightly) against the dash and I swear I see more scratches on the dash! This is crazy!

Even if you don't have a solution, take this post as a warning, and don't let stuff rub against this soft dash!

I am thinking that I should try to use scruff remover for black shoes. The stuff works well on my shoes and makes them look new! What do you think?

Any other ideas?

chromedome

Same problem here, I've got scratches on my driver's side Nulux door panel and a scratch on the passenger side dash soft plastic. I tried using a bunch of vinyl and plastic cleaners but they don't work.

lesz

With the black, I think I'd try using liquid shoe polish. Perhaps it will work, but, unless you rub on it with a coarse cloth, it shouldn't make things any worse. With a color other than black, finding shoe polish that matches well might be more difficult.

Also, there are people who specialize in doing interior repairs on vehicles. Typically, they travel from one dealership to another and spend a day or two a month at each of those dealerships. With repairs to dashboards, they can repair scratches and other damage and refinish the entire panel to match the interior color.

One of the companies that has franchises in many markets is called Color Glo, but there are other companies and people who do the same kind of work independently. If you go through one of the dealerships that they service, the cost is likely to be higher because the dealer is going to take a (large) cut. But, if you contact one of the repair people directly and arrange to meet him/her at one of the dealerships, you can usually get repairs done for a very reasonable cost.

A few years ago, I picked up a deep gouge on the glove box door of my GX. I directly contacted one of the guys who does work for all of the dealerships in my area and met up with him at one of those dealerships. He repaired the gouge and refinished the panel. He only charged me about $30 or $40. Had I arranged for him to do the work through the dealer's service department, I'm guessing that the cost of the repair would have been over $100. And after the repair, the glove box door looked as good as new.

SLH

303 Aerospace Protectant works well on the black. They sell it at amazon, among other places. It also protects against UV.

Any kind of wax will just melt in the summer heat and make a mess.

JDR76

+1 on Aerospace 303. Great stuff.

Arty101

I'd try Aerospace before trying the shoe polish or custom repair. Realize you will get more scratches so use something you can do yourself.

lamikela1

Cleaners won't repair scratches. I agree with Lesz. if you really want it done right set up an appointmet with the dealer and their interior guy. It will be like new when they are done.

JDR76

Agreed, but the point of 303 would be to mask/hide the scratches, rather than repair.

Arty101

Just like scuffs on a shoe, the shoe polish will mask or hide the scuffs and not repair the leather. So do you need to send in your shoes to the shoe repair guy every time you scuff your shoes?

bc6152

Is the scratch on the glove box door? Can't tell by the photo...

zes

No, on front of the dash. The glove box door is much lower.

BTW I looked at Amazon. There are so many choices for 303 aerospace. What does everybody use?

SLH

You don't need a gallon of the stuff. A quart is enough to last me for several years, even with using it on several cars. Any of the spray bottles will do. I bought one of these:

wasjr

303 is great stuff. I have used it for years on car dashboards (and any non-leather surface of cars), boat vinyl, etc., for protection, including UV protection. I frankly have never noticed that it covers up scratches. I hope it works.

I will also plug the 303 Fabric Guard for boat covers, convertible tops, fabric lawn furniture etc, for its water repellant properties and protection.

zes

There is a light blue 32 oz bottle for $17.88 and a dark blue 32 oz bottle for $28.37. Both say 303. What is the difference?

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

303 is a brand, they make many products.

You are looking for 303 Aerospace Protectant.