I have a 96 SC400 and the plastic pieces all along the center console are sratched and marred due to its age. I was wondering if any of you guys new of any products that made any positive difference on what I assume is ABS plastic. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

James

 

James, not being that familair with that console I can only give you general info here;

If the plastic is not painted or dyed (color goes all the way through) and NON-textured, flat etc. you can use the same polishes you'd use on your paint (urethane enamel is a form of plastic itself). You would probably be best trying a medium grit polish like Meguiar's Scratch X or Dual Action Cleaner Polish, or KIT Scratch out (I always mention that product because it's really cheap $$$ and found everywhere). If the scratches don't come out, try some 3M Fine Cut Rubbing Compound followed by a finer polish. You will have to work it a few times to see any results. Believe it or not you can even wetsand plastics that fall into that category, but for your purposes I think liquid abrasives should suffice. Always test polish an out of the way piece of the plastic in case you don't know if it's molded-thru color etc.

If the plastic is textured, you can still do the above ( you can't wetsand however) , but you will find it more difficult.

Treat it with some protectant afterwards.

 

Give some of the plastic/vinyl protectants a shot (Vinylex, Meguiar's vinyl and plastic cleaner, 3M 303 Aerospace protectant, etc.)--they help to revitalize your dash and interior plastics, restoring their original color and help to hide the scratches. Some products are more shiny than others, but they all basically do the same thing.

 

Wow guys, thanks for the quick responses. I'm very sure the plastic is black all the way through, as I have removed it and looked at it close up. I'll head to my nearest autoparts store and check it out and look for some Meguiar's scratch X or KIT scratch out. Thanks again.

James

 

What do you guys think about this? found it on Griot's Garage

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=11545

James

 

I had good results with 303 Protectant on my center console. Try samples for free:

http://www.303products.com/main.php?infopage=freesample

 

are you talking about the black shifter console, ashtray and radio/AC area? I used a deep scratch plastic polish and then a light scratch plastic polish and made it into shiny black instead of the matte black it was before. I prefer how it looks now and I don't have the scratches as before. if you need pics, feel free to ask and i'll post a few.

 

Great link--I'll give it a shot. . .

 

Yea, do you think I could see a few pics? it'd really be a big help. Also, what specific products did you use?

DHRP, thanks for the free link man!

James