On my Xterra forum, a lot of people complain about interior scuffs on the grained plastic door panels that don't come off with dressing. A member suggested an old trick that I guess mechanics use by taking the rubber end of a tool, like a pair of vice grips, and rubbing it gently on the scratch. I had a few on my glovebox and got about 80% of them off. I was pleasantly surprised. It may work for you, but tread lightly.
So, you mean you get the gouge cleaned so it's just a gouge, and then you rub out the gouge with the rubber handle? Do you rub perpendicularly across the gouge?
I had one large deep gouge that didn't come all the way out, but it definitely took the edge off of it. Think of it the same way you would with compound on a RDS, it doesn't correct it all the way but it certainly improves. Scratches on those pieces that are too deep probably won't come out. I rubbed all different ways. The handle wore down a bit and left some rubber streaks, but they'll wipe off with a bit of moisture (water, cleaner, dressing, etc.) Here's a picture of the textures plastic so you don't confuse the material I'm talking about. You can see how it's slightly darker around the scratch due to the rubber residue. That stuff will wipe off. On the smaller scratch to the bottom right of the big one, you can see the streak all the way up where the smaller scratch went to. You can see that it took a lot of that out. I'm not sure if this is the end of the try or halfway through, I can't remember. I'll have to take a look.
Magic eraser is abrasive fiberglass (known as melamine foam). With time it'll "knock down" the textured look of any textured parts you use it on. I see a lot of folks recommend it on things like Chevy trucks (like the Avalanche) with all that grey/black trim that gets faded. I always shake my head at that. :shakehead:
Are we talking about normal cleaning or fixing scratches? I'm not advising it for regular cleanings, just for fixing mild scratches. What do you recommend, is there some sort of plastic filler?
