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Renovate plastic trim

Shayne

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Feb 2, 2013
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My interior plastic was so scratched i thought them well beyond a tidy up but i chanced upon a thread (while searching for extended wheel lugs ?) where a fella suggests using a heat gun to renew plastic car interiors . I give it a go and i'm astonished by the result .

Scrub everything down with soap and water coz its probably had lots of FLAMMABLE stuff sprayed on it over the years . Then just go over it all with a heat gun as if you were trying to speed up paint drying . I'm no scientist but i can only explain it seems to make the plastic sweat . All the whiteness where it looks like someone scrubbed the grey plastic with wirewool completely vanished . The deeper gouges are still there but are not nearly as noticable coz heat makes the original colour return to the surface .

Don't (like me) heat any one spot too much as it will go smooth and shiney and wont match the rippled original effect and dont (like me) forget your using a heat gun instead of a magic wand and burn the carpet .

It took me an hour to do all the plastics from the rear of the front seat to the back door , once finished i sprayed a load of backtoblack over it and left it overnight .

I swear the whole interior now looks brand new so a tip worth sharing i reckon .
 
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folk use that technique to clean up motorbike plastics...hadn't thought about using on car interiors - good tip. Trick is heatgun fairly hot and move the heatgun briskly. You essentially want to 'melt' the very top of the plastic so it flows out nicely.
 
Before and after .
Sidestep002_zpse2049a83.jpg

Sidestep003_zps768c67e3.jpg
 
That is quite an impressive difference!
 
And whats more Grant it is permanent the scratch is not hidden it is gone full stop .
 
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