Damn it! I just tried it and burned the whole door panel!!!!!

Edit: Wanted to buy ebony/dark grey door panels....












































j/k I'm just checking back to see if there were some actual pics!!! Hehehe!!!

 

I want to see some pics too. The videos posted don't address scratches, they address sun damaged and weathered exterior plastic. I want to see what this does to the interior grained plastics, particularly those in the backseat.

Sidenote--the video of the 13 year old heat gunning his Jeep was interesting. The video after that too. If you put tire shine on your black exterior plastics, it fulfills this same purpose though without any effort. I just spray STP Tire Foam on the '95's air intake elbow, windshield wiper cowl, and license plate frame and it makes it look good as new. It would work on the '02's grill for certain, but it has no fading, so I've never done it.

Back to Black products do the same thing.

Still, they do nothing for interior scratches.

 

It would be the same principle with scratches on grained interior pieces as it would be for the faded exterior trim. As long as the plastic isnt terribly gouged, a heat gun will help tremendously. If you have scratches on your center console from the seat belt latch rubbing against it for example, a little heat will make it look damn near new. It really depends on how bad the scratches are. There's nothing that will permanently reverse serious flaws in our marvelous interiors. If its really that bad, replace the part.

 

is there a particular type of sand paper that should be used to do this to the interior plastics properly?

 

Personally I wouldnt use anything more aggressive than 800 grit. But, remember that once you go to heavy a grit with such sensitive parts you cant exactly reverse any damage you make. Start fine and work your way to more coarse if need be.

 

is there a general minimum that you would start with?

i guess it kind of depends on what imperfection you are trying to fix?

the only reason i ask is because i don't have much "sanding experience" under my belt, the last thing that I sanded were my headlights and I wet sanded those.

 

Depending on how bad the scratches are, you may be able to fix them with the heat gun alone.

 

in error

 

I have done this many of times on different cars. it works great. I have done more bumpers than door panels.

 

Where the hell are the pics?!?!
Less chit chat and more pics!!!

 

For my windshield wiper cowl I use Instant Spray by 3D Products. It is a rebadged aerosol Silicone Release Agent. If you know a plastic/resin supply place they probably stock Silicone Release Agent. I used the stuff on my 87 XJ Jeep fenders, grille, headlight surrounds, and bumpers, and they still look black 2 months later (it sits outside in the middle of the sunny CA high desert). It doesn't remove scratches but it restores color and gloss to oxidized looking plastics. I have used it as a tire shine too, in a pinch.

I'll have to try this out. I have a heat gun and a bunch of extra and broken plastic F-body interior panels. I'll try and make a vid once I get the technique down.

 

ya man this is what worked best for me. i guess my scratches were not that bad.

Wiping down the scratches with some armor all actually made the process of fixing the scratches more difficult for me.

What I did was clean them off with a damp/moist rag and then heat 'em up until they look wet. Then what I did was give the whole panel a nice coating of armor all to make all of the rest of the panel look wet too. I did the armor all because my interior peices would be sitting in my apartment for about a week or so before they was a chance of them getting back into the car so I wanted to make sure the pieces all looked the same and the fixed spots on the pieces didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

 

For some reason everyone who has done this doesn't have a camera I guess

 

Well holy hell, I just switched most of my interior over to a darker color and have my stock scarred up crap in a pile in the shop all clean and ready to try this with.. I need a heat gun...

 

I might have to pick up a cheap heat gun from Harbor Freight and try this tonight on some of my parts. The windshield cowl is almost a light gray after sitting outside for a year without any attention.

 

pics pics pics damnit!!!!!!

 

I recently switched out my interior too. If I had a heat gun I'd test this out. Damn, anyone want to ship me their heat gun since I DO have a camera?

 

I just did this on a destroyed center console from a parts car using only a heat gun and a green scotchbrite pad. Didn't turn out that great. The part where I used the heat gun was clearly visible even after using the scotchbrite pad (maybe because it was green?). The scotchbrite pad just made the whole area duller than the rest of the panel which looked shiny (because the factory Ebony is semi-shiny in sunlight). Using the heat gun also removed all the tiny raised edges that give a factory piece that rough textured look. Instead, after fixing the scratch all that was left was smooth with slight ridges rather than ridges & lots of texture.