Cleaning the area above the A/C gauges

I have cleaned this area with soap/water many times, but I CANNOT get it to go away. It drives me insane when I am driving because I am always drawn towards it. P.S. This is not my car. Just a pic I had saved on my computer that shows the area.
Does this mean this part of the dash is faded? Can I not restore this to the pitch black look it normally is? I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue with this.
Thanks guys!


