Plastic on guage cluster

EddieF

EddieF

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Can you use a headlight repair kit on you're instrument panel? I have an 05 camry and I would like to clean mine up a bit. Thanks.
 
Feed back please
EddieF said:
Can you use a headlight repair kit on you're instrument panel? I have an 05 camry and I would like to clean mine up a bit. Thanks.
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It would be hard to work in such a confined area.
 
The plastic on the instrument panel is pretty soft you probably wouldn't need something that drastic?
 
I removed mine on my Pathfinder to try and polish scratches out of it. The plastic is very soft and almost impossible to get completely clear. I used the Meg's Mirror Glaze Plastic cleaner and polish.
 
Being so soft, you should never dry wipe the panel.
 
before i know AG i use the 3M headlight restore kit with a drill. the result is astonishing (i guess they have tons of fillers, which i have not heard about that that time). just sometimes the contour might not be easy to work with. try with the old cluster first.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using AG Online
 
and u can try with the finer grit sand paper to see how it goes before proceeding to lower grit.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using AG Online
 
Novus Plastic Polshes work well for such. There are three polish grades, and they have been around a long long time, are pretty much the gold standard, and are not hard to acquire.

I use them for plastics and acylics.

#1 works well for maintainence, and for a slight loss of luster, and gloss. #2, and #3 are more agressive polishes to remove swirling, and scratches.
Mark
 
MarkD51 said:
Novus Plastic Polshes work well for such. There are three polish grades, and they have been around a long long time, are pretty much the gold standard, and are not hard to acquire.

I use them for plastics and acylics.

#1 works well for maintainence, and for a slight loss of luster, and gloss. #2, and #3 are more agressive polishes to remove swirling, and scratches.
Mark
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Thanks Mark, where can I get buy this from?
 
EddieF said:
Thanks Mark, where can I get buy this from?
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For a few years, I knew a very kind fella by the name Dave Thompson, who owned Valley Plastics in CA, who used to give me these products, no charge!

But sadly Dave had a very bad fall, was MIA from work for a long while, and then took a buy out from the company.

He always said it was the best, and what they used in the factory. I've found it works superb on a Turntable (record player) I own, which possesses a solid 1.00' Black Acrylic Plinth-Base. On the black, you do see everything, even every speck of dust.

So, not long back, I was running low of Novus #1, and simply went on ebay and found a multitude of vendors, who as well will offer free shipping.

As always, and with any product you might try using on such things as a gauge cluster, never spray any product direct to the plastic cover, always apply to a soft cloth like an MF cloth, make sure the cloth is only slightly dampened, and stay away from borders initially, as you surely don't want any product getting behind the plastic glass.


I agree with all others here, a slightly dirty, or a dry cloth usually scratches the living hell out of this delicate plastic.

I've used Novus on my own Tahoe, and gotten night and day results with how it was looking prior to the Novus #1 application. It is good to have all three grades. Mark
 
Novus works very well... I actually tried it for the very smae purpose you describe OP. I purchased my kit with polishing cloths ranging from 2400 up to 10000 from a local hobby shop.
 
Try givin' Meguiar's "Plastix" a go.

I've used on various softer plastic(s) with good results.

Bill
 
I had removed mine and used Mothers Plastic Polish. Mothers finished better than Meg's PlastX for me.

I really could not get it perfect so decided to purchase a new one for $20 from the dealer.

Now, I know why mine was scratched. It was mishandled after molding.
 
Bunky said:
I had removed mine and used Mothers Plastic Polish. Mothers finished better than Meg's PlastX for me.

I really could not get it perfect so decided to purchase a new one for $20 from the dealer.

Now, I know why mine was scratched. It was mishandled after molding.
Click to expand...

i have luck to get it perfect. i really mean perfect. using the 3m kit. i guess because of the heavy fillers.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using AG Online
 
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