Scratched interior plastic. Any hope?

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Bananagram

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Hi Folks,

I'm new to this forum, and a complete amateur in the detailing world. I recently picked up a Toyota Tacoma, and while a pickup will inevitably show signs of wear and tear, I would like to keep it looking new for as long as possible.

My first order of business is trying to take care of a couple of scratches (more like gouges, really) in the glossy plastic stereo bezel.

View attachment 18659

I really can't tell if these scratches are all the way through the paint or just in the gloss coat. I can catch a fingernail in them.

I'm assuming that whatever paint is on there is very thin, so I don't want to use anything too abrasive. I have both Meguiar's Plastx and Novus 3-part plastic polish on order. My intention is to start with the least abrasive and move up the chain until it I see an improvement. Then return to the least abrasive to return the shine. Any additional tips? Or does this seem like a hopeless endeavor?
 
If you can get a fingernail in them it is to deep. You could try the Meg's plastx ans see if that helps.
 
Scratches in interior plastics are forever. Mess with a scratch too much and it will become much worse.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I knew going in that if I didn't have any luck with the scratches, I'd be swapping out the stereo (stock is sort of crappy anyway). I started out with Meguiar's Plastx and a gentle hand. After a few minutes and a few reapplications I saw minimal improvement. I slowly started using more and more pressure. Plastx just wasn't up to the task. Still, the paint didn't show any signs of fading.

Against my better judgement I stepped it up to ScratchX 2.0. I again started out slowly and added more and more pressure as I went along. It ended with me rubbing like crazy. No regard for automotive life. I had to sacrifice the Compact Disc decal, but overall I very happy with the results.

View attachment 18767

Obviously I do not recommend this approach for anyone else. There is no telling what ScratchX would do to a different material. I just happened to be lucky.
 
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