Scratches in shiny plastic on interior of car

Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Michael,

When you have some time, click the link below and read through the thread, don't scan through it, as I share the techniques for using your hand/fingers to remove scratches out of small areas in confined areas. Not sure if this will apply to your situation but the information is strewn throughout the thread.


How to Remove Hair line scratches on Wood Trim?


And here are the before and after pictures showing what can be done using the right techniques...


Burled Walnut after Scratch X 2.0:

after_scratch_x_2_0.jpg


After M205 50/50

50_50.jpg


reflection

reflection2.jpg


Second type of wood trim, simulated wood.

Before

dash_before1.JPG


After Scratch X 2.0

After_X.JPG


After M205 and M21

done.JPG




The forum member that did this is named WestEnd, not sure if I've seen him online in a while. I think the above pictures were originally hosted on either PhotoPost or some other picture hosting site and because they were too good and too important to the thread, I personally downloaded them from wherever they were at and placed them on the Autogeek Gallery to insure they would always show up instead of red-x's.

I don't know that they would have disappeared but when people do delete their pictures on cheapie and free image hosting sites to make room for new pictures it takes all the value out of a thread like the one above.

I can't encourage people enough to learn how to take advantage of their free gallery here. As long as AG is in business your pictures will show up here and anywhere else on the Internet and it won't cost you anything.


If you're going to be a "Forum Person" on ANY forum, help yourself by learning how to work with picture on the Internet


Photobucket and Missing Pictures



:)
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Mike, read through the thread you just posted and it's loaded with great info. A few things I took from it...definitely need to work on technique, I was not applying nearly enough pressure and my hand motions were way too slow. I was also applying the product using a terry cloth towel which I'm assuming is not abrasive enough, I'll pick up a cutting pad later this afternoon. There will definitely be some passion behind the pad later the next time I work on this project.

Really happy I joined the forum as everyone has been extremely helpful...and patient with my inquiries. Thank you for making this noob feel very welcome.

erichaley said:
The Sport wheels are arguably one of the best looking wheels Honda has ever made for a front wheel drive vehicle. I want to get some as well, but they're about as much as the 19" HFP wheels, and more expensive than aftermarket wheels. Interestingly, the Canadian Accord Touring comes with the same wheels as the Sport, but painted a little differently. I also want to get the aero kit and the deck lid spoiler like the Sport has.

I'm actually using the CarPro denim pads to remove the orange peel on my Touring, BUT, I know the risks and I am willing to accept them because it bothers me. I have also invested in a paint thickness gauge. On your silver, the orange peel probably wouldn't bother me as much. I'll eventually write an article on the process, but it has just consumed a ton of time lately. It certainly isn't for the faint of heart, but the results so far are amazing!! Distinction of image is just off the chart!

I learned first-hand this past weekend that compound on a hand applicator is a powerful tool. Mike had a video about polishing curved areas, and in it he mentioned using a hand applicator for removing scratches behind the door handle. I tried this with some Menzerna FG 400 on my Dad's 2009 Accord, which had some of the worst fingernail scratches I'd ever seen, and they all came out! I couldn't believe my eyes!! That being said, it might be worth trying on your cup holder scratches.
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I thought about the HFPs but I had bad luck with 19s driving in the city in the past...lots of blow outs. I'm there's stil a risk with the 18s but it is not as dramatic a jump as it would have been 17 to 19. The HFPs are very nice though...can't go wrong either way.

After looking at your before and after pictures I can now see that I too have orange peel issues. Not as apparent dealing with a silver car but now that I know what to look for I can definitely see it. No idea how to attack this and am worried I might make a mess of the whole car.
 
MichaelD16 said:
After looking at your before and after pictures I can now see that I too have orange peel issues. Not as apparent dealing with a silver car but now that I know what to look for I can definitely see it. No idea how to attack this and am worried I might make a mess of the whole car.
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The safest option is to, unlike me, just leave it alone. The paint is very thin, and if you strike through the clear, the only way to fix it is to have it repainted. If you're OCD like I am, and have the time, tools, and patience, you can make a dramatic difference.

Since removing orange peel with the denim pads on a DA is uncharted territory, I've decided to refer to the different levels of removal as "stages".

Stage 1 is what I'm calling the first step. This step involves doing 6-8 section passes with CarPro Fixer and is the least aggressive method. This step, which is represented by the first and third set of before and after pictures from my last post, does not remove all of the orange peel, but I've found that it dramatically improves Distinction Of Image (DOI), makes the metallic flakes pop, and increases the gloss - all while removing a very small amount of clear (about 5 microns). Most people could stop here and be very satisfied.

Stage 2 is represented by the second set of before and after pictures. I decided that, while the car looked much better, I wasn't completely satisfied. Additionally, I wanted to see how far I could really go before reaching a paint thickness threshold of 100 microns I set for myself, and no lower than my absolute stopping point of 80 microns. Both thresholds are incredibly thin and incredibly dangerous. Anyway, back to stage 2. This step is much riskier and is much more time-consuming. It involves using more aggressive compound (Menzerna FG 400) to work a smaller area with minimal or no pressure for a longer period of time. The goal of stage 2 is to achieve maximum DOI, particularly in reflections seen at extreme angles or from bright light sources. It's the riskiest because it removes even more clear. Stage 2 should only be attempted if you're prepared to have your car painted tomorrow should something go wrong.

Finally, I'll reiterate what Mike and others have said before: Factory paint is thin and the possibility of striking through your clear is very real. You've been warned... That being said, using the orange peel pads on a DA is the "safest" of all of the unsafe methods there are to remove or at least improve orange peel on factory paint.
 
Yeah that is definitely above my pay grade. I think it's definitely something I can overlook or at the very least get professionally done in hopes they don't screw it up. Your after pictures look awesome though.

I definitely am excited about the before and after pictures Mike posted on here dealing with the scratches on the wood trim. Can't wait to give it a try.
 
MichaelD16 said:
That's not bad...how would I go about removing the old one?
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I don't have instructions for that, but there may be something on the DriveAccord 9th Generation forum. My username over there is 00110001.
 
It's not "chrome" in the traditional sense of a hard, thin plating, it's a shiny film that's vacuum applied to the plastic substrate.

It's soft and thin film - be very careful. I'd recommend you stay away from polishes or aggressive compounds. Personally, I don't think there's any way to remove the scratches.
 
Thanks for the info Forrest...figured due to it being cheap plastic that I would limited in what I could do to "repair" it.
 
forrest@mothers said:
Personally, I don't think there's any way to remove the scratches.
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Agreed. And if it was real chrome I don't believe there's an easy or practical way to remove the scratches.


Thanks for chiming in Forrest...

It's like I posted from an article I wrote in 2005...


Some materials and/or coatings don't lend themselves well to being abraded with the end results looking "good" or "original".



:xyxthumbs:
 
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