Plastic trim possibly ruined?

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PhillySunburstFG4

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Hey guys,
Recently I purchased an air freshener that you hang up (like a little tree) and decided to throw it away after a month. I hung it up on the nob tat you use to change the air from hot to cold. After removing the air freshener, I noticed the plastic trim underneath the nob was damaged. Little did I that the air freshener package says make sure that the freshener hangs freely. Heres some pics below. Any of you guys have a recommendation on what I could do to fix this (if its even possible to). I was thinking of sticker bombing it but I'd rather not unless I absolutely have to. Please help me out.

20130814_080136.jpg

20130814_080139.jpg
 
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Nix

Nix

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Moved to detailing section....

Lets put a call in to the master while we're at it: RaskyR1 - Help! Hahaha....


My input:

Have you tried to clean it with anything yet?

It appears to be chemical etching to me... Try water first and see what comes off before resorting to anything serious. Also try stuff like goo gone or another light cleaner. You don't want to make it worse by hitting it with something too abrasive or too strong that would discolor the area further...

At worst you may have some luck using a light polish on it. Something like Meguiars PlastX. You should be able to find that at an AutoZone/Pepboys style place. If they don't have that look for possibly Meguiars M205 or Ultimate Compound. Those might be a little more abrasive but working a light polish over the area may reduce it enough that putting a good dash/plastic dressing over the top will make it nearly invisible.

Also anything listed as a cleaner wax will be lightly abrasive and may work as well.

If you're interested in buying a couple things that you can use on the rest of your car:

Dodo Juice Lime Prime Pre-Wax Cleanser
http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Juice-M35/Lime-Prime-Pre-Wax-Cleanser-P247/250-ml-S1/


Lime Prime Lite
http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Juice-M35/Lime-Prime-Lite-Cleaner-Glaze-P248/250-ml-S1/



The meguiars PlastX is for plastic though and may be your best bet for something you can find locally.

If you're really stuck I can send you a small sample size of Sonax Nano Tech Paint Cleaner. I don't use it often and while its made for paint it seems to clean up other areas pretty well. I sent some to BtownSi to polish a scratch he had. You can ask him how he liked it. I can also include a bit of dash trim to help hide it. Let me know what you decide.

Full article on it here:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/product-review-sonax-nano-tech-paint-cleaner-ntpc/
 
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PhillySunburstFG4

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webby said:
Is the plastic actually textured in that area now? If your run your fingernail on it, does it catch on bumps etc?
Click to expand...

Yes webby. It's really rough.
Nix said:
Moved to detailing section....

Lets put a call in to the master while we're at it: RaskyR1 - Help! Hahaha....


My input:

Have you tried to clean it with anything yet?

It appears to be chemical etching to me... Try water first and see what comes off before resorting to anything serious. Also try stuff like goo gone or another light cleaner. You don't want to make it worse by hitting it with something too abrasive or too strong that would discolor the area further...

At worst you may have some luck using a light polish on it. Something like Meguiars PlastX. You should be able to find that at an AutoZone/Pepboys style place. If they don't have that look for possibly Meguiars M205 or Ultimate Compound. Those might be a little more abrasive but working a light polish over the area may reduce it enough that putting a good dash/plastic dressing over the top will make it nearly invisible.

Also anything listed as a cleaner wax will be lightly abrasive and may work as well.

If you're interested in buying a couple things that you can use on the rest of your car:

Dodo Juice Lime Prime Pre-Wax Cleanser
http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Juice-M35/Lime-Prime-Pre-Wax-Cleanser-P247/250-ml-S1/


Lime Prime Lite
http://www.detailedimage.com/Dodo-Juice-M35/Lime-Prime-Lite-Cleaner-Glaze-P248/250-ml-S1/



The meguiars PlastX is for plastic though and may be your best bet for something you can find locally.

If you're really stuck I can send you a small sample size of Sonax Nano Tech Paint Cleaner. I don't use it often and while its made for paint it seems to clean up other areas pretty well. I sent some to BtownSi to polish a scratch he had. You can ask him how he liked it. I can also include a bit of dash trim to help hide it. Let me know what you decide.

Full article on it here:

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/product-review-sonax-nano-tech-paint-cleaner-ntpc/
Click to expand...

Nix, I have not tried anything yet. I didn't want the situation to turn out worse than it already is ya know? I'll give water a shot and see if that does anything. goo gone would discolor it I know for sure. I'll check out the plastX like you recommended. If that doesn't work I'm not sure of the next step I'm going to take. I do appreciate your help and quick response. Thank you!
 
andre12dbsi

andre12dbsi

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I wouldn't think they would warranty that. Sucks for sure. Good to know not to let those touch the plastic in our cars.....and to think we breathe that.

I would maybe check to see what the dealer would charge for the part. It might not be too bad.
 
RaskyR1

RaskyR1

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I actually had this happen in my '86 Honda Prelude waaaaay back in the day. It appeared the freshener had some sort of chemical reaction with the plastic it was touching and unfortunately requires replacement IME. :(
 
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Dar-Dar

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Good excuse to get a custom overlay or the 2013 Si trim.
 
Nix

Nix

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Well there ya have it. Try polishing it first. Rasky says it's gotta get replaced - he's probably right. And Dar makes a good point that it could be a good excuse to upgrade to the carbon covering thats available on the 13's.
 
Monk

Monk

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I've never used AF's before, and after reading about all the diff' ones on the market on here, I tried one with the liquid in it and couldn't get my mind off the fact that it might leak, so I got rid of it...... glad I did.
Sorry to hear about your dash though.
 
the insider

the insider

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PhillySunburstFG4

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Thanks everyone for your help. If I can't get this repaired somehow I will definitely get a replacement. The sight of it is horrible. webby do you know for sure the link above is definitely the replacement part? If so, I wouldn't have any issues purchasing that. Thanks again everybody.
Hopefully others will view this post and avoid getting the hanging air fresheners.
 
webby

webby

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I'm not 100% which is why I tagged collegehillshonda on the post. They hop on here just about every day. You could give them a call, or shoot them a pm to have them look at the pic.
www.collegehillshonda.com - ask for Paul in parts. Tell him to log on to 9th and he can see where he's tagged on this thread. He'll be able to tell you if this is the right piece.
 
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