Cleaning and restoration of sticky soft touch plastic interior panels THE ONLY PROPER WAY

Cleaning and restoration of sticky gummy interior panels made of soft touch plastic THE ONLY PROPER WAY

Cleaning and restoration (repainting) of sticky melting gummy car interior plastic trim, panels, dashboard, center consoles, door handles, radio knobs, buttons, switches etc.
Here on the example of Porsche Boxster 986, 996, but the same problem occurs on most cars from the era like BMW, Mercedes Benz, VW, Audi, Jaguar, Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, USA cars, Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Renault etc.

You can find many other and easier painting solutions on the internet. I have tried most of them and the final effect is always much different from the original. Especially when it comes to touch feel. Painting it with leather dye gives this satin, rubbery soft feel as it was when our cars were new.

I also observed that the worse condition of the panels and the most sticky they are, the easiest it is to remove an old layer.

Bear in mind that over the years the colours changed a lot. You have to decide if you prefer to go to the original colour as I did, or you prefer to match the colors of the elements you do not restore for some reason. This is important when choosing a part which you send to the dye producer for color matching.

Also do not omit a clear coat, as it gives better touch feel and durability.

I used products of Colourlock (this is not sponsored video), but I’m pretty sure that other brands are good as well. Colourlock although is available pretty worldwide and is already tested by me. When you decide to go for Colourlock, chose their professional product line only. The important part is, the producer has to have the ability to mix the colour to match the sample you send them. Use only 2 compound products (product + hardener), 1 compound products are for non-professional use and are way worse and less durable.

I did this job more than one year ago and the durability is fantastic. Even plastic panels on the sills which are kicked regularly by my kids are still as new.

You can probably use this technique also to restore illuminated buttons (e.g. VW Audi), but you need to buy sticker icons to mask the pictogram shape after cleaning and before painting. After painting you remove those, so the pictogram will be visible and properly illuminated. Try one button first as different car manufacturers have various technologies and this might not perfectly suit your vehicle.

List of Items you need:
-Paper towels
-Isopropyl alcohol
-dishwashing pads or magic sponges (many)
-nitryl gloves (many)
-facemask if you work inside
-all-purpose cleaner APC + detailing brush + place to rinse with water
-some degreaser
-colourlock GLD Thinner (this activates plastic a little for better bond)
-colourlock leather dye (tailor mixed for your color sample)
-colourlock IC2 hardener
-colourlock clear coat (Matt)
-air compressor + compressed air reducer + mini spray gun (I used 0,8mm nozzle)
-some cups + syringe to mix paint with hardener (at least I did it this way, the volumes are very small and it is hard to maintain proportions without a syringe)
-a place to work, where you can make a mess so your wife will not kill you
-patience ;-)

Please bear in mind that this is based only on my DIY hobbyist experience, this is not professional advice in any way. I strongly suggest testing the method in your car on the small element before you proceed with the rest of the interior.